Joel Klatt defines success for Michigan Football in Sherrone Moore's Year 1

Is this good enough for the Wolverines one year removed from a national championship?

Dec 4, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt during the Michigan Wolverines game against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Conference championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan football enters the 2024 college football season as a reigning national champion for the first time in 26 years. The Wolverines have enjoyed a new golden age of the program over the past three seasons, with wins over Ohio State and Big Ten championships in all three years.

However, a new era is set to begin in Ann Arbor under head coach Sherrone Moore, who enters his first season at the helm of the program following the departure of Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers. With 13 NFL Draft picks gone from last year's national title-winning team, six more players signing as undrafted free agents and an entirely new defensive coaching staff, what should the expectation be for Michigan this fall?

That's the question Fox Sports' college football analyst Joel Klatt attempted to answer in a recent episode of his podcast, The Joel Klatt Show.

"I think this one is as difficult as any, as I'm sitting here trying to define success for Michigan in 2024," Klatt said. "If you ask an ardent Michigan fan they'd say, 'Nothing's changed, Joel. We're going to go out there, we're going to beat Ohio State, we're gonna win the Big Ten, we're going to go to the playoffs and we're going to be right there for a national championship.'"

Dec 4, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt interviews Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Conference championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Klatt, however, isn't setting the bar quite that high in Year 1 under Moore.

"I believe with all the distractions this offseason about the NCAA stuff, everything with Jim Harbaugh, all the newness of coordinators and players, I'm going to say that a really good, successful season is making the College Football Playoff," he said. "To me, if Michigan goes to the College Football Playoff, that's a really good year for Sherrone Moore."

If Michigan failed to win the Big Ten championship and earn the conference's automatic bid into the CFP, the Wolverines could host a playoff game if they were one of the four highest-ranked at-large selections. In that scenario, Klatt said he "would certainly not pick against them with the way they have played the last couple years." He also defined another way he believed Michigan fans would call the 2024 season a success.

"By the way, you beat Ohio State again and don't go to the playoff, and I think those fans are like, 'Yeah, I'll take it.' I think that they would take it," he said.

Nov 25, 2023; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord (6) is hit by Michigan Wolverines defensive end Jaylen Harrell (32) as he throws an interception during the second half of the NCAA football game at Michigan Stadium. Ohio State lost 30-24. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Klatt detailed what gives him pause about the Wolverines heading into 2024, which includes the vast turnover on the coaching staff and roster, an increased strength of schedule and a lack of proven depth beneath several talented individual players.

"18 new starters," he said. "They have to replace their head coach, and their offensive coordinator, and their defensive coordinator. They're going to play three of the top four teams in the AP poll and in my preseason poll — Texas, Oregon and Ohio State.

"This is why I'm just going to pump the brakes a little bit in terms of defining a successful season for them. At Michigan, and admittedly so, they will be the first ones to admit this, they are a program that develops. So, they're going to take players that might not have the stars, even though they've done a nice job on the recruiting trail, but they're not sitting in the Top 5 in the country in recruiting...They've got a lot of talent at the top end. I do not think they have the depth that they had a year ago, which was a huge strength for them."

Michigan acting head coach and offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore watches a replay during the first half against Ohio State at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michigan's success over the past three seasons has recalibrated what many thought the Wolverines were capable of in the modern era of college football, but Klatt reminded his audience it wasn't long ago that some believed there was a ceiling on the program.

"Michigan fans, if you're being honest with yourselves, go back to COVID and the question wasn't, 'Will we win a national championship again?' It was, 'Will we ever beat Ohio State again?' That's fair," he said. "That's completely fair, and then they did three times in a row, and went undefeated, beat Nick Saban in the Rose Bowl and won a national championship. I think that the honeymoon phase is ongoing."

Although Klatt has lowered his own expectations for the program heading into this season, he pushed for and praised Michigan's decision to promote Moore from within as Harbaugh's replacement. Klatt believes the program remains in a good spot despite all the new faces in Ann Arbor.

"Sherrone Moore is going to lean on the exact same model that Jim Harbaugh used to go win a national championship, which is, go get the right guys in his program and develop them into players that they feel like they can be physically dominant with," he said. "That's what their blueprint is, which means they generally need to be a veteran team to go out there and win."

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