The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1536962
38 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY CLAYTON SAYFIE F our prominent national college football voices — Sporting News' Bill Bender, CBS Sports' Tom For- nelli, Athlon Sports' Steven Lassan and On3's Andy Staples — provided their takes on Michigan ahead of the 2025 sea- son. Our panel of experts discussed ex- pectations for the Maize and Blue and gives their predictions for how the year will play out both in Ann Arbor and na- tionally. What is your assessment of Michi- gan's first year under Sherrone Moore? Bender: Michigan had the toughest schedule in the Big Ten last season, and it played out that way. The offense had too many limitations in the passing game, and Texas and Oregon exposed that in the Big House. Road losses to Washing- ton, Illinois and Indiana were somewhat expected, too. Yet the momentum from victories against Ohio State and Alabama masked that — and bringing in [freshman quar- terback] Bryce Underwood is reason for excitement in 2025. We'll give Moore some benefit of the doubt in the transi- tion from Jim Harbaugh after Michigan lost 13 players to the 2024 NFL Draft. Fornelli: I had so much difficulty get- ting past the atrocious quarterback play. The biggest mistake Sherrone Moore made as a first-year head coach was put- NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE College Football Experts Preview Michigan's 2025 Season Michigan's starting tandem of senior linebackers — Ernest Hausmann (15) and Jaishawn Barham (1) — was cited as one of the best in the nation, on a defense that is undeniably the team's strong point again this year. Last season, the duo led Michigan in tackles, with Hausmann racking up 89 stops and Barham accounting for 66. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN