Michigan football ended Nick Saban‘s legendary coaching career in last year’s College Football Playoff semifinal. It appears the former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach has not forgotten the 27-20 loss.
The seven-time national champion was the only member of the College GameDay crew that did not have Michigan making the postseason in an expanded 12-team field.
Saban predicted three Big Ten programs to make the postseason: Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State. He did not have the Wolverines in his first two teams out, projecting them to finish no better than fourth in the conference.
Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee also picked three Big Ten teams to reach the College Football Playoff, however, both had Michigan replacing Penn State.
Meanwhile, Kirk Herbstreit is projecting even more success for the conference, projecting all four programs will reach the postseason.
Check out the College GameDay crew’s College Football Playoff picks below:
Nick Saban praises Sherrone Moore
While Nick Saban did not have the Michigan Wolverines reaching the postseason, he did offer praise to Sherrone Moore. The future College Football Hall of Famer predicted that the first-time head coach could be a Coach of the Year candidate, stating:
“Sherrone Moore will be the Coach of the Year if he solves all the problems that he has at Michigan, based on what he has to replace and what he has to do,” Saban told SI. “I think he’s very capable and I think he’s done a great job there.”
Despite entering the season as defending national champions, the Wolverines were ranked ninth in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll. That marks the lowest ranking of any defending champion since Auburn began the 2011 season ranked 23rd.
Michigan had 13 players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft – the fourth-most by one program in a single season since the draft was reduced to seven rounds in 1994. Head coach Jim Harbaugh also made the move to the NFL. Moore will have his hands full as he looks to lead the program to back-to-back titles.
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