Michigan Wolverines 2025 College Football Preview
Posted August 4, 2025
2024 Recap
Record – 8-5
ATS – 6-7
The Wolverines started strong in defense of their NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP and stood at 4-1 after slithering past USC and Minnesota but they couldn’t sustain the momentum and dropped back-to-back games to Washington and Illinois. They kept battling the rest of the way but were seriously limited by the horrific QB situation. The Wolverines played phenomenal defense in the ReliaQuest bowl and took down ROLL TIDE (!) as yuuuge underdogs to finish the year at 8-5. Not bad for a rebuilding year!
Michigan Wolverines 2025 Outlook
OFFENSE
The Michigan offense was a disgusting operation to witness LY as whilst the RB room did their best to keep the Wolverines very competitive (Mullings, Edwards; 1,537, 16 TD) the quarterback room was a full on GONG SHOW (#131 passing offense, 12-13 TD to INT). There’s lots of excitement in Ann Arbor heading into 2025 as the Wolverines are primed to enter the Bryce Underwood era at QB. Underwood was one of the most highly-recruited QB prodigies in recent memory and it’ll be interesting to see how he performs as a true freshman. Michigan picked up former Fresno St and UCF veteran QB Mikey Keene as a backup option and that was a very smart move considering what they had to roll with in 2024. The RB room needs to replace Mullings and Edwards but they did a decent job backfilling by adding RB Justice Haynes from ROLL TIDE and note that RB Jordan Marshall was MVP of the ReliaQuest Bowl LY (23-100, 4.3). The WR/TE weaponry looks very underwhelming, particularly after losing all-Universe TE Colston Loveland to the first round (!) of the NFL Draft (Bears). Donoven McCulley (6-5, 200, Indiana) has the potential for a big season as does TE Hogan Hansen, but we don’t anticipate Michigan having big numbers thru the air. The offensive line is CHOCK-FULL of talented players as per usual but it may take a bit of time for the unit to gel.
DEFENSE
The Wolverines were stout on defense once again LY (19.9 PPG, #19) and they held the opposition to fewer than 100 YPG on the ground for the third (!) straight season (91 YPG, #5). Michigan looks poised to showcase another top-notch defense this year and it all starts up front with a DL loaded with talented specimens including EDGE Derrick Moore and DT Rayshaun Benny who’s one of the best interior linemen in the Big Ten. The LB corps is loaded with the return of #1 tackler Ernest Hausmann and #2 tackler Jaishawn Barham, and the talented secondary is led by star safety Rod Moore who missed LY due to injury. A couple of other doods worth watching are EDGE TJ Guy (5.5 sacks) and safety Brandyn Hillman who does a great job vs the run. Michigan has booked 30+ sacks in each of the L4Y and we expect them to be fine in the PENETRATION department.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Michigan has been fantastic on special teams over the L4Y finishing #10 in the Phil Steele rankings LY and in the top-three in each of the previous three seasons (#1 in 2021). The Wolverines look strong in this regard once again with the return of elite PK Dominic Zvada (21/22 FG LY!), PR Semaj Morgan (11.1), KR Jordan Marshall (25.0), and the addition of punter Luke Bauer from Missouri.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – The Wolverines have a pair of FREE SQUARES in non-conference action (New Mexico, Central Michigan) but for the first time since the REAGAN ADMINISTRATION **** they’ve got a challenge early on with a trip to Oklahoma on the books. The Big Ten slate is advantageous as they avoid Penn St and Oregon, and they get to beat Ohio St at home this year instead of in Columbus. Just kidding. Not really. Also note the soft schedule between the trip to USC on Oct 11th and the regular season finale vs the Buckeyes.
**** Fact check – You betcha.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Oklahoma (Sept 6)
Yes, we might be drinking a bit too much of the Oklahoma KOOL-AID but this is a tough spot for a true freshman QB to play his 2nd game. Also note that Michigan was just 1-3 SU on the road in 2024.
Season Win Total
Market consensus – August 4
Over 8.5 -180
Under 8.5 +150
MEGALOCKS says:
No leanage.
The defense is still solid but it may take a while for the offense to come around. This is a tough call as eight wins seems like the floor, but we’ll take a pass for now.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Michigan has a sparkling record of 28-2 (!) at home since the start of the 2021 season (6-2 LY).
The Wolverines are just 16-22 ATS (42%) in non-conference affairs over the L10Y.
Two of the most noteworthy stops on the Ann Arbor Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour are the Communist Hall of Fame where current and former politicians are honored for their achievements in crushing the human spirit, as well as the Celebration of Cheating Museum where you can discover how Michigan stays competitive in the Big Ten, and occasionally wins National Championships thanks to tomfoolery and dishonesty. ****
**** Fact check – Need confirmation of the bus tour stops from the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce, but it seems believable.
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
Michigan will almost certainly be must-watch TV this season as they boast an excellent defense and one of most talented true freshman quarterback recruits we’ve seen in a long time. The Wolverines managed to go 8-5 last year with a bunch of misfits and hobos at QB so it seems to reason that the floor is very high for this team in 2025. We’re not sure they have enough offense to make a run at the Big Ten Championship but we’ll call for nine wins and give them an outside shot of making the College Football Playoff.
LET’S GO BLUE !