Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan football makes list of top three underrated teams for 2025 season

Originally posted on Michigan Wolverines on SI
By Jerred Johnson | Last updated May 24, 2025 1:13 PM ET

Michigan football has a ton of questions moving into the 2025 season. Are the wide receivers good enough to implement a balanced offensive game plan? Will Bryce Underwood live up to the hype and adjust to the college game quickly? Is this defense going to be as good as rumors and analysts are saying?

College Football Alerts recently shared their top three over and underrated teams heading into the season. Michigan came in at number three on the underrated. When you think about this team, a ton of players got good reps in big games at the end of last season due to injuries and upperclassmen sitting out. All they did was beat the future National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes and follow that up by beating an Alabama Crimson Tide team that had spent weeks claiming they were a playoff team.

Underrated and overrated teams this college football season per 247 Sports pic.twitter.com/Po0sFqHNUD
— College Football Alerts  (@CFBAlerts_) May 23, 2025

I tend to agree that Michigan is probably criminally underrated and almost an afterthought in the Big Ten. With Oregon and Ohio State getting all the attention, the Wolverines are flying under the radar. That is almost perfect for a team that will have a just-turned-18-year-old kid under center, most likely, when the season starts. Two things can help a new and inexperienced quarterback excel: a great running game and an elite defense.

Underwood has both of those with this team. Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall are going to absolutely wear out defensive lines this season. They are both strong, fast, and able to punish people. The defense is ranked as high as 3rd in the country in some preseason analytics. They will not give up a ton of yards or points. That takes a ton of pressure off Underwood. There is a lot to like about this Michigan team; now, they just have to go execute and shock everyone.

This article first appeared on Michigan Wolverines on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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