{
  "id": 5892459,
  "title": "How much did Michigan football pay Western Michigan to scare living daylights out of it?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/how-much-did-michigan-football-pay-western-michigan-to-scare-living",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-06T03:03:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/much-did-michigan-football-pay-030358982.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Michigan University recently hired Kyle Whittingham as its football coach, highlighting his successful track record at Utah. However, Whittingham's first game as Michigan's head coach resulted in a narrow 13-12 defeat against Western Michigan on September 5, 2023, at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines, who entered the season with hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff, managed to avoid a significant setback in their inaugural season under new leadership. Michigan paid Western Michigan $1.5 million for the game, a common practice in college football where power conferences' programs often compensate underdog opponents from Group of Six conferences or FCS. Despite the disparity in program size, Western Michigan made a significant impact, showcasing a strong performance in their MAC championship-winning season from the previous year and returning many key players.",
  "summary": "Michigan was nearly stunned in Week 1 by Western Michigan. Here's how much the Wolverines paid the Broncos for the game.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Michigan football stuns WMU with miracle Hail Mary after game seemed over",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/michigan-football-stuns-wmu-with-miracle-hail-mary-after-game-seemed",
        "published": "2026-09-06T02:57:46.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "SB Nation",
        "title": "Someone screwed Western Michigan. But who?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/someone-screwed-western-michigan-but-who",
        "published": "2026-09-06T14:30:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}