With Michigan football now operating under an established head coach in Kyle Whittingham, the hope is that the Wolverines will be substantially better, improving upon last year’s 9-3 regular season. However, with a brutal schedule, the team could improve greatly and still fall short of last year’s mark.
The maize and blue went to three straight College Football Playoffs, culminating in a national championship following the 2023 season. However, each of the past two years, Michigan has ended up in Florida, playing in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Alabama in 2024 and in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in 2025 against Texas a year ago. And ESPN is predicting that the maize and blue will return to the Sunshine State again in 2026.
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According to both Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach, who predicted the entire field, including the College Football Playoff, Michigan will play in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Bonagura has the Wolverines facing off against LSU, while Schlabach predicts a rematch of the Week 2 matchup against Oklahoma.
ReliaQuest BowlRaymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)Noon, ESPNBonagura: Michigan vs. LSUSchlabach: Michigan vs. Oklahoma
Should that come to pass, it would be Michigan’s third time in Tampa in a decade, with the 2024 win over Alabama and the 2017 loss to South Carolina being the other two times. The Wolverines have faced Oklahoma twice in program history — both losses. The maize and blue have never faced LSU.
Of Michigan’s regular season opponents, ESPN has Indiana, Oregon, and Ohio State in the CFP, with Oklahoma also predicted by Bonagura to play in the Las Vegas Bowl, Penn State in the Citrus Bowl (unamimously), Iowa in the Music City Bowl (unanimously), Minnesota in the First Responder Bowl, UCLA in the Armed Forces Bowl, and Western Michigan in the Boca Raton Bowl and the Arizona Bowl.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: ESPN projects Michigan football to return to ReliaQuest Bowl
