College football analyst predicts when Michigan football will compete for national title

Michigan football true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood opened a lot of eyes after the 18-year-old turned in an excellent performance in his first college start in a 34-17 victory against New Mexico last Saturday. How he responds and reacts to a tough environment and a very talented Oklahoma defense this Saturday night remains to be seen, but regardless, the Wolverines' future seems to be in good hands with Underwood under center as long as head coach Sherrone Moore and his staff continue to build quality pieces around him.

When speaking with Fox's Colin Cowherd, On3 college football analyst Josh Pate said he was extremely impressed with Underwood's first start and that he is looking at the 2025 Michigan team with the long term in mind.

While many think it's still a stretch the Wolverines find themselves in the national title picture this season, Pate says he expects the Maize and Blue to be right in the thick of that conversation in 2026.

"Better than I thought he would be," Pate said on his impression of the true freshman's first start against the Lobos. "And I had high expectations for him. You get to see high high school stuff and (you say) 'ok, it's high school.' "He gets to Michigan. I know it was New Mexico, 99% of the country didn't watch the game. I don't care if it was air. There is a way that superstars look. It does not take mountains and mountains, games and games of film. You just look at it and you say, 'whoa.' "Like you (Colin) said, it's not a guarantee he's going to light the world on fire this week. In fact, it could overinflate him to where he tries to do too much on the road against a Brent Venables defense, which has made the Tua's (Tagovailoa) of the world look inferior. So I'm with you on the Oklahoma sort of dynamic this weekend. But long term, I'm viewing Michigan 2025 in a 2026 prism, because I think in 2026 they're right in the national championship conversation."