ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Sometimes players are the last ones to give up on a dream, even when the answer is obvious to everyone else.

With two losses, Michigan had faint hopes of winning the rest of its games and sneaking into the College Football Playoff. After losing at Illinois, the Wolverines had to acknowledge reality: Their biggest goals are off the table.

“You’re talking playoffs, I’m assuming, right?” tight end Colston Loveland said. “Yeah, that’s out of the picture, however that works.”

Bragging rights and bowl eligibility will be the main things at stake when Michigan plays Michigan State on Saturday, with both teams 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten. No one is giving up on the season — not publicly, anyway — but with five games remaining, fixing problems for the future takes precedence over fixing problems in the present.

Here are five things Michigan should do now that its CFP hopes are dead.

Finalize a portal plan

Last December, Michigan was getting ready for the Rose Bowl and couldn’t go all-in with pursuing players in the transfer portal. The Wolverines won’t have that excuse this time around. Michigan needs to have a plan in place so it can move quickly when the transfer portal opens Dec. 9.

In previous years, Michigan could afford to be selective in the portal. Not this time. Michigan needs a quarterback, multiple wide receivers, a plug-and-play offensive lineman or two and help at all three levels of the defense. With so many needs, it will be important to prioritize and allocate NIL funding for maximum impact.

Landing a Big Ten-caliber starting quarterback, either from the Group of 5 or another Power 4 program, is an absolute must. But it’s not just the quarterback: Running backs Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings are seniors, Loveland is a potential first-round pick and Michigan’s top wide receiver, Semaj Morgan, has 106 yards through seven games. Oh, and the pass protection has been a problem all season, too.

Indiana is living, breathing proof that it’s possible to flip a big chunk of the roster in one offseason and contend right away. That’s a different situation, as Curt Cignetti had players from James Madison ready to join him in Bloomington. Michigan needs to put its time and resources into scouting the portal and finding the players who can contribute right away.

Finish strong with the Class of 2025

Michigan took a big step in this direction by landing a commitment from five-star offensive tackle Andrew Babalola earlier this week. Babalola was one of the top uncommitted players left on the board and arguably the most important recruit on Michigan’s radar for 2025. It’s hard to overstate the significance of his commitment, which showed that recruits still believe in Michigan despite the downturn in 2024.

The Wolverines are No. 14 in the 247Sports Composite rankings and ninth in average player rating. Though the number of uncommitted prospects is dwindling, Michigan has a few targets still on the board, including linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, a top-150 prospect from IMG Academy. This is a strong class that can get even stronger if Michigan closes well.

The arrival of flip season means Michigan needs to hold on to the players who are drawing interest from other programs and identify prospects currently committed to other schools who might be flippable. There’s been speculation in recent days that Michigan could take another run at the No. 1 player in the class, Belleville (Mich.) quarterback Bryce Underwood. Is that realistic? Who knows. Underwood has been committed to LSU since January, and comments from the Belleville program didn’t suggest Michigan was particularly close the first time around. Something big would have to change for Michigan to get back in the mix.

Davis, Michigan’s blue-chip quarterback recruit from the Class of 2024, hasn’t played a snap during his freshman season, even with Michigan desperate for help at quarterback. Davis Warren, Alex Orji and Jack Tuttle have all started, and the Wolverines rank 127th in pass efficiency rating and 129th (last among Power 4 teams) in passing yards per game. There’s no reason to throw Davis into the fire and jeopardize his development for a shot at playing in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, but that doesn’t rule out getting him on the field at some point before the end of the season.

The priority is to have Davis as prepared as possible to compete for the starting job in 2025. The quarterback position needs a total overhaul, and Davis has to be part of that, whether he’s starting or backing up a player from the portal. Anything Michigan can do to get him ready without burning his redshirt or putting him in a bad situation will be beneficial.

The obvious question is whether playing quarterback for Michigan this season is, by definition, a bad situation. The Wolverines have yet to play a game that they controlled in the fourth quarter, and with the possible exception of a home game against Northwestern, it’s hard to see that happening the rest of the season. If nothing else, playing in a bowl game could be a low-stakes opportunity to get Davis some live action heading into the offseason.

GO DEEPER

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Find out who’s ready on defense

Will Johnson is questionable this week after leaving the Illinois game with an injury. Even if he makes a quick recovery, there are only so many snaps left in the season. Johnson, a potential top-10 draft pick, has to be smart about his future, as do Michigan’s other draft prospects.

Michigan is likely to lose multiple defensive starters to the NFL Draft, and it’s in everybody’s interest to spend the next few weeks evaluating younger players who could be on the two-deep next season. That doesn’t mean Michigan’s starters should pack it in, but the Wolverines shouldn’t ride Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant and Josaiah Stewart into the ground, either. The smart move is to pick some spots where younger players can test themselves without leaving the defense exposed.

Michigan has already started doing that. Freshman Mason Curtis played 19 snaps at safety in place of Makari Paige against Illinois, according to TruMedia, and freshman Jo’Ziah Edmond played six snaps at cornerback. That was the third game for both players, meaning redshirt decisions will come into play soon. Another freshman to keep an eye on is edge rusher Dominic Nichols, who has played in four games and could be needed for a bigger role next year.

Depending on draft decisions, Michigan’s 2025 defense could go through a transition similar to the one the offense is going through now, which is a scary thought based on how the season has gone. Developing young players on defense has to be a priority the rest of the season.

Evaluate the coaching staff

Moore was in a tough spot when putting together his first staff. The coaching change happened late in the cycle, and Jim Harbaugh took a bigger chunk of the staff than expected. Moore, a first-time head coach, wasn’t working with a deep pool of candidates and had to assemble a staff on the fly.

Once the season ends, Michigan will need to look at how the individual parts fit together. Michigan might need to tinker a bit on defense, but the Wolverines made a big commitment to Wink Martindale and don’t need a wholesale change of direction. The offense is broken and needs to be fixed. Moore will have to decide how deep the changes need to go.

It’s hard to imagine Michigan abandoning the identity that has served the program so well the past three years. Knowing Moore, it seems more likely that Michigan will double down on it. At minimum, the passing game needs a fresh set of eyes and some new ideas, because what Michigan’s doing right now isn’t working. Head coaches only get so many chances to get these things right, and Moore struck out on the first attempt. It’s time to accept that reality and figure out Michigan can do better on the second try.

(Top photo of Jadyn Davis:  Jaime Crawford / Getty Images)