ESPN Names This Michigan Game as "Best of 2026"

ESPN’s Bill Connelly released his annual list of the best games of the upcoming college football season on Wednesday, and Michigan’s home matchup against Indiana made the cut.

Connelly selected five games from each Power 4 conference using two criteria: the highest combined SP+ ratings for both teams and a projected scoring margin under eight points. The Oct. 24 game at Michigan Stadium was one of the five Big Ten contests that met the standard.

Here’s how Connelly described it:

“Curt Cignetti’s champs survived midseason trips to Iowa and Penn State last season and will face another tricky one here against Kyle Whittingham and his potentially chest-puffing, chip-on-their-shoulder Wolverines.”

The full Big Ten list included:

• Oct. 10: USC at Penn State

• Oct. 17: Ohio State at Indiana

• Oct. 24: Indiana at Michigan

• Nov. 7: Oregon at Ohio State

• Nov. 21: Indiana at Washington

For the newly ranked #16 Wolverines, this game lands during a brutal stretch as they host Penn State the week before, then Indiana the defending national champs, then at the beginning of November have a home game against Michigan State.

Last season, Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers went 16-0 and won the program’s first national title. They proved they could handle tough midseason road environments. Michigan, under first-year head coach Kyle Whittingham, enters 2026 looking to reestablish itself after two uneven years. Connelly was very correct to describe Michigan as a team that may be “chest-puffing, chip-on-their-shoulder Wolverines.” It’s been a while since this kind of excitement over a new coach was taking over the Big House. Sure, Sherrone Moore was something, but he was also an internal hire and wasn’t the level most fans expected.

A home date against the defending champions in late October is exactly the kind of measuring-stick game Whittingham’s first team needs. Beating Indiana would send a clear message that the program is moving in the right direction. A loss could be a learning experience and wouldn’t be the “end of the world,” although losing is, of course, never an option.

This game feels like it will certainly have Big Ten title implications and could quite possibly be the difference between Michigan making or missing the College Football Playoffs. But, like us, ESPN already has it circled as one of the best games of the entire season.