Will Michigan or Ohio State have better QB play next season? ESPN ranked the QB rooms of U-M and OSU and put them in the same tier:
Michigan’s quarterback room will look a lot different this season, as will the QB room of their biggest rival, Ohio State .
Michigan made key additions to bolster the quarterback position in true freshman Bryce Underwood and Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene. And with Will Howard now in the NFL, Ohio State has a quarterback competition brewing between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz.
Per ESPN, Michigan and Ohio State have quarterback rooms in the same tier. ESPN ranked all 136 FBS quarterback situations ahead of the 2025 season. Out of 20 tiers, Michigan and Ohio State are in Tier 4 (The Young Pups) along with Notre Dame and Washington.
Per ESPN
Michigan (Bryce Underwood, Mikey Keene)
Notre Dame (CJ Carr, Kenny Minchey)
Ohio State (Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz)
Washington (Demond Williams Jr., Kai Horton)
“Four schools with playoff hopes turn to young QBs with elite recruiting backgrounds. Not long ago, this wouldn’t seem like a wild premise, but in the era of the transfer portal, the notion that programs with as much talent as Notre Dame or Ohio State are putting their fates into the hands of QBs with no on-field experience feels akin to handing your teenager, who has his learner’s permit, the keys to your new Ferrari.”
Michigan plays two of the three other teams in this tier in 2025 — vs Washington on Oct. 18 and vs Ohio State on Nov 29. Demond Williams is the favorite to win Washington’s starting job, but Ohio State’s QB competition is still up in the air, according to Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch. Julian Sayin has passed for 81 yards through one season of college ball while Lincoln Kienholz has passed for 111 yards.
“Sayin has a good arm and a quick release. He’s still the favorite to win the job. But Kienholz looks like real competition,” Rabinowitz said.
As far as Michigan’s quarterback competition goes, head coach Sherrone Moore has indicated it will be decided in fall camp. Mikey Keene didn’t participate in spring practices until the final week and didn’t appear in the spring game, while Underwood gained valuable experience and more reps with Keene being sidelined.
While Underwood is the QB of the future at Michigan, Keene has something that Underwood doesn’t — lots of collegiate experience, including 35 starts with a 22-13 record. Per ESPN, no returning QB had a higher adjusted completion percentage last season than Keene at 76.6%. Whether it winds up being Underwood or Keene, the expectation is for Michigan’s quarterback play to be much better than it was in ‘24 when Davis Warren, Alex Orji, and Jack Tuttle all started for the Wolverines.
The quarterback position often makes or breaks a team, and Michigan has a realistic chance to have better quarterback play than the Buckeyes this season. If that ends up being the case, it’ll mean Michigan could be well on its way to a fifth consecutive win over Ohio State.