College Football

CFB Top 50, #14: 2025 Michigan Wolverines

by
Bracket Yard
August 9, 2025

With two weeks until college football, at number 14, we find the 2025 Michigan Wolverines, the next team on the CFB Top 50 countdown.

In 2024, Michigan was a tale of two teams. The Wolverines had a great defense, led by a former pro coordinator, Wink Martindale (not the late game show host), but one of the worst offenses in FBS. In spite of that, they still found a way to win eight games, including their bowl, under their new, post-Harbaugh coach. Let’s put it this way: It could have gone a lot worse.

Now, Michigan is thinking they might be able to put something sustainable together in 2025. Are they right?

2025 Michigan Wolverines Basic Facts

Head Coach: Sherrone Moore (2nd season)

2025 Conference: Big Ten

2024 Record: 8-5 (5-4), 7th in Big Ten

Final Resolution of Last Season: Won ReliaQuest Bowl

2024 Scoring Offensive Rank: 113th (22.0)

2024 Scoring Defensive Rank: 19th (19.9)

Michigan Key Additions and Subtractions

IN – Bryce Underwood, quarterback. Five-star (national #1) recruit from Michigan.

IN – Andrew Babalola, offensive lineman. Five-star (national #10) recruit from Kansas.

OUT – Mason Graham, defensive tackle. Drafted by Cleveland in 1st round of 2025 Draft.

OUT – Colston Loveland, tight end. Drafted by Chicago in 1st round of 2025 Draft.

OUT – Kenneth Grant, defensive tackle. Drafted by Miami in 1st round of 2025 Draft.

Best Game on the Schedule in 2025

November 29 vs. Ohio State. Do I even have to explain why?

2025 Michigan Wolverines: Outlook

Michigan is most likely going to roll into its 2025 season with a true freshman quarterback, Bryce Underwood. The thing is, he’s a really good true freshman. As in, 247Sports says he’s the overall best 2025 recruit in the country. His predecessor, Davis Warren, is still on the team, but an injury sustained in last year’s bowl game makes him unavailable, at least at the start of this season. Underwood looks like the guy, and he’ll get thrown into the rigors of their schedule almost immediately.

In spite of the fact that Warren played a serviceable game in 2024 and they had a first-rounder on the field like Colston Loveland, Michigan’s offense was one of the worst in FBS. However, their defense was one of the best. You will see top tackler Ernest Hausmann back at linebacker this season, but you will miss Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, both of whom followed Loveland out the door in the 1st round this spring. It can be tough to maintain that level of competitiveness, but this was clearly an offseason where Michigan had reason to get excited about waking up the offense.

In spite of that low-ranked offense, they won eight games and beat Ohio State and Alabama last year. Needless to say, it was a tough schedule. Now that it appears their five-star quarterback is ready to roll, it’s normal to expect some growing pains, but the Wolverines have nowhere to go but up on offense, and we think they will.