It's August. Around four weeks away from the Wolverines' first game against New Mexico and then a quick turnaround game at Oklahoma. The end is near.
The summer was flooded with the transfer portal, player signings, and anticipation around Bryce Underwood and what could be. It has been a summer of new beginnings for Michigan football. Some of the summer was slightly clouded by the NCAA and the possibility of sanctions due to the Conor Stalions scandal that never seems to end. Nonetheless, the Wolverines have a new future upon them.
The first game against the New Mexico Lobos will either be a convincing win or a nail-biter. There is normally no in-between when it comes to Michigan games. A loss would be nothing short of shocking, but less likely. Michigan's season will, in some ways, technically start when it meets the Oklahoma Sooners the next week. What happens following that game will be the epicenter of the Wolverines' season.
The current college landscape leaves much to be desired. There are plenty of teams transitioning. Plenty of coaches' futures could hang in the balance week to week. Cue Texas. Cue Alabama. Cue Indiana. There isn't a clear-cut favorite to win the national championship. Ohio State fans can say otherwise, but they know the reality. The Wolverines have their chance to make an impression on college football and the rankings. Will they live up to the challenge?
Will Michigan football meet the hype?
There is a general preseason buzz around the Wolverines but to be honest, the games could not come any sooner. Wolverine fans anticipate the future of Underwood and what he can be at quarterback. They anticipate a new offensive system that doesn't cause them to bang their heads into a proverbial wall. They anticipate a world in which the dominance of the Big Ten continues and that last year was just an anomaly.
The games could not come any sooner for the naysayers of Michigan football, either. They wonder if the suspension of Sherrone Moore will have any effect on the team. They wonder if the Wolverines still don't have the right guy at quarterback. Or if they have any real chance in a Big Ten conference dominated by reasonable competition. And of course, there are plenty of people who hope for Michigan to fall flat on its face because they deem anyone associated with the program a cheater.
With the summer nearing the end, all the words spoken and written about the Wolverines ultimately culminate in this one thing: the 2025-2026 season is upon us, and Michigan football has plenty to prove.
They call them transition years but in the college football...there aren't transitions. Just a season full of elation or...a season filled with regret.