ESPN lumps Michigan football, Ohio State, and Notre Dame into same tier for QB play

Michigan fans are excited to see the new passing attack this fall for a few different reasons. The most obvious is five-star freshman Bryce Underwood. But Sherrone Moore also hired former North Carolina OC Chip Lindsey to run his offense in Ann Arbor, and the Wolverines' passing attack can only go up -- for obvious reasons, too. Michigan had the 131st-ranked passing offense last season, with just service academies behind it. There is really only one way to go and that's up.

But with Underwood never throwing a pass in college football, and Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene missing the entire spring due to injury, ESPN isn't putting Michigan's QB situation too high. The Wolverines are in Tier 4 of ESPN's QB rankings, and Michigan is grouped in with Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Washington, who are all in Tier 4.

QB A: 82.9 QBR, 68% completions, 8.6 yards per pass, 4.4 touchdown-to-interception ratio
QB B: 66.2 QBR, 59.8% completions, 7.3 yards per pass, 1.9 touchdown-to-interception ratio

QB A is Michigan's passing rates in 2022 and 2023, largely buoyed by J.J. McCarthy. QB B is Michigan's passing every other year of the playoff era. Last season was defined by woeful QB play, but the Wolverines are betting they've found another star in Underwood, and even if he doesn't blossom immediately, Keene seems to be an upgrade from anyone they relied on in 2024.

With Lindsey running the show and improved passing from the QBs, the Michigan passing attack is bound to make leaps and bounds in 2025.