Michigan
CBS Sports grades Michigan, Michigan State football coaching hires
Kyle Whittingham introduced as Michigan’s 22nd head football coach
Kyle Whittingham met the media for the first time as Michigan head coach on Sunday in Orlando, Fla.
Michigan’s ride on the college football coaching carousel perhaps came unexpectedly, following the firing of head coach Sherrone Moore on Dec. 10.
The Wolverines, however, appear to have landed a strong fit as a replacement in Kyle Whittingham.
Michigan’s hiring of the former Utah head coach merited an “A” from CBS Sports writer Richard Johnson, who recently handed out grades for FBS hires. Michigan was one of four programs to get an A, joining Oklahoma State (Eric Morris), UCLA (Bob Chesney), and Virginia Tech (James Franklin)
Johnson gave Michigan State a B-minus for its hire of former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Michigan officially added Whittingham on Dec. 27 — four days before the Wolverines faced Texas in the Citrus Bowl — after terminating Moore for an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Whittingham spent 21 seasons leading the Utah program, where he was 177-88 with three conference titles between the Mountain West and Pac-12.
Whittingham, 66, stepped down at Utah on Dec. 12.
“It wasn’t exactly a stunner that Kyle Whittingham stepped down at Utah — he had been on retirement watch annually as he got older — but it was surprising that he ended up back in the game at Michigan,” Johnson writes. “His identity should play well with the Wolverines, and the offense run by Jason Beck is tailor-made for Bryce Underwood.”
Michigan State football coach Pat Fitzgerald greets fans
Michigan State football coach Pat Fitzgerald greets fans at the Breslin Center on Dec. 2, 2025 in East Lansing.
Michigan State, meanwhile, fired head coach Jonathan Smith on Nov. 30 after two seasons leading the Spartans and quickly moved on to Fitzgerald, who guided Northwestern for 17 seasons before he was fired before the 2023 season. Fitzgerald went 110-101 overall, and 65-76 in the Big Ten, registered three seasons in which the Wildcats won at least 10 games, and two in which they won the Big Ten West.
“Fitzgerald made waves at Northwestern by leading the Wildcats to two first-place finishes in the Big Ten West,” Johnson writes, “but struggled during the final two years of his tenure with a 4-20 combined record. It remains unclear whether Fitzgerald’s late-era swoon in Evanston was due to limited resources or if the game passed him by. For years, Fitzgerald maximized rosters with talent deficiencies. With more investment promised, the answer should come quickly.”
Whittingham will make his Michigan debut Sept. 5 at home against Western Michigan. Fitzgerald will coach his first game for Michigan State at home against Toledo, in a game also currently scheduled for Sept. 5.
Michigan
Diesel fuel posts record high in Michigan on Sunday
Michigan set a record for diesel fuel prices Sunday.
AAA reported Sunday afternoon the current average for diesel prices statewide was $6.01 per gallon. This beat the 2022 record of $5.96 per gallon, according to analyst Patrick De Haan of the Dallas-based tech company and fuel price tracker GasBuddy.
Sunday’s diesel average climbed 88 cents from last week and more than a dollar since the beginning of April, according to AAA.
The diesel surge comes as Michigan’s average for regular gas on Sunday topped $4.87 per gallon, 1 cent lower than Saturday’s average. Mid-grade fuel averaged $5.42 per gallon, while premium averaged $4.98 per gallon, according to AAA.
The averages for gasoline all were more than $1.60 higher than they were this time last year, according to AAA. Regular gas was 35 cents cheaper than the record $5.22, posted June 11, 2022.
Diesel prices affect construction, farming and trucking. Higher diesel costs for farming and trucking industries affect food costs, GasBuddy said.
“Higher fuel costs mean higher shipping costs for everything we buy,” according to GasBuddy. “More expensive diesel hits farm budgets and drives up food costs.”
De Haan said Thursday that the price surge was driven by fears that oil shipments will continue to be hampered in the Strait of Hormuz as the United States and Israel wage war with Iran. He said declining gas inventories and the temporary closure of three refineries in Illinois and Indiana earlier in the week contributed to the price surge in Michigan.
De Haan said Sunday’s diesel surge was a “perfect storm” of tight refining capacity, freight demand and global supply disruptions. Diesel inventories are below seasonal norms, meaning the market is vulnerable to refinery outages or shipping delays, Newsweek reported.
Even with the spike, De Haan said Michigan’s gas tax rate that went into effect at the beginning of the year makes the average price lower than if the spike had happened in 2025. Michigan’s 52.4 cents per gallon tax replaced the old 6% state gas tax Jan. 1.
“Diesel prices today are ~13.6c/gal LOWER than they’d have been under Michigan’s old 6% sales tax model prior to this year,” De Haan posted on X Sunday.
Regular gas in Michigan averaged $4.87 in Michigan on Sunday, according to AAA. It was 1 cent lower than Saturday.
De Haan said at that time he didn’t foresee increases as capacity in the Midwest returns to normal after the refinery in Whiting, Indiana, came back online.
mbryan@detroitnews.com
Michigan
No. 1 UCLA baseball defeats Michigan State with four runs in the first
No. 1 UCLA baseball took the second game of their Big Ten Conference series 4-3 against Michigan State at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium in East Lansing, Mi. on Saturday.
The Bruins remained undefeated in the Big Ten action by relying heavily on their pitching staff, just like they did in their series opener. In the second game against Michigan State, UCLA’s pitching staff limiting the Spartans success at bat to only eight hits over the nine innings.
All in the first
UCLA was aggressive in the top of the first and it resulted in them scoring all four of their runs off of four hits to give them a 4-0 lead. Payton Brennan and Cashel Duggar each delivered two-run singles for UCLA.
Spartans strike back
Michigan State got on the board in the bottom of the second with their only hit of the inning being a double that allowed their runner to cross home plate from second.
Hanging on to the lead
UCLA managed to keep the lead over the third and fourth innings with no runs being scored by either team. The Bruins had a hit in each inning and the Spartans had no hits in the third, but two in the fourth.
Walking to score
The Spartans scored their second run in the bottom of the fifth off of walk with the bases loaded. Michigan State was unable to put up more runs, despite the bases being loaded and UCLA was able to maintain the 4-2 until the bottom of the eighth.
One more in the eighth
UCLA gave up their final run in the bottom of the eighth with a grounded out giving the Spartans base runner to cross home plate. Despite Michigan State narrowing the score to 4-3, they were held without a hit in the bottom of the ninth and UCLA took their second win of the series.
The Bruins will aim for the series sweep on Sunday with an anticipated start time of 9:05 a.m. PT.
Michigan
UCLA baseball scores four runs late for win over Michigan State
No. 1 UCLA baseball handled business over the last two innings against Michigan State to secure a 4-1 win in their series opener at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium in East Lansing, Mi. on Friday.
The Bruins found themselves in a much more low-scoring outing than their 15-3 midweek affair against UC Santa Barbara. Against the Spartans, UCLA’s explosive lineup was held to just four hits over all nine innings, but the Bruins pitching staff fared better than Michigan State’s by only allowing two hits.
Scoreless start
Both UCLA and Michigan State had just one hit in the first three innings, as both teams attempted to find success at the plate. The result was the game being runless heading into the fourth.
Spartans strike first
Michigan State got their second hit of the game in the bottom of the fourth with a single, but it was enough to get their base runner across home plate for the first run of the game.
Offense continued to struggle
UCLA had their second hit of the game in the top of the sixth, but despite the rare hit, and multiple other runners getting on base, the Bruins nor Spartans could increase the score until the eighth inning.
Taking the lead late
In the top of the eighth, the Bruins’ batters awoke with a go-ahead two-run homer strike by junior first baseman Mulivai Levu and putting UCLA in the lead for the first time in the game.
Two more for good measure
The Bruins tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth off of a double and a sacrifice fly to give them two more inusrance runs. The Spartans were held scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to give UCLA the win and keep their undefeated Big Ten Conference streak alive.
UCLA will play their second game against Michigan State on Saturday with an anticipated start time of 12:35 p.m. PT.
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