Head coach Ryan Day was riding high after the Buckeyes comfortably defeated Michigan in Week 14. With the win, he preserved his unbeaten record and ended his losing streak to the Wolverines. On the other side, the loss may prove to be the final straw for Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore. Not only did his team fall to its archrival, but the defeat also ended its Big Ten championship hopes.

ESPN analyst Josh Pate believes that, beyond losing The Game, the lack of results may hurt his position at Ann Arbor, especially considering how Curt Cignetti has fared at Indiana.

“The Cignetti curse is real, by the way, with anyone who’s asking for patience. I mean, you got a guy come in the door at Indiana and light the world on fire immediately, and no one has patience for you anymore at Michigan to take several years to build a winner. Is that fair? Probably not. Is it reality? Yes, it is,” Pate said on the November 30th episode of his show.

Since taking over as the head coach in 2024, Moore’s greatest achievement has been extending Michigan’s winning streak over Ohio State. Last year, his side beat the Buckeyes 13-10 in Columbus, a victory that preceded a huge brawl. And with the Week 14 clash this season, Moore lost his biggest claim to fame. Under him, the Wolverines haven’t been able to contend for the Big Ten championship.

Last season, they finished with an 8-5 record, and this year, they ended at 9-3. The concern for fans is that all three losses came against major opponents: Ohio State, USC, and Oklahoma. Moore took over a championship-winning team. His supporters may argue that Michigan has been in transition since. You just have to look at their relatively inexperienced O-line against Ohio State. Moreover, he had a freshman QB this season.

But these excuses may not fly for long. Suppose they start the next season on a poor note; Moore could face an exit similar to what happened to James Franklin at Penn State or Billy Napier at Florida. What makes it even more frustrating for a Michigan fan is that their arch-rival may go back-to-back this year.

Meanwhile, Curt Cignetti took over as Indiana’s head coach in 2024 and has led the Hoosiers to back-to-back double-digit win seasons. He posted an 11-2 record in his first year and followed it with a 12-0 campaign, finishing at the top of the Big Ten. After transforming Indiana into one of the conference’s best programs, Cignetti was rewarded with an eight-year contract worth $11.6 million annually, totaling $93 million.

Frustrations are at an all-time high in Ann Arbor, and even booster Dave Portnoy showed his irritation after this past weekend’s edition of The Game.

Sherrone Moore’s time could be done as Michigan’s head coach

Michigan fans were not the only ones complaining after Week 14. Michigan booster Dave Portnoy took to X to express his frustration and how a change was much needed at the Wolverines camp.

“It hurts to say it, but Ohio State was the better team today. The last 2 years, we’ve needed them to have a total meltdown to beat them. It’s time for Michigan to get back in the lab. And if Ohio State wins the Natty this year, I will recognize it. Why? Because it’s the Michigan man thing to do,” Portnoy’s X post read.

For a program that has enjoyed success in college football, the past two years have undoubtedly been difficult to swallow. You know things are bad when even Dave Portnoy admits Ohio State is the better team. The hard truth has been especially tough on him and was made worse when his yard was vandalized after The Game, with one of the signs that read, “Ryan Day lives here rent-free.”