Michigan Wolverines locker room is going through a bit of a rough patch during the 2025 season. After the high of a national championship in 2023, losing their head coach, Jim Harbaugh, and a bunch of key players seems to have really thrown things out of rhythm. That instability appears to have carried over into the 2025 campaign. Moreover, Sherrone Moore has been catching a lot of criticism lately for several reasons.

The Wolverines look to be out of playoff contention after starting the season 4–2 heading into Week 8. Amid the chaos, an old player has reportedly exposed some of the team’s locker room secrets. The whispers got a jolt of fuel when former Michigan quarterback Jack Tuttle (a podcast co-host) confirmed that these divisions and frustrations are real.

On October 17, Jack Tuttle hopped onto the ‘In The Pocket with Jack Tuttle’ podcast and confirmed the rumor. “Well, I’ve heard from several people, there’s too much finger pointing going on. There’s too much it’s your fault. It’s your fault. It was a bad call. Oh well, you need to make the play. There’s too much of that going on, and it’s, quite frankly, it’s disappointing, because it’s the same thing when I was there last year. There’s too much finger pointing.”

Word around Ann Arbor, Sherrone Moore is on thin ice with the locker room. After Michigan’s tough Week 7 loss to the USC Trojans, several reports and whispers have surfaced suggesting growing tension among players.

Sources say the locker room has become divided, with frustration spilling over into shouting contests and heated exchanges after the Trojans loss. It’s not a flattering look for Moore, especially as his standing had been under the microscope.

According to Tuttle, there’s been “too much finger-pointing” among players, with blame being passed around instead of individuals owning their mistakes. The Michigan Wolverines’ performance is mediocre by the program’s championship-level standards. The team is having a hard-time trying to find its identity after winning the natty. Since then, they are 10-7 under Sherrone Moore’s regime. Now, with a 4-2 record, the team has fallen out of the Top 25 rankings, and analysts point to a number of on-field and off-field issues contributing to their struggles.

Jack Tuttle doubled down on the consequences of a broken locker room by saying, “If you have a dismembered, you know defense, and guys are all over the place, they’re not going to want to play as hard. They’re not as motivated, right? If you walk out onto the field and you don’t like the guy next to you, your chances of making that tackle are probably going to be lower because you’re not on the same page with him.”

His comments point to what might be a deeper culture problem inside the Wolverines’ locker room, something head coach Sherrone Moore will have to sort out fast if he wants to keep Michigan’s season from slipping away. Sherrone Moore’s future and locker-room presence depend on what Don Martindale does against the Washington offense.

Joel Klatt sounds the alarm on Washington’s explosive offense

On October 17, FOX analyst Joel Klatt expressed panic mode about Michigan’s defense ahead of their game against Washington. He warned defensive coordinator Wink Martindale that stopping quarterback Demond Williams Jr. wouldn’t be easy. “This guy can fly, man. He’s a bit like Kyler Murray light. Really quick, short-area burst, throws well when he’s got protection, and he’s surrounded by legit playmakers,” Klatt said.

Williams’ stats match his hype with 1628 passing yards through six games and a 74.1% completion rate. He’s already in Heisman Trophy talks and holds a unique record of throwing for 400 yards and rushing for 136 in a single game.

Klatt then pointed out that Ohio State was the only team to really slow Williams down this season, sacking him 6 times and holding him to negative rushing yards. But Michigan’s defense isn’t Ohio State’s defense. “They don’t have the length and speed in their linebacker core that Ohio State does,” Klatt explained. That means Michigan might have to adjust its defensive game plan to handle Williams, who’s proven tough to contain.

He explained the need for the Wolverines to return to the basics if they want to have a chance against Washington: “I’m talking about very foundational things. They didn’t do that against USC. They need to get back to that if they want to beat Washington.” Without improvements, Michigan’s playoff hopes could slip away.