The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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66 THE WOLVERINE ❱ DECEMBER 2025 C oach Sherrone Moore and his team have fol- l owe d t ra d i t i o n , l i ke most if not all other programs, in setting their goals for the team before the year. Of course, when you're at Michigan, some of them never change, like winning the conference and beating the rivals. Now, of course, making the playoff is high on the list, too … and yes, it's still on the table. Here was our personal list for the Wolverines heading into the sea- son, as shared in our annual foot- ball preview, and where things stand right now. 1. Make the College Foot- b a l l P l ayo f f . A s we w ro te , " M i c h i ga n h a s i ts q u e s t i o n marks on offense, but the de- fense should be playoff worthy again. The schedule, meanwhile, sets up for a run if the Wolver- ines can score enough points." And … here we are. They're still in contention because of that schedule, for the most part — outside of Okla- homa and USC, two lopsided losses, they've won the games they're sup- posed to win, if just barely. Beat Maryland on Nov. 22, and then as one fan joked with us after a 24-22 win over Northwestern, "all that's left is the easiest game on the schedule" (versus Ohio State). This OSU team seems more built to deal with U-M this year, but it's at home, and the playoff depends on it. This goal is still within reach … and Ryan Day will still be on the opposite sideline. 2. Get the offensive line back to Michigan standards. Our take — "Last year simply wasn't good enough, second only to the quarterbacks as the team's biggest weakness." We've seen improvement, especially in run blocking. Though we (and most U-M line experts) strongly disagree that they are worthy of the Joe Moore Award semifinalist honor bestowed, there are three freshman-eligible guys here. If they continue to be coached up, the future is bright. Frankly, though, the two new players who subbed in due to injury — Blake Frazier at left tackle and Jake Guarnera at right guard — appear to be upgrades over the veterans, and they certainly seem to have more upside. 3. Head into the finale versus Ohio State with a chance to make the Big Ten title game. "It's been Michigan's turn the last four years … in this era, though, you can still lose The Game and make the playoff," we wrote. Not this year. U-M has two losses and will need to beat the Buckeyes for both any shot at the title game and a playoff appearance. USC needs to lose at Oregon, as well as Oregon at Wash- ington for Michigan to have a shot (not impossible). Honestly, though, with the unbal- anced schedule, it's about tiebreakers and strength of schedule as much as anything. We wrote, "As always, beat- ing the Buckeyes is one of the season's primary goals, too. Might as well con- tinue that tradition." Do that, make the playoff, and that's good enough for us. 4. Establish an identity on offense. As we wrote, "Moore wants to 'smash' with the run- ning game, but new Michigan o f fe n s i ve c o o rd i n a to r C h i p L ind sey h as d eve lo pe d great passing and run games on his previous stops. He'll likely im- plement more RPOs (run-pass option plays) and come up with ways to scheme receivers open, but toughness is this program's h a l l m a rk . T h e re 's a ba l a n ce they'll need to find …" That it's looked clunky prob- ably shouldn't be all that sur- prising. They're trying to mesh a couple different philosophies here, and that doesn't always work overnight, especially with so many freshmen in key roles. This team showed positive signs in putting up 496 yards ver- sus Northwestern, largely with an RPO passing game and some hard running by Jordan Marshall, but the yardage isn't translating into points. Turnovers have recently become an issue, too. This one is still a work in progress. 5. Move past the off-field distrac- tions. Our take in June — "We still ex- pect the NCAA to rule on this in August, and the most likely outcome is a short suspension for Moore (if not two, four games), recruiting restrictions, some show causes for Jim Harbaugh and Con- nor Stalions ..." And here we are. There was a large fine, too, as expected, but we always maintained vacated wins and postsea- son bans were for the real cheaters (and other conference teams lead the Big Ten in those categories). We said that wasn't happening, and it didn't. Moore will serve one more game next year, but this goal has been accom- plished. ❏ Head coach Sherrone Moore has led the Wolverines to an 8-2 mark through 10 games, and U-M still has a chance to make the College Football Playoff. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Chris Balas has been with The Wolverine since 1997. Contact him at cbalas@ thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @Balas _ Wolverine. INSIDE MICHIGAN ❱ CHRIS BALAS Preseason Goals Still Within Sight