Paul Finebaum Claims Sherrone Moore Still Riding Jim Harbaugh’s Coattails, Snubs Michigan for Playoffs

Saying that things are rough for Sherrone Moore would be an understatement. With the NCAA handing Jim Harbaugh a 4-year show-cause penalty, all eyes are on Moore now. Hell, Chad Withrow was quite vocal about the entire cheating scandal back on OutKick Hot Mic. “They’re so damn arrogant about their cheating,” Chad had said. While the draft report does say that Moore was deleting texts, there still hasn’t been any action taken against him. Even Paul Finebaum mentioned back on August 5th that the NCAA is powerless to hand out any solid verdict to Moore cause they will lose a case against the lawyers who are going to defend Michigan’s new HC.

However, with the AP preseason polls out, the Wolverines stand tall and rank 9 and Finebaum is not happy about it. On August 13th on Get Up by ESPN, Finebaum makes it clear that Michigan does not belong there and that Sherrone Moore is still riding on the wave that Jim Harbaugh had created last season. “Too high. They are living off of last year,” Finebaum mentioned. Not only that, Finebaum goes on to say that Michigan would probably not even make the playoffs this year. Even Joel Klatt back on August 12th clearly mentioned that the Wolverines are no more the public favorites. Oregon and Ohio State took that spot up. Still, on Get Up, we see Heather Dinich take quite a different angle to the entire thing. “I think Michigan is right where they’re supposed to be, which is a borderline top 10 team,” Dinich countered.

While it is true that with all the scandals revolving around the Wolverines, they have lost their crowd-favorite spot, we still cannot deny that they have a solid roster. Finebaum could be correct about Michigan not making the playoffs, but we gotta remember that the team still has talents like Will Johnson and Colston Loveland. Johnson’s performance against the Huskies earned him the attention of the Defensive MVP last year. That player was also marked as the No.1 player on EA College Football 2025. Loveland, on the other hand, is a solid blocker standing at 6’5″. He also made a major name for himself back in 2023, with around 45 passes caught and 4 touchdowns. Not only that, Moore has also made major progress when it comes down to Michigan’s recruitment.

The new 4-star CB

On3 revealed massive news on X back on August 10th. Apparently, Moore had finally ended the recruitment dry spell by snatching up 4-star CB Jayden Sanders. On3 regards the kid as the No.27 and considers him a solid cornerback. Sanders is also marked as the No.202 national prospect. This does give Wolverine fans some relief.

Back in 2023, when Moore had taken over the offensive line of the team, Michigan was in the dirt with a 2-4 record. He managed to take the team out of that spot and hence was chosen as the best replacement for Jim Harbaugh. Much like Deion Sanders and his Buffs, and Kalen DeBoer and the Tides, this year will also act as a proving ground for Sherrone Moore. We just gotta wait and watch how he delivers.