Michigan Football ranks 9th in Josh Pate’s Future Program Rankings

What are the prospects for the Michigan football team for the next three years after winning the national championship in 2023 and subsequently losing head coach Jim Harbaugh and much of the coaching staff?

That’s the question Josh Pate, host of the 247Sports college football podcast, tried to answer in a recent segment of his show. Late kick with Josh Patein which he ranked the 15 best programs in the sport based on their near future. The criteria for Pate’s rankings include on-field results, player acquisition, resource pool and culture.

Michigan is the ninth-best college football program according to Pate’s projection for the next three years. Here are the full rankings:

1.) Georgia
2.) Alabama
3.) Ohio State
4.) Oregon
5.) Texas
6.) State of Florida
7.) Notre-Dame
8.) Oklahoma
9.) Michigan
10.) Texas A&M
11.) LSU
12.) Tennessee
13.) Miami
14.) Clemson
15.) Penn State

During the segment, Pate noted that Michigan and Clemson were the two most difficult programs to rank. While the Wolverines seem low for a team that just won a national championship, Pate cited turnover at head coach and in the staff as the reason he ranked them No. 9.

“Michigan just won a national championship and it’s a very — not unprecedented, but borderline unprecedented situation because there’s maximum turnover,” Pate said. “A head coach leaves, the entire team leaves, except for Sherrone Moore, who is moving up to head coach. I have tremendous respect for that guy and I have tremendous respect for the Michigan culture and the way they do things. You can say whatever you want off the field — I have tremendous respect for the way this program does its job.”

Although Michigan hasn’t recruited at the same level as Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas and some of the other programs ranked above them, Pate acknowledged that the Wolverines didn’t need top-five recruiting classes to become one of the top programs in the sport over the past three seasons.

“It never needed to be a top-three recruiting program,” he said. “It would be nice if it was, but it never needed to be. So the intangibles that make Michigan football what it is are not going to go away, and if people are counting on that just going away because there was a coaching change, I think those people are going to be a little disappointed.”

The only reason Michigan is pushed down in Pate’s ranking is the unknown surrounding Moore as head coach and the constant turnover in personnel.

“There are enough unknowns around the program that I have to admit you have to get some distance,” he said. “It’s just difficult to categorize them at the moment. You need proof of product.”

The two most significant coaching changes this offseason have been at Alabama and Michigan. Pate was very fond of former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer, who replaced Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the transition from Jim Harbaugh to Moore at UM goes smoothly.

“It could be that Michigan is playing at a high level halfway through this season and the first thing we say is, ‘Wow, they didn’t miss a beat,'” he said. “If that’s the case, I’d be happy to be wrong and move them up a couple spots. Michigan football means something to me, though. Not just where they’re at, not just what they did last year — but what they stand for. It’s going to be a tremendous pride to be up there passing the baton, receiving it and carrying it the way it should be. They’re probably not sleeping much right now, this staff, because it’s a tremendous amount of pressure to wear the ‘Block M’ on your chest as the boss when you’re Sherrone Moore. Dude, that means a lot. This program means a lot. What Michigan is means a lot. That’s not going away. To me, that’s a top-10 level program for the next three years, too.”

The full segment of Late Kick with Josh Pate referenced in this article can be viewed below:

– For more coverage of the Michigan Wolverines, visit Michigan Wolverines On SI –

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