ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Michigan Athletic Department and the Big Ten Conference announced the 2026 football schedule for the first season under new head coach Kyle Whittingham and his Michigan Wolverines.

The schedule, which features eight home games, including all four in September, was announced on Tuesday (Jan. 27).

Michigan will kick off its 147th football season with three non-conference home games: Western Michigan on Sept. 5, Oklahoma on Sept. 12, and UTEP on Sept. 19.

Following these, the Wolverines will begin their nine-game Big Ten schedule.

The conference opener will be at home against Iowa on Sept. 26, marking Michigan’s 120th Big Ten conference opener at Michigan Stadium.

Michigan’s first road game of the season will be Oct. 3 at Minnesota’s Huntington Bank Stadium.

The Wolverines and Golden Gophers will compete for the Little Brown Jug, college football’s oldest trophy, in the 100th meeting of this historic rivalry.

Michigan holds a commanding 74-23-2 record in the previous 99 contests.

After a bye week, Michigan returns home for back-to-back games against Penn State on Oct. 17 and defending national champion Indiana on Oct. 24.

The Wolverines will then travel to Rutgers for an Oct. 31 game.

The annual rivalry game against Michigan State has been pushed back a week and will take place Nov. 7 at Michigan Stadium.

The two teams will battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy in the 74th meeting of this series.

Michigan leads the series 42-29-2 and holds a 75-38-5 advantage overall in the rivalry, which dates back to 1898.

The Wolverines will then travel to Eugene, Oregon, for their first matchup against the Ducks as conference opponents on Nov. 14 at Autzen Stadium.

A week later, the Wolverines will host new Big Ten opponent UCLA at Michigan Stadium on Nov. 21.

The regular season will conclude with the 122nd meeting of “The Game” against Ohio State on Nov. 28 at Ohio Stadium.

Michigan has won its last two trips to Columbus, 45-23 in 2022 and 13-10 in 2024, and holds a 62-53-6 advantage in the all-time series.

A missing University of Michigan student has been found dead more than a day after he was last seen leaving a fraternity party in just a T-shirt and jeans in bone-chilling storm temperatures, according to police.

Engineering student Lucas Mattson, 19, was last seen walking without a jacket at around 1 a.m. Friday, as temperatures plummeted as low as 0 degrees, WILX reported.

His body was found Saturday night following a 20-hour search in “extreme cold conditions,” police said.
Mattson is one of at least 34 to die from Winter Storm Fern, which impacted more than two-thirds of all Americans.

“At this time, we can share that prior to disappearing, Lucas was attending a party at a fraternity house as a guest; he was neither a member nor a pledge,” University of Michigan interim president Domenico Grasso said in a statement, warning against “misinformation” spreading about his death around the school community.

“We must let the investigators complete their work and refrain from speculation until the facts are known.”
Mattson was reported missing at 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Ann Arbor Police Department. Officers spent the whole night searching but were unable to find him.

His body was later located Saturday night on Cambridge Road, cops said.

“The nearly 20-hour search effort to locate him took place in extreme cold conditions and included officers from AAPD and University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security, as well as the University of Michigan Police Department Drone Unit,” police said in a press release.

There were no signs of trauma and foul play is not suspected at this time, cops said.

The Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death, police said.

Grasso said he’s asked school officials to retrace the events of the night Mattson disappeared “to better understand what transpired and identify possible steps to help prevent similar tragedies in the future.”

“I am grateful for the outpouring of support from so many people worried about Lucas’s welfare, including those who searched for him in extremely difficult weather conditions,” the university president said.