Michigan hosts No. 6 Indiana after first Big Ten win
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Michigan, 4-2 and 1-2 in the Big Ten, hosts No. 6 Indiana at noon ET on Fox.
A win would even Michigan's conference record and keep a CFP path alive.
Background
Michigan's football team, coached by Kyle Whittingham, is 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten (its conference) after beating Penn State 21-18 for its first league win of the season. The Indiana Hoosiers are the defending national champion and 2025 College Football Playoff (CFP, the four-team-plus postseason tournament that decides the national title) champions, sitting at 6-1 and 3-1 in the Big Ten. Indiana lost 19-15 to Ohio State in its previous game, a rematch of last year's Big Ten championship game. A win over Indiana would give Michigan a 2-2 Big Ten record and a potential path to the CFP, which it has not reached since winning the 2023 national championship.
How it unfolded
- Sep 5, 2026Week 1: Michigan beat Western Michigan 13-12.
- Sep 12, 2026Week 2: Michigan beat Oklahoma 17-10.
- Sep 19, 2026Week 3: Michigan beat UTEP 52-17.
- Oct 3, 2026Week 4: Michigan lost to Iowa 20-19; Week 5 brought a 20-14 loss at Minnesota.
- Oct 17, 2026Week 7: Michigan beat Penn State 21-18 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor for its first Big Ten win, before an attendance of 110,731.
- Oct 19, 2026Michigan was listed as about a seven-point underdog to No. 6 Indiana, with the total at 41.5.
- Oct 21, 2026Michigan's Oct. 31 game at Rutgers was set for 12:30 p.m. ET on BTN at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, N.J.
- Oct 24, 2026Week 8: Michigan hosts Indiana at Michigan Stadium at noon ET on Fox.
- Oct 31, 2026Week 9: Michigan at Rutgers, 12:30 p.m. ET on BTN.
- Nov 7, 2026Week 10: Michigan hosts Michigan State; time and TV to be announced.
- Nov 14, 2026Week 11: Michigan at Oregon; time and TV to be announced.
- Nov 21, 2026Week 12: Michigan hosts UCLA; time and TV to be announced.
- Nov 28, 2026Week 13: Michigan at Ohio State, noon ET on Fox.
Who’s saying what
- Coach
- Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham noted the team won the turnover battle 3-2 against Penn State.
- Analysts
- Maize n Brew's Daniel Plocher predicted Michigan would cover the 7.5-point spread but ultimately lose to Indiana.
Still unverified
Michigan's Week 9 game at Rutgers was listed with time and TV to be announced in one schedule but as 12:30 p.m. ET on BTN in others. The Indiana game's TV network is given as Fox in several sources and CBS in another. Indiana's ranking is given as No. 5 in one source and No. 6 in others. One odds listing reads "Michigan (-275), Penn State (+225)" for the Indiana game.