After a 9-4 season, the Michigan Wolverines did not make the cut in college football analyst JD PicKell's list for 2027. On his podcast, he laid out his post-spring top 12 national championship contenders, where the Wolverines were nowhere to be found.

"I think there are probably right now 12 teams that could legitimately push for a national championship, and it's my 1 through 12," he said on the May 19th episode.

In his rankings, Georgia is at No.1, Ohio State at No.2, followed by Oregon at No.3, Miami at No.4, Notre Dame at No.5, with Texas and Indiana at No.6, and No. 7, respectively. Michigan could not make it to the strong contenders list, while PicKell did not place Kyle Whittingham's squad in the dark horse list as well.

The dark horse territory includes programs like Texas Tech at No.8, Oklahoma at No. 9, Texas A&M at No.10, LSU at 11, and Ole Miss at No.12.

PicKell was clear about where the line sits. His top seven are the strongest true contenders. After that comes dark horse territory, where he places teams with talent but more question marks heading into the season. Michigan did not make either group.

The last time Michigan won a National Championship was in the 2023 season, when Jim Harbaugh was the head coach, and J.J.McCarthy was the starter.

But after the championship season, the Wolverines' performance dipped to 8-5 in 2024 and 9-4 last year. Amidst this, the program underwent a huge change after losing former head coach Sherrone Moore.

What Michigan Needs to Get Into the Conversation

Pickell's criteria for his top 12 were consistent throughout. A quarterback who can take over a game and dominate in the trenches, offensive and defensive lines, controlling games physically. Those are the two things he kept coming back to when drawing the line between contenders and everyone else.

Michigan's situation fits squarely in the question mark category on both fronts. Quarterback Bryce Underwood is still unproven after a mixed freshman season.

He completed only 9 of 24 passes for 142 yards and no touchdowns against the Oklahoma Sooners, while struggling even more versus the Ohio State Buckeyes with 63 passing yards, one interception, and no touchdowns.

ESPN analyst Greg McElroy said earlier this offseason that Michigan's entire ceiling in 2026 will be determined by Underwood's performance.

"The biggest question for Michigan this year is can Bryce Underwood make a sophomore leap under a new coach, new coordinator, and a completely new offensive system? That's a real question," he said.

The Michigan Wolverines football defense ended the year ranked 23rd in total defense.

What do you think about Michigan being left out of JD PicKell's top 12 national championship contenders? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar