If there were any lingering doubts, Michigan’s 20-15 loss to No. 8 Indiana in Week 11 provided irrefutable evidence that Sherrone Moore is not the man for Michigan. His head-scratching and, frankly, unforgivable mistakes were the sole reason the Wolverines were not able to pull off the upset.
The fact that Michigan beating Indiana would have been considered an upset speaks to this program’s precipitous fall under Moore. It is his first year, and few expected Michigan to have a ton of success — no matter what its lofty preseason ranking may have suggested — given all that it lost in the offseason.
But Moore looks in over his head. He’s doing things that any coach at any level should know to avoid, and he’s coaching scared. Here’s a quick rundown of his most egregious sins against the Hoosiers:
- Down 17-3, Michigan had fourth-and-3 at Indiana’s 42-yard line to open the second half. Instead of going for it, the Wolverines punted.
- On the play after that punt, Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw an interception inside Indiana’s 10-yard line. Michigan got the ball at the seven, ran three times and then kicked a 22-yard field go to make Indiana’s two-possession lead… a two-possession lead.
- On Indiana’s final possession, the Hoosiers ran the ball with 1:35 on the clock. It took Moore more than 30 seconds to decide that he wanted to call one of his three timeouts. The Hoosiers picked up a first down and won anyway.
Outside of all that, Michigan is just hard to watch this season. There’s nothing redeeming about the Wolverines. The quarterback situation is dire. Moore insists on making the “Alex Orji run play” work, in spite of the fact that everybody in the stadium knows what’s happening.
Despite Moore’s past as an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, nothing about Michigan’s offense looks effective. The line, especially, has regressed tremendously.
Michigan put Moore in a tough position given what he inherited and, at this point, he looks like nothing more than a stopgap to the next guy.
Florida is burying itself in a hole it won’t soon dig out of
Saying that Florida should fire Billy Napier isn’t an overreaction at this point. It’s a commonly held belief everywhere except for Florida’s administrative office, apparently. Just two days after Scott Stricklin gave Napier a renewed vote of confidence, Napier’s Gators lost 49-17 against No. 5 Texas.
Somehow, the game was even more of a blowout than the final score might indicate. Sure, no one expected Florida to actually win, or come close to winning for that matter. The Gators are down to their third-string quarterback after unfortunate injuries to Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway.
That doesn’t excuse all of the other problems that plagued Florida against Texas and have plagued them all year. Let’s not mince words: the Gators looked like an FCS team.
They were slow on defense. They displayed a startling lack of effort that even Napier called out in his postgame press conference. All of this raises a legitimate question: what’s the point?
Ostensibly, Florida wants to retain Napier to hold onto a lot of the roster’s young talent from consecutive top-15 recruiting classes, including Lagway, who is an excellent player to build a team around. But Florida is sacrificing its long-term future by shying away from what needs to be done with Napier.
Sure, he’s done a good job of bringing talent to Gainesville in recent years, but the development just isn’t there. Why should we believe that Florida is magically going to turn a corner in 2025 after three years of contrary evidence?
And that talent pipeline is starting to dry up. Florida’s 2025 recruiting class ranks 51st in the 247Sports Team Composite with less than a month to go until the early signing period. Napier doesn’t have an upward trajectory to sell to prospective recruits now that he’s careening towards a third straight year without a winning record.
In similar fashion, transfers won’t be knocking Florida’s doors down if Napier is the coach in 2025, given that every rational mind will operate under the assumption that he’s one bad game away from getting the boot. By kicking the can down the road, Florida is tacking years onto what will undoubtedly be a massive rebuild. Especially since Stricklin’s job is likely also hanging in the balance, and the university doesn’t have a full-time president.
The longer they let this whole charade go on, the more damage they’re doing for whoever inherits the leftover mess.
Mario Cristobal is holding Miami back
Saturday, we learned what happens when Miami quarterback Cam Ward can’t play the hero: it’s about what you would expect from a Mario Cristobal-coached football team. Ward has saved the Hurricanes on multiple occasions this season, but his magic ran out in a 28-23 loss to Georgia Tech.
He didn’t have enough to carry a Miami team that allowed 271 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Georgia Tech rushed for almost six yards a carry, despite the fact that the Yellow Jackets very rarely attempted a forward pass.
Of course, the loss isn’t Ward’s fault at all. It falls squarely on the shoulders of Cristobal and the rest of his coaching staff, who didn’t do enough to improve the defense in conjunction with the special play that they are getting from Ward.
Miami’s defense has been a huge issue all year. Saturday was a new low. That kind of performance is unacceptable this deep in the season, especially with so much on the line.
Meltdowns and a lack of coaching adjustments are nothing new for Cristobal, though. Those have been a consistent theme throughout his career, and they will always limit his ability to take a team to the next level.
This is a direct reaction to Miami’s loss Saturday, but SMU has looked like the best team in the ACC for a while now. The Mustangs, at 5-0, are the only team left without a blemish in conference play.
They haven’t lost a game since Sept. 6, when they fell by three points against BYU — a result that looks better with each passing week as the Cougars continue their own ascent. Three of SMU’s ACC wins have come by at least 23 points, including a 48-25 demolition of a Pittsburgh team that landed at No. 18 in the first set of College Football Playoff rankings.
SMU is the only team that ranks top five in the ACC in both scoring offense (No. 2, 40.1 points per game) and scoring defense (No. 2, 21.8 ppg). Running back Brashard Smith is one of the best playmakers in the nation and quarterback Kevin Jennings is a solid leader that plays smart football and runs the offense efficiently.
The ACC is SMU’s to lose at this point, which puts it in the driver’s seat for a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Mustangs should cruise through a remaining slate that features Boston College, Virginia and California before reserving their spot in the playoff with an ACC title. Not bad for your first year with a conference.
Group of Five should get multiple playoff bids
Let’s table the debate about three-loss SEC teams making a 12-team College Football Playoff. That shouldn’t happen. This year would be a prime opportunity to give the Group of Five the recognition it deserves by rewarding it multiple bids in the playoff instead.
It’s not like that level lacks in high-level competitors. Boise State has stolen all the headlines, thanks in large part to Heisman Trophy-caliber running back Ashton Jeanty, who put on another masterful performance Saturday night with 209 yards and three touchdowns in Boise’s win against Nevada.
But Army should also get some shine. The Black Knights are 9-0 and all nine of their wins have come by at least two possessions. They’ll get a chance to make a huge statement on Nov. 23 against No. 10 Notre Dame.
Even if they lost that game — especially if it’s close — there’s a chance Army is 11-1 with an American Athletic Conference title under its belt by the time Selection Sunday rolls around. Boise State will most likely win the Mountain West and boast a 12-1 record, with its lone loss coming by three points on the road against top-ranked Oregon.
Those look like playoff-level résumés to me, especially in a 12-team field. If Army beats Notre Dame and Boise finish with the MWC chip, there’s not question that both teams should make it in. It doesn’t have to be one or the other if both are deserving.