The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1536962
12 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW NUMBERS AND QUOTES Moore was an interesting case last sea- son as nobody was entirely sure where to put him. On one hand, he had very little head coaching experience, which usually leads to a low ranking among our crew. On the other, he already had a career win over Ohio State! Well, now that we have a full season in the books, our panel didn't seem overly impressed with his first year at the helm in Ann Arbor." — Tom Fornelli on his CBS Sports poll that ranked Sherrone Moore No. 58 among 68 Power Four head coaches ahead of the 2025 season The fact that we've seen a lot of us play together versus Alabama was a really good confidence boost, and then we added other pieces through the portal or just guys as incom- ing freshmen. It's just exciting because there was a lot of meat left on the bone. We caught our groove at the end of last season. We're just trying to carry that on and then see how far we could take it this year." — Graduate defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny They would've been a serious post- season contender last year if they had a quarterback on the roster. Now they do, so it's all about how fast [Chip] Lindsey can get him up to speed and going." — An anonymous Big Ten coach to Athlon Sports 1 , 012 Wins for Michigan since the program began in 1879, the most in college football history. The Wolverines have more victories than any football team at any level — high school, col- lege or professional. 20 Of Michigan's 36 sacks in 2024 were made by players still on the roster, led by graduate edge TJ GUY (4), senior edge Derrick Moore (4), junior edge Cameron Brandt (3), senior linebacker Ernest Hausmann (2) and graduate tackle Rayshaun Benny (1.5). 12 Missed tackles forced by sophomore run- ning back Jordan Marshall in his 23-carry, 100-yard performance to lead the Wolver- ines to a 19-13 victory over Alabama in the ReliaQuest bowl — the most by a Michigan player in a game since Blake Corum versus Michigan State in 2022 (16). 8.8 Yards per pass com- pletion for Michigan in 2024 — the low- est mark in program histor y by a large margin. The second- lowest was the 2008 season (10.4). 6-22 Record for Big Ten teams traveling across multiple time zones last regular season, the first year of the new-look Big Ten. Oregon (3-0; wins over Purdue, Michigan and Wisconsin), Indiana (1-0; win over UCLA), Penn State (1-0; win over USC) and Minnesota (1-0; win over UCLA) won games in those situations. Everyone else went winless, including Wash- ington and UCLA, each at 0-4. 3 Michigan players selected in the top 15 of the 2025 NFL Draft, marking the first time in school history that the Wolverines have had a trio picked that high in the same year: Defensive tackle Mason Graham (No. 5, Cleveland Browns), tight end Colston Loveland (No. 10, Chicago Bears) and defensive tackle Kenneth Grant (No. 13, Miami Dolphins). U-M also tied its program record with three first-rounders, joining the 2001 (WR David Terrell, OL Steve Hutchinson, OL Jeff Backus) and 1995 (RB Tyrone Wheatley, CB Ty Law, OL Trezelle Jenkins) draft classes. 2 Straight Night games to begin the 2025 season for the first time in Michigan history. The Wolverines will open with New Mexico Aug. 30 (7:30 p.m. on NBC) and at Oklahoma Sept. 6 (7:30 p.m. on ABC). The Maize and Blue have a 52-28 all-time record in games starting after 5 p.m. local time — 15-2 at Michigan Stadium, 29-16 on the road and 8-10 at neutral sites. 5.7 5.7 Yards per carry for junior running back JUSTICE HAYNES, an Ala- bama transfer, last season, ranking first on the Crimson Tide and sixth in the SEC. Haynes rushed 79 times for 448 yards and 7 touchdowns. MICHIGAN FOOTBALL PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL BY CLAYTON SAYFIE