Michigan Football Surprisingly Fails to Make Top 10 Offseason Winners List originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Michigan Wolverines lost five games last year in what was a tough, but at times highly rewarding, first season for head coach Sherrone Moore’s team.
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The Wolverines beat all of their major rivals on the season including Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio in one of the biggest upsets in recent college football history.
Moore’s program followed its season up with a offseason that was a grand slam home run by most accounts, including the commitment of superstar QB Bryce Underwood, the nation’s number one overall prospect and a hometown kid, and a transfer portal class that included ready-made players like Justice Haynes and Donaven McCulley.
On Monday, a list of the college football offseason’s top 10 winners was released by Athlon Sports’ Steve Lassan, and the Wolverines found themselves on the outside looking in.
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Big Ten rivals Illinois, Oregon, and Penn State made Lassan’s ’10 Teams That Won College Football’s Offseason’ list, with the Wolverines relegated to the second tier.
“The Wolverines closed 2024 by beating Ohio State and Alabama,” Lassan said. “That momentum carried over onto the recruiting trail with coach Sherrone Moore landing five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood.”
Michigan was joined by Texas, Indiana, Florida State and others in the second rung with the Ohio State Buckeyes surprisingly left off of Lassan’s list.
The list was released on a day when a Michigan coach gave an update on the practice status of DB Zeke Berry.
The Wolverines’ fans were blasted by ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum, who revealed he has a bone to pick with Big Ten fans.
Michigan’s newcomers, including Underwood and several others, will have a chance to show what they can do on Aug. 30 against New Mexico followed by a trip to Oklahoma to take on John Mateer and the Sooners the following week.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
