Meet Your Insider
Greetings, Wolverines, and welcome to The Cover Window. I am Augustin Hartwell, but everybody calls me Gus. You'll know me by the maize sweater, the engineering-school pin and the coffee mug that says VICTORS. I travel with this team, and I label my data with fight-song lyrics. "Champions of the West" is a perfectly good column header, and I expect Dr. Ingrid Solvang, our Big Ten expert, to accept it. My motto is "Hail to the spreadsheet." When we win, I belt out "Hail to the Victors," off-key and proud. When we lose: "Victors. valiant. later." Then I head to the library.
The School in 60 Seconds
Michigan played its first game on May 30, 1879, and it has more wins than any other program in college football. The Wolverines claim 12 national championships, most recently in 2023. That 2023 team went 15-0, won the program's 45th Big Ten title, and beat Washington 34-13 for the national title. Three Wolverines have won the Heisman: Tom Harmon (1940), Desmond Howard (1991) and Charles Woodson (1997). Michigan Stadium has been home since 1927 and set the stadium's attendance record of 115,109 against Notre Dame on Sept. 7, 2013. Official sources list two different capacities, 107,601 and 109,901, so we note both.
The Coach and the Scheme
Kyle Whittingham was named Michigan's 22nd head coach on Dec. 26, 2025, with a five-year contract that runs through 2030. He spent 21 seasons as Utah's head coach, went 177-88 there, and had eight seasons with 10 or more wins. That makes him the 22nd head coach in a program history spanning 146 years, and he took over after Michigan fired Sherrone Moore. The standard he inherits is enormous: Michigan has more all-time wins than any program in college football, and the record crowd at Michigan Stadium is 115,109, set against Notre Dame on Sept. 7, 2013. The 2026 numbers say defense comes first. Michigan allows 256.5 yards a game (3rd in FBS) and 16.2 points (21st), and opponents gain only 2.68 yards a carry. The offense runs first, with 211 carries against 135 pass attempts, but it's still finding its footing at 313.3 yards a game (125th). Two things to clean up: 11 turnovers lost and 65.8 penalty yards a game, 104th in FBS.
Players to Know
QB Bryce Underwood (sophomore): 924 yards, 5 TD, 6 INT, 58.1% completions. He was benched at halftime against Penn State after throwing two interceptions.
QB Tommy Carr (true freshman): 5 of 7 for 47 yards against Penn State, plus 4 carries for 36 yards and a touchdown. Whittingham has not named a starter and may not announce one before the game.
RB Jordan Marshall: 293 yards on 69 carries, 4 TD. RB Savion Hiter: 223 yards, including 78 on 11 carries against Penn State.
WR JJ Buchanan: 27 catches, 482 yards, 4 TD. WR Andrew Marsh: 28 catches, 289 yards.
Troy Bowles: a team-high 50 tackles. John Henry Daley: 3.5 sacks, 6 tackles for loss.
The Conference Picture
Michigan is 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten, and 4-1 at home. The Wolverines are not ranked in the AP or Coaches poll this week. Their losses came against Iowa (20-19) and at Minnesota (20-14). Beating the defending national champions at home would be a résumé entry worth framing.
This Week: No. 6 Indiana (6-1) at Michigan (4-2)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · Noon ET · Michigan Stadium · FOX · Sold out · Block Cancer Game and Parents Weekend.
Last week: Michigan trailed Penn State 3-0 at halftime, then scored 21 points in the second half and won 21-18. Indiana lost 19-15 to Ohio State. It was the Hoosiers' first loss in 23 games.
Our offense vs. their defense: this is the hard part. Indiana allows 12.9 points a game (4th in FBS) and 75.4 rushing yards a game (4th). It has 24 sacks, seven of them by Tobi Osunsanmi.
Their offense vs. our defense: Indiana scores 36.6 points a game, and Josh Hoover hasn't thrown an interception. Michigan's pass defense ranks 14th. Hoover hurt his right shoulder against Ohio State. He missed one play and finished the game. I found no official update as of Oct. 18.
Series: Michigan leads 62-11, but Indiana won the last meeting, 20-15 in 2024. The teams did not play in 2025.
What decides it: (1) Who plays quarterback, and whether Michigan can stop losing the ball. (2) Michigan's red-zone defense, which has allowed scores on 92.9% of opponent trips (118th). (3) Whether Michigan's run defense can keep Indiana's ground game quiet for a third straight week.
Mallory, I hear you're holding a sash for me. In Ann Arbor, we call that a participation ribbon. Kindly meant.
Local Flavor (unsponsored, not an ad)
Game day starts with breakfast at Fleetwood Diner on South Ashley Street, a downtown Ann Arbor classic.
My call: Indiana Hoosiers 27, Michigan Wolverines 17.