3 things Michigan Football must clean up to have a shot at the CFP

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The Michigan Wolverines are nine games into the 2025 season, and the second bye week of the year is here. After a pile up of injuries, it comes at the perfect time.

Michigan is 7-2 overall and 5-1 in Big Ten play. With just three weeks to go, everything is still in front of this team. The Wolverines need some help to make the Big Ten Championship, but it is still a possibility. Even if they don’t make it, they likely control their own destiny in terms of making the College Football Playoff. This season has been far from pretty, but the team could be in a much worse position at this point.

It’s not a guarantee, but if Michigan finishes 10-2 with a win over No. 1 Ohio State, that should get it into the CFP. However, a lot has to be cleaned up in order for that to happen. Let’s dive into what fixes need to happen during the bye week for the Wolverines to have a good chance at winning out.

Turnovers

A big reason why the Wolverines are 7-2 is because they have done a good job of taking care of the football. But on Saturday, we saw what happens when there are turnover issues. Bryce Underwood threw an interception and lost a fumble, both in the red zone, and the team almost lost to 2-6 Purdue.

Let’s be real — Michigan hasn’t looked great a lot of the time this year. In order to win its last three games of the year, the Wolverines need to keep controlling the controllables and taking care of the ball. If we see those same mistakes against Northwestern, Maryland and Ohio State, the Wolverines could lose all three of those games.

Focus has to be at an all-time high

Last weekend, for the first time this season, Michigan didn’t seem focused. Could the Wolverines have been sleepwalking after the rivalry win against Michigan State? Everyone is already talking about a huge game against Ohio State in a few weeks, but there are still some tricky matchups on the schedule. If Michigan gets caught looking ahead, a loss will happen before The Game.

Northwestern and Maryland won’t be easy matchups. Both have played some top tier Big Ten teams very tough, and both games are away from the Big House. The Ohio State rivalry is a 365-day rivalry, but the Wolverines need to stay focused on the task at hand in order for that showdown to be even more meaningful.

Get healthy

This isn’t really a fix because it’s largely out of everyone’s control, but getting healthy will be crucial to making a run at the CFP. Jimmy Rolder, Cole Sullivan and Rod Moore all missed the Purdue game, and Jaishawn Barham and Donaven McCulley both left the game with an injury as well. If Michigan has all those guys for the Ohio State game, it would greatly increase the chances of winning.

The Wolverines are in better shape offensively, but losing Justice Haynes is incredibly unfortunate. His injury appears to be the most serious, and it seems unlikely he comes back in just four weeks. However, Michigan is fortunate to have Jordan Marshall, who proved against the Boilermakers he can lead this offense to success. Still, getting Haynes back would be huge.

This season hasn’t been perfect, but it’s November and Michigan is still alive. Last year at this time, hope had already been gone for a long time. If the Wolverines can get healthy and play their best football down the stretch, they can win out and make the CFP.

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