The Michigan Wolverines capped off one of the most dominant performances in college football history in 2023, finishing at a perfect 15-0 and capturing the CFP National Championship. While most Michigan fans are still enjoying that incredible season, a big part of the focus has now shifted to how Michigan plans to continue that success moving forward.
Making things even more interesting, the Michigan Football program looks significantly different today than it did one month ago. Sherrone Moore has taken over as head coach, Jim Harbaugh is in Los Angeles (with a good portion of his staff from Ann Arbor), and 20 key contributors have declared for the NFL Draft. In many ways, it feels like the Michigan Football program is teetering between “reload” and “rebuild”, and how Moore’s staff ultimately takes shape will likely have a big impact on which direction things go.
With that being said, history has been very kind to teams that have won a national championship in the College Football Playoff era. Here’s a look at how all of the national championship teams have fared the year after winning it all (CFP era).
▪️2015, OSU: 12-1
▪️2016, Alabama: 14-1 (lost in NC)
▪️2017, Clemson: 12-2 (lost in SF)
▪️2018, Alabama: 14-1 (lost in NC)
▪️2019, Clemson: 14-1 (lost in NC)
▪️2020, LSU: 5-5*
▪️2021, Alabama: 13-2 (lost in NC)
▪️2022, Georgia: 15-0 (won NC)
▪️2023, Georgia: 13-1
▪️2024, Michigan: ?
*=covid season
NOTE:
▪️6 of 9 teams made the CFP the following season
▪️5 of 9 teams made the National Championship game in back-to-back seasons
▪️1 of 9 teams won the National Championship game in back-to-back seasons
Of course, none of those nine teams listed above have had to deal with the many factors that are facing Michigan heading into 2024. None of those nine teams have lost their head coach after winning it all, and none have had to deal with significant conference realignment the following season. It’s also worth noting that the Big Ten is doing away with divisions, and the College Football Playoff is expanding from four teams to twelve teams in 2024. Put simply, Michigan’s challenge of repeating its success from 2023 seems like a very tall order given the current set of circumstances.
