After losing head coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL, plus several assistants and players to the NFL all of whom contributed to last season’s undefeated national championship season, a return to the playoff was not expected this season. Most of the experts predicted an 8-4 or a 9-3 season. The team now sits at 6-5 with Ohio State looming next week so 6-6 and a lower-tier bowl game seems to be the most likely scenario. However, there is good reason to believe that the team will return to the playoff as early as next season. Let’s take a look at why.
Why Michigan Will Be In Playoff Contention Next Season
The QB Situation Appears Resolved
Four-star quarterback Jayden Davis is using his redshirt year this season as he just saw his first action of the year in last Saturday’s blowout win over Northwestern.
And just last week the Wolverines backed up the Brinks truck by ponying up $10M to get the number one player in the country, Bryce Underwood to flip his commitment to Michigan from LSU. It probably never should have come to that with Underwood being a local kid.
Regardless of whether Davis or Underwood starts next season, it will be a major improvement over the quarterback play we’ve seen this season. Let’s also be very clear-it will be one of the two under center in 2025.
Moore Gets Comfortable As The Man In Charge
Head coach Sharrone Moore has certainly taken his share of criticism this season and some of it has been well deserved. However, we shouldn’t forget how he filled in admirably in 2023 when Harbaugh was suspended for three games late in the season.
Moore certainly was put at somewhat of a disadvantage this year given the loss of so many key players such as J.J. McCarthy and Blake Corum on the offensive side of the ball. It’s way too early to assume that Moore can’t be successful at Michigan. We can’t overestimate what losing a quarterback like McCarthy meant which doesn’t diminish anything Corum did he just wasn’t the quarterback. This year’s group of three guys had limited experience and essentially no experience playing the position at Michigan.
The most likely scenario is that Moore learns from this past season and resembles the guy who led the team in Harbaugh’s absence more than what we saw this year.
Sorry Don
After splitting carries for a few years with perennial Heisman candidate Corum, it was expected that running back Donovan Edwards would be the guy this season. With immeasurable talent as a runner, a receiver, and even as a passer, the sky has always been the limit for Edwards.
Unfortunately, Edward’s career has also been marked by inconsistency, and this year that proved to be the case.
This season, Edwards has been overshadowed by Kalel Mullings who has more carries, more yards, and more touchdowns than Edwards. While Edwards has more catches than Mullins, neither one of them has done much through the air due to inconsistent quarterback play. Edwards has also had difficulty serving in the role as a back who can move the chains. Edwards has always been known for the big play but that also hasn’t happened much this season. After this season Edwards moves on and Mullins will be the lead back next season in Ann Arbor. Unfortunately for Edwards, this will be a good thing for the team.
The Schedule
This year’s schedule has been difficult, to say the least with an early home date with Texas and road games at Washington, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio State.
Next year the schedule appears more manageable as Ohio State and Washington come to Ann Arbor. An early season game at Oklahoma is potentially problematic especially if the Sooners play like they did last week against Alabama. The truth is we don’t know which version of the Oklahoma team we will see. Road games at Michigan State, Nebraska, and USC won’t be easy but if the Wolverines get the expected play at quarterback then every game on the schedule is winnable. This doesn’t suggest we’re calling for an undefeated season. We do however anticipate the team will be in the hunt for a playoff spot all season long.
An Improved Roster
Notwithstanding the recent flip of stud quarterback Underwood to the Wolverines, they currently have the fourteenth-ranked recruiting class for 2025. While it could be better, that’s still pretty good and we expect the Underwood signing to help with recruits not yet committed and with some additional flips.
One of the benefits of finally having a blowout game is that we got the chance to see some of the freshmen who hadn’t seen a lot of playing time so far this season. Coach Moore stated after the Northwestern game that he was pleased with what he saw from his freshman. While this certainly has been a down year for The Maize & Blue, things are looking up and we expect to see a dramatically improved team take the field in 2025. Will they be improved enough to make a run to the playoff? We think they will but will have to wait and find out.
Main Image: Junfu Han/Detroit Free Press / USA TODAY NETWORK
