Mike Germanese
Author
The Start of the college football season is here, and with it, the anticipation of just how good Team 146 is going to be. After a disappointing season on the field a year ago, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore used up any leeway he earned from the 2023 national championship run. For Moore, it’s simple to win and win often. FanDuel has the Wolverines over/under wins for the 2025 season set at 9.5, but anything short of a 10-win season with a spot in the College Football Playoff would seem like a disappointment once again. Can Michigan turn around the offense, support the defense, and actually be a functioning unit in 2025?
After the 2024 season, Michigan moved on from Kirk Campbell and moved to a more experienced OC in Chip Lindsey. Lindsey’s job is simple: fix one of the worst offenses in the country. The question is, can Lindsey answer the call and put the Wolverines’ offense into a position to produce on the field?
In 2024, Michigan had zero ability to throw the ball with any consistency and used three quarterbacks throughout the season, in an attempt to find a spark. It was obvious after the spring game in 2024 that Michigan had a QB problem, yet Moore elected to go with the guy he had in the room, a decision that came back to haunt him. Michigan, understanding the lack of talent, went out and grabbed the number one QB in the country, Bryce Underwood, along with transfers Mikey Keene and Jake Garcia.
All signs point to Underwood winning the starting job, with reports that Bryce has been receiving most of the snaps with the first-team offense in practice. At only 18 and a true freshman, is Bryce ready to show he is as advertised? Will Underwood be able to be a Trevor Lawrence-type freshman QB, becoming a game-changer right out of the gate? It’s honestly unfair to expect that out of a true freshman, but with the financial resources Michigan used to get Underwood, it comes with the territory.
Underwood has all the intangibles you want in a QB: size, strength, athletic ability, and the arm talent to be good right away. But like any freshman QB, growing pains are expected. It will come down to Lindsey minimizing mistakes while still scheming to allow for Underwood’s dynamic play-making abilities. The good news for Michigan, Lindsey has already shown his ability to develop a QB, Drake Maye credits Lindsey in making him a first-round NFL pick out of North Carolina. If Lindsey and Underwood can match the lofty expectations, there should be no reason Michigan’s name isn’t called on CFP selection Sunday.
In 2024, Michigan WRs did little to help their QB, creating limited separation in their routes. While you can debate if it was the WRs or the QBs holding Michigan back from completing a forward pass, 2025 will have to look completely different if Michigan is going to make the playoffs. In 2024, if you remove Colston Loveland, the only productive target last year, the WR room combined for 1096 total yards on 134 receptions and 7 touchdowns. In comparison, Ohio State freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith alone had 76 receptions for 1315 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Michigan looks to have improved talent in the room with transfers Donaven McCulley (Indiana)and Anthony Simpson (UMass). True freshman Andrew Marsh, who ranked 82 nationally and was the ninth-best WR in the 2025 class, brings some additional excitement to the WR room. McCulley comes to Michigan after only playing in two games for Indiana a year ago, but looks to have taken over as a WR1 and will be Underwood’s main target. Lindsey will need McCulley to produce like an older, more experienced version of his 2023 season. That season, he had 48 receptions for 644 yards and 6 touchdowns for the Hoosiers.
Michigan’s two main returning WRs, Fredrick Moore and Semaj Morgan, have to show massive improvements if the Wolverines are going to have a functioning passing game in 2025. A year ago Morgan had 27 receptions for 139 yards and 1 TD, while Moore had 11 receptions accounting for 128 yards and a TD. Moore and Morgan were invisible during long stretches of games last season, but both have the ability to make big plays for the Wolverines. If Lindsey can turn the room from being a liability to an asset, the Michigan offense could be a problem to deal with in 2025.
Michigan 2025 goals: beat Ohio State, win the Big Ten, and play for a national championship. If they are going to do that, both groups will need to live up to the offseason hype. If they do and the defense is what we expect it to be, Michigan should make its way back to the 12-team college football playoffs.
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