Michigan's Sherrone Moore could see further adjustments to suspension that favor Wolverines

Details continue to emerge regarding the punishment handed out by the NCAA to the Michigan Wolverines. Most of the college football world was upset that Michigan is "only" facing up to $30 million or so in fines due to the sign-stealing scandal that stemmed from Jim Harbaugh's reign and Connor Stalion's actions. While four individuals received a total of 25 years in show causes, there's not much in terms of real pain for the Wolverines moving forward.

Things could get even easier for current head coach Sherrone Moore. Moore will miss two games this season after Michigan proactively self-imposed a suspension, where they picked Week 3 and Week 4 matchups for Moore to be on the sideline. The NCAA added one additional game to that suspension, which will be served in 2026.

However, ESPN's Pete Thamel added some specifics that are still confusing about this process. Fans want to know why Moore's punishment spans two years and rewards the program for keeping him on the sidelines in Week 1 and 2 this fall against New Mexico and Oklahoma, respectively. Instead he's in line to miss Week 1 against Western Michigan in 2026.

Here's how Thamel explained it on X:

"Many have asked why Sherrone Moore’s suspension spans into the first game of 2026, instead of all three games coming this year. I'm told this was the COI’s decision, not a preference or request of Moore.

The explanation given is that Moore received a two-year show cause penalty as part of his punishment, and the COI determined that having one of the games in the second year of the show cause was appropriate.

This is all confusing, in part because Moore and Michigan self-imposed two games in 2025, which will be Game 3 and Game 4 of this season, Central Michigan and at Nebraska. Moore can still appeal the third game in 2026, and a decision on if to do that is upcoming."

Thus, amazingly, Moore could opt to appeal the third-game suspension and his two-year show cause. While the show cause matters little unless Michigan fires him, the Wolverines' decision to sacrifice Moore for two games they expect to win worked perfectly. And it'll be an even sweeter victory if Moore is able to coach every game in 2026.