Michigan's John Henry Daley predicts strong finish to 2026 season
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Michigan's John Henry Daley predicts strong finish to 2026 season
Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire·Wolverines Wire
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3 min read
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The Michigan football team has had a mostly elite defense and questionable offense through Week 7. But starting the week, the schedule is set to get a whole lot tougher withIndianacoming to town.
Generally, for both sides of the ball, it's been the little mistakes that have piled up. For instance, againstIowa, the defense was mostly shut down, but untimely penalties extended drives, especially the final one, which ceded the game to the Hawkeyes. But after beatingPenn Statein a come-from-behind victory, the team is flying high, feeling like anything is possible.
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"It's been a lot of, you know what, we've been making progress," senior edge rusher John Henry Daley said. "We've been doing all these things. Just stay the course, right? Bigger buy-in, more determination, just do more every single day. And that's kind of just been the thing. We're not gonna come in and just say, thank goodness, we got a win. That's great, but that's also an expectation for us to come in and win these games cuz that's the way we prepare. And so this week is just continue to stay on the same track, keep grinding, and get that same result this weekend."
Tommy Carr rushes for a touchdown
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Tommy Carr celebrates his second career TD at Michigan
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Penn State helmet
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Bryce Underwood leads the team into the locker room
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Penn State head coach Matt Campbell
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Penn State tailback tacklked
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Penn State QB Rocco Becht
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Jyaire Hill makes the tackle
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Savion Hiter
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Michigan football vs Penn State
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Kyle Whittingham
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Bryce Underwood carries the football in the first half vs. Penn STate
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Rocco Becht about to be sacked
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Tariq Boney celebrates a sack
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Penn State intercepts a Bryce Underwood ball on a ricochet
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Multiple Wolverines make the tackle
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Bryson Kuzdzal scores Michigan's first points on a long TD
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Channing Goodwin celebrates Kuzdzal's TD
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Michigan football vs. Penn State
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Chris Bracy celebrates his interception
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Tommy Carr with a big gain
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Tommy Carr nearly scores in the third quarter
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Matt Campbell
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Jordan Marshall celebrates his touchdown
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Chris Bracy forces the fumble
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Enow Etta spots the football before his fumble recovery
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
Enow Etta recovers the football
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Photos: Michigan football rallies to beat Penn State, 21-18
Tommy Carr rushes for a touchdown
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Photos: Michigan football rallies to beat Penn State, 21-18
Tommy Carr rushes for a touchdown
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Tommy Carr celebrates his second career TD at Michigan
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Penn State helmet
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Bryce Underwood leads the team into the locker room
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Photos: Michigan football rallies to beat Penn State, 21-18
Penn State head coach Matt Campbell
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Photos: Michigan football rallies to beat Penn State, 21-18
Penn State tailback tacklked
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Penn State QB Rocco Becht
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Photos: Michigan football rallies to beat Penn State, 21-18
Jyaire Hill makes the tackle
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Savion Hiter
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Michigan football vs Penn State
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Kyle Whittingham
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Bryce Underwood carries the football in the first half vs. Penn STate
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Photos: Michigan football rallies to beat Penn State, 21-18
Rocco Becht about to be sacked
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Photos: Michigan football rallies to beat Penn State, 21-18
Tariq Boney celebrates a sack
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
15/27
Photos: Michigan football rallies to beat Penn State, 21-18
Penn State intercepts a Bryce Underwood ball on a ricochet
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
16/27
Photos: Michigan football rallies to beat Penn State, 21-18
Bryson Kuzdzal scores Michigan's first points on a long TD
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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National media reacts to Michigan benching Bryce Underwood for Tommy Carr
Channing Goodwin celebrates Kuzdzal's TD
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
19/27
Photos: Michigan football rallies to beat Penn State, 21-18
Michigan football vs. Penn State
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
20/27
Photos: Michigan football rallies to beat Penn State, 21-18
Chris Bracy celebrates his interception
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
21/27
Kyle Whittingham explains Michigan's rushing surge with Tommy Carr
Tommy Carr with a big gain
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
22/27
Curt Cignetti praises Michigan's Tommy Carr, Kyle Whittingham
Tommy Carr nearly scores in the third quarter
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Penn State coach Matt Campbell explains what went wrong vs. Michigan
Matt Campbell
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Jordan Marshall celebrates his touchdown
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
25/27
Photos: Michigan football rallies to beat Penn State, 21-18
Chris Bracy forces the fumble
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Enow Etta spots the football before his fumble recovery
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
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Enow Etta recovers the football
(Photo: Isaiah Hole, WolverinesWire)
As a result of the win, Daley says that the mood within Schembechler Hall is much higher than it had been for much of the season. After all, the only real solid wins were againstOklahomaand UTEP, and the win over theNittany Lionswas the first in the Big Ten.
"When you work for something, you're able to achieve it; that's a great feeling," Daley said. "But at the same time, success in college football is week by week. And so you gotta rinse and repeat every single week. And that's something that we're doing."
As noted, the back half of the schedule is potentially daunting, with four of the six teams on the schedule being ranked: Indiana,Oregon,UCLA, andOhio State. IU will enter with starting QB Josh Hoover extant, but the other three may have (or are likely to have) different quarterbacks due to injuries.
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Regardless of who's under center, Daley says that it's important for the defense (and the whole team) to put it all together. And he believes that theWolverinesmay surprise some people.
"I think we're picking up some momentum," Daley said. "I think we're finding out who we really are as a team. Identity is really rooted in hard work and coming to the facility every day and putting in that grind, whether it's in the film room or watching film. So I feel like this latter half of the season is gonna be a lot better than the first half, and people are just gonna have to stay tuned."
It all starts on Saturday when Indiana comes to The Big House for a noon EDT kickoff on Fox.
