After going 8-5 in Year 1 under head coach Sherrone Moore, Michigan has its sights set on returning to the top of the Big Ten and college football in 2025.
Fox Sports’ analyst Joel Klatt likes the Wolverines chances of achieving those goals next fall, ranking Michigan at No. 10 in his ‘Way-Too-Early’ rankings for the 2025 season. In his latest episode of The Joel Klatt Show, Klatt gave five reasons why the Wolverines could improve in the year ahead.
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With wins over Northwestern, Ohio State and Alabama to close the 2024 season, the Wolverines carry a lot of momentum into this offseason. Throw in a Top 10 recruiting class, led by five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, and few teams in the country not named Ohio State can claim to have had a better finish to their year.
“Michigan built as much momentum as any team in college football over the last month of the season,” Klatt said. “Think about what they did from the moment they were able to flip Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 recruit in the country — thank you Larry Ellison. Then they beat Ohio State, then they beat Alabama.
“So, in this era where nobody gets to win their last game except for the national champion, maybe the only other team in the country that has real, positive sentiment moving forward and into the offseason is Michigan.”
Michigan loses several major contributors on defense this offseason, but the Wolverines still bring back a ton of talent on that side of the ball, which proved itself in the Wolverines’ 19-13 win over Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
“Are they losing some big names? Absolutely,” Klatt said. “Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Will Johnson, Colston Loveland — like, all of those are great players and in a lot of ways they are irreplaceable.
“However, what we saw against Alabama in that bowl game is, without all of their main contributors, even on the defensive side, they were still excellent. This culture at Michigan remains, and it feels like Sherrone Moore has leaned into that even more.
“Their defense next year is essentially the defense that we just saw really shut down Alabama and Jalen Milroe. They didn’t have Will Johnson, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Josaiah Stewart, Makari Paige in that game, and yet they were able to go out there and be totally dominant.
“[Defensive coordinator] Wink Martindale figured it out. Now, whether he gets a job moving forward into the National Football League or not, that system is going to remain the same. Remember, this is the third straight defensive coordinator that has run the same exact system, that has dominated their opponents. So, I trust that that defensive structure will maintain.”
After taking three jobs interviews with NFL franchises, it’s looking more and more like Michigan will be able to retain Martindale at defensive coordinator for 2025. The Wolverines also get a big boost in safety Rod Moore, who officially announced his return to Ann Arbor after missing the 2024 season with an ACL injury.
Michigan has been active in the transfer portal already this offseason, adding several players who could contribute right away. The Wolverines shored up their defensive line with tackles Damon Payne (Alabama) and Tre Williams (Clemson), and added the No. 1 available running back in Justice Haynes (Alabama).
“They’ve been good in the portal on the defensive line,” Klatt said. “They get Mikey Keene to transfer in at quarterback from Fresno State. He could bridge to Bryce Underwood. That could be interesting, he’s got a lot of experience at 34 starts.”
Wide receiver remains a major area of need for the Maize and Blue, but Michigan got the ball rolling at that position by adding Indiana transfer Donaven McCulley. The Wolverines may look to add more depth at receiver during the spring transfer window.
There’s no denying that Michigan was abysmal on offense in 2024, ranking in the bottom five of the FBS in total offense, and above only the three service academies in passing offense.
In response, Moore fired offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell and brought in former North Carolina OC Chip Lindsey to bring some explosivity to match with the Wolverines punishing run game.
“The offense can’t be worse, folks,” Klatt said. “I mean, they were 129th in college football on offense. That was their problem, that was their issue, and if they fix that at all, some of these close losses that they had could turn into close wins.”
“They get Justice Haynes, the running back from Alabama, to go with Jordan Marshall, who they really love at running back. Jordan Marshall is a guy that they’re really high on.”
Michigan played one of the toughest schedules in all of college football this past season, with matchups against four teams which finished in the Top 10 — No. 1 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Texas and No. 10 Indiana. The Wolverines played two more games against a ranked opponents in No. 16 Illinois and No. 17 Alabama.
While the 2025 slate is far from easy, the Wolverines do get a few breaks in avoiding a couple of the top contenders in the Big Ten next year.
“They avoid Oregon and Penn State next year, and they get Ohio State in Ann Arbor,” Klatt said. “They do have a really solid trip to Oklahoma in the nonconference, and that’s another team that probably lands like 19 or 20 in the country.”
In addition to Michigan’s tough road trip to Oklahoma in Week 2, the Wolverines will also travel to Nebraska (Week 4) and USC (Week 7) in the first half of the season. However, the schedule lightens up from there before Michigan hosts Ohio State in “The Game” for the finale.
An easy schedule? Far from it. But certainly looks more manageable than the gauntlet the Wolverines ran into in 2024.
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