This past weekend, Michigan football picked up its fifth win of the season and is now one away from being bowl eligible in 2026. The Wolverines took down Rutgers on the road 28-21 and will now host rival Michigan State this Saturday, with kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m.

There is a strong chance Michigan will clinch its bowl eligibility, as the Spartans have struggled this season. MSU enters the game on a six game losing streak, holding a 2-6 overall record and a 0-5 record in Big Ten play.

With that, here are the updated projections for Michigan’s postseason destination.

ESPN

Make it four straight weeks that Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach (ESPN) have agreed on their postseason projection for the Maize and Blue. The duo released their week nine projections Monday morning (Nov. 2) and both saw UofM in the Cactus Bowl..

Both Bonagura and Schlabach also have the Wolverines playing Cincinnati, who is coming off a 34-point loss to No. 6 Utah this past Saturday.

If that ends up being the destination for Michigan, the Maize and Blue would play at 7:30  p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 26 in Tempe, Ariz.

Sports Illustrated

Bryan Fischer of Sports Illustrated has kept his bowl destination for UofM consistent. Week nine was no different as he released his list of Bowl Game projections yesterday (Nov. 1).

Again, he has the Wolverines in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30. However, he has the opponent as Missouri in this week’s edition.

The Tigers still have College Football Playoff (CFP) aspirations, sitting at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC. Both of their losses came against ranked opponents.

Now, Missouri will host Texas at noon  EST this Saturday.

CBS Sports

In the same mindset as  ESPN, Brad Crawford of CBS Sports predicted that UofM will be in the Cactus Bowl against Cincinnati.

Crawford praised new Michigan starting quarterback, true freshman Tommy Carr.

“Wolverines freshman quarterback accounted for three touchdowns, including this offense's first scoring toss of October, during Saturday's 28-21 win at Rutgers,” Crawford said. “Michigan's one win away from getting to bowl eligibility and gets a rivalry opponent (Michigan State) next week before playing, and to finish it out.”

Final Takeaways

Michigan’s College Football Playoff (CFP) hopes are basically gone. This team has too many issues on the offensive side of the ball, and with three losses, even if they somehow won out, there would be no guarantee.

The Wolverines will likely be in a less prominent bowl game. However, if Michigan stumbles against Michigan State, then they could struggle to make it to six wins. UofM finishes the season against No. 5 UCLA, Oregon and No. 11 Ohio State.