Joel Klatt ranks Michigan football No. 12 despite tough schedule

Joel Klatt has often tended to like Michigan football even when others were in doubt. Now that the Wolverines have one of his favorite head coaches in the sport, Kyle Whittingham, while he may not be all-in in terms of huge success in 2026, he's quite optimistic about how things will go in Ann Arbor.

On Monday, Klatt revealed his personal top 25, and Michigan football came in ranked No. 12. He shared more on his podcast about what he sees in the maize and blue going into the new year.

"Michigan's going to be at 12," Klatt said. "It's an offseason of change. We know that. And it's not just like going from Jim Harbaugh to his assistant. This is like a massive change for Michigan. They need to change the culture. They need to move away from whatever it was that was going on last year and in years prior. And Kyle Whittingham comes in along with a ton of assistant coaches from Utah, as well as defense coordinator, Jay Hill, who I just told you previously worked with Kyle at Utah as a defensive coach.

"All eyes are, though, going to be on this element, the combination of Bryce Underwood in his sophomore year and offensive coordinator Jason Beck. Now, Jason Beck, in the last few years, has been outstanding as an offensive coordinator, and he has gotten the most out of guys like Devon Dampier at New Mexico. And then at Utah, we'll see if he can do the same for Bryce Underwood.

"The schedule is not easy. They've got four playoff teams on the schedule. They've got games against Oklahoma. That's Week 2 of the season. And Indiana. They've got road games late in the year at , really tough place to play. And of course, the big one at . I think Michigan could have a pretty good football team. I think the schedule is a little bit daunting for me. And again, it's that combination of Jason Beck and Bryce Underwood. If that meshes well, this could be a really good football team.