As last season came to a close, the Michigan football program was far from a pushover.
Sherrone Moore, who replaced Jim Harbaugh as coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, led the Wolverines to victories against Ohio State and Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl before the year 2025.
Although 8-5 appears to be a poor season from a bird’s-eye perspective, a 10,000-foot view reveals a far different scenario. The Wolverines were lifeless after losing to Illinois in mid-October, much less in games against Oregon, Washington, and Indiana before becoming bowl-eligible by November in a shocking turn of events.
Putting the past behind it, ESPN’s Greg McElroy predicts Moore’s Michigan team will take that next step toward College Football Playoff and conference title contention in his second season, regardless of who the quarterback will be.
“I think about what they had more so than what they didn’t have,” McElroy said about last season’s personnel. “What they didn’t have was quality quarterback play. Anything but quality quarterback play. It was almost, at times, hard to watch that position for Michigan. Seldom a threat of the pass. If there was [a pass], it was, ‘alright, we’ll keep them honest and throw it downfield and hopefully one of guys will go make a play.'”
Simply put, McElroy said that whichever quarterback is under center for the Wolverines has to manage the game better than any of last year’s did. This resulted in several midseason switches, ranging from Davis Warren to Alex Orji to Jack Tuttle.
“This is an offense that, I think, doesn’t need too much from the quarterback spot,” McElroy said. “If they can continue to run the ball with efficiency. If they can continue to be a very physical football team that can lean on their defense.”
McElroy credited the Wolverines for snagging Fresno State transfer quarterback Mikey Keene, a potential starter for next season who threw 18 touchdowns for the Bulldogs last year.
“He can probably steer the ship,” McElroy said about his quarterbacking abilities.
Nevertheless, another factor McElroy is considering for Michigan is its schedule. It isn’t oddly daunting at first glance; McElroy said its October slate could define its season. The stretch includes an Oct. 4 home matchup against Wisconsin, followed by a road rematch against USC after last year’s Ann Arbor meeting on Oct. 11 before hosting Washington and then making the short trip to play Michigan State at home to round the month out.
“I just think that order [of games] – home, away, home, away [is tough],” McElroy said. “That Washington game is dangerous because you have [a game] at SC and you have [a game] at Michigan State, the rivalry game the following week. I think that’s dangerous.”
At the very least, by November, the Wolverines should be bowl-eligible again, if not in contention for a postseason berth.
For now, only time will tell.