iStockphoto / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Michigan fans had to reevaluate their expectations for the season after the team narrowly avoided an upset at the hands of Western Michigan while eking out a win in Week 1. There is a silver lining for anyone who was hoping to attend a game at the Big House this season, as ticket prices have plummeted in the wake of what can best be described as a “disastrous win.”
There was a fair amount of uncertainty surrounding Michigan heading into the 2026 football season.
The team was coming off a 9-4 campaign where Sherrone Moore was fired before their bowl game over a scandal that led to a fairly shocking crashout, but former Utah coach Kyle Whittingham arrived in Ann Arbor with an impressive résume and plenty of talent to work with on a team led by highly-touted sophomore QB Bryce Underwood.
The Wolverines headed into the year with their eye on a spot in the College Football Playoff and ranked 16th in the AP Poll, and they weren’t expected to have much trouble when they welcomed Western Michigan for a game where the Broncos were listed as 27.5-point underdogs and were paid $1.5 million for a contest designed to serve as a tune-up.
However, the Broncos almost handed Michigan their worst loss since the Appalachian State debacle in a game WMU appeared to win before the home team capitalized on the video review that led to them getting to attempt a second Hail Mary with one second left on the clock.
They might have started at 1-0, but Michigan plummeted out of the Top 25 as it turned its attention to a shot at redemption against #11 Oklahoma on Saturday. You had to pay a pretty penny to score a ticket to that game over the summer, but it’s now a borderline bargain in the wake of what unfolded in the season opener.
Tickets to the Michigan-Oklahoma game are a fraction of what they were before the Wolverines almost lost to Western Michigan
The game between Michigan and Oklahoma on September 12th was slated to be the first big test of the season for either program (the Sooners cruised to a 51-0 win over UTEP to open things up), so it’s easy to understand why there were some pretty steep prices for that marquee matchup on the secondary market.
According to TicketData, the get-in price was hovering around $380 for most of the summer, and while it got lower as the game got close, it was still sitting at around $200 before the Michigan-Western Michigan game. However, the outcome certainly put a damper on the enthusiasm when you consider the cheapest ticket will only run you $59 as of this writing.
I don’t think you can overstate how much Michigan’s Week 1 disaster crushed fan enthusiasm.
The freefall in ticket prices for Oklahoma at Michigan this Saturday continues with no sign of slowing. The get-in price is now ~$50, down almost 90% from ~$400 in July. pic.twitter.com/9D0DciJEFi
— TicketData Keith (@kapkap42) September 10, 2026
That game is responsible for the most precipitous decline, although tickets for every contest at Michigan Stadium this year have been trending downward since the WMU debacle.
TicketData
It seems like it could be a good time to buy low if you think Michigan will be able to bounce back, but that seems like a very big “If” based on how they fared during the majority of the first four quarters of the season.