The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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158 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW H ead football coach Sherrone Moore was shown on the Crisler Center video board at Michigan men's basketball's game against Iowa Dec. 7, one week after the Wolverines upset Ohio State and planted a flag at midfield in Columbus. The crowd had already erupted upon seeing Moore, then further went into a frenzy once he — with a huge smile on his face — reenacted the flag planting. Vibes were high and became immaculate after Michigan, without many of its key players, beat Alabama in the bowl game at the end of the month. The Wolverines didn't have the season they wanted com- ing off a national title under Jim Harbaugh in 2023, but there was hope for the future. It's amazing how it played out. Weeks earlier, U-M was 5-5 heading into the fi- nal two regular-season games. The Wol- verines didn't have their quarterback of the future, and high-end talent was slated to leave the program for the NFL. The week leading up to a 50-6 Senior Day beatdown of Northwestern changed the trajectory of the program. The No. 1 overall recruit in the nation out of Belleville (Mich.) High, five-star-plus quarterback Bryce Un- derwood flipped from LSU to U-M. Other recruits and transfers followed his lead be- fore and on signing day, and Michigan did the impossible in taking down the Buckeyes in one of the biggest upsets in series history. Underwood, a 6-foot-4, 208-pound specimen, has dreams of winning "a couple Heismans and at least one natty." While those are lofty goals, his addition signifi- cantly raises the ceiling of what's possible for the Wolverines over the next few years. "He's the most important player in Michigan football history who's not taken a snap," Michigan football historian and best-selling author John U. Bacon said with a bit of a chuckle. "Which might be a very qualified phrase, I guess, in some ways." It is, but it's all we have to go on for now. An 8-5 season with some huge victo- ries — over Ohio State, Alabama and USC and in trophy games versus Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern — and a few disappointing losses is what's on Moore's head-coaching résumé. But context is important, and by many ac- counts it was a productive year for the program following Harbaugh's departure to the NFL. "By and large, I'd give him a B+ and a chance to revise his grade," Bacon said of Moore's first year. "That's this year, and boy, in the offseason he's killed the NIL, he's hired very well on his staff. "And Bryce Underwood — what can you say? You got the money lined up, and you got the best player in America, who's enthusiastic about being a Wolverine. "Looking back at all my years watching Michigan football, I can't think of a recruit that changed things more, before taking a snap, than Bryce Underwood did." Making The Dance Internally Michigan's goals haven't changed, nor should they have. Beating Ohio State, winning the Big Ten and tak- ing home a national championship are the three main ones. But making the Col- lege Football Playoff and taking their shot at a title is a fair expectation for most seasons at a program the caliber of the Wolverines. The postseason has a 12-team field now, with plans to expand — likely to 16 — as early as 2026. Just last season, the fourth- place team in the Big Ten, which had just lost to its chief rival, won the national championship. It's a completely differ- ent season come mid-December, and this format is a whole 'nother ball game. There's more parity in college football now. Gone are the days of four- and five- star recruits waiting three years to start at Alabama or Georgia. They'll just go to Mi- ami or Texas Tech or Texas A&M or Oregon instead. There's less depth across almost every position group around the country, with the talent much more spread out. Notre Dame took down Georgia in the CFP quarterfinal last season, after years and years of wondering if it would ever be able to compete with the SEC powers. The Bulldogs' starting QB, Carson Beck, was injured, and the backup, Gunner Stockton, wasn't the difference-maker needed to win. There's a much smaller margin for the talent-hoarders like Geor- gia than there used to be. The Irish were one of three Midwest teams in the CFP semifinals, joined by Ohio State and Penn State. Two different Big Ten teams have now won the national title in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1940-42. The game has changed. "How can you set it up in the future, if it's 12 and going to be probably 16, that Michigan fans would be content to not be a playoff team? I'm not seeing it," Bacon said. "There will be more pressure on ev- ery Michigan coach from now on. In the past, how many great Michigan teams did Bo [Schembechler] have that didn't even get a bowl game? The 1984 season, when Michigan went 6-6, was probably the one Michigan football team — maybe there were a couple 8-4 teams — that wouldn't have made it. He would've made the playoff 17 or 18 years out of 21. It would've been a given in his era. "It's harder now, in many ways. But with the playoff expanding, I do not see Michi- gan having any other standard, other than the playoff virtually every year, short of some cataclysmic transition — coaching staff, star quarterback injury, etc." There will undoubtedly be new hurdles to clear as Moore's tenure develops, but for now the objective is to be in the CFP, com- peting for the national championship. ❏ SAYFIE BLITZ CLAYTON SAYFIE Staff writer Clayton Sayfie has covered Michigan athletics for The Wolverine since 2019. Contact him at Clayton.Sayfie@on3.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @CSayf23. Michigan football historian and best-selling author John U. Bacon called Bryce Underwood "the most important player in Michigan football history who's not taken a snap." PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN U-M's Trajectory Change Started With A Flip