By Mark Pszonak
Nobody can ever take away Michigan’s National Championship. It brought immeasurable joy and relief to the fans in and around Ann Arbor. However, less than a year later, the Wolverines are in position to have one of the worst post-title seasons in a century after a loss at Illinois on Saturday.
Michigan came into the 2024 season with plenty of hope and a #9 ranking. Now they sit at 4-3 and still have games on the horizon against undefeated Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana. With no viable passing game, the realistic chances of the Wolverines winning any of those three games is slim to none. Which leaves two winnable home games remaining against Michigan State and Northwestern.
So, with a 6-6 finish the likely best-case scenario, how would that measure up with the worst post-title seasons ever?
The most recent flop came from LSU, which followed up their 2019 title with a 5-5 COVID season in 2020 after the departure of Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Patrick Queen, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and 10 others to the NFL Draft, which set a record for players drafted in one season.
This is when it gets embarrassing.
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Before LSU, the last team to have a .500 or worse finish after winning the title was Michigan State in 1967 when the Spartans finished 3-7. And before that it was Notre Dame in 1950 with a 4-4-1 finish. So, in the last 74 years, three schools have experienced the negativity of becoming an average team less than a year after reaching the pinnacle.
The reality of the situation is sobering for Michigan fans. And the reality is that eyes need to immediately be placed towards the future.
It will be interesting to see how aggressive head coach Sherrone Moore is in the portal during the upcoming winter window. But a quick look at the roster says that they need to do more than they’ve done in recent years. A quarterback is desperately needed, explosiveness at wide receiver is needed and then a few holes will likely need to be plugged after departures to the NFL Draft.
Coach Moore will get a understandable pass this season, but what he does in the next two months, through the portal and high school signings, will go a long way in determining his chances of being in Ann Arbor on a long-term basis.
These are all positions that no many envisioned Michigan being in 10 months ago. Everyone at Michigan enjoyed the highest of highs earlier this year, but now it has quickly become time to face the reality of the situation.
This will be one of worst post-title seasons ever.
