Usually, I would post these reactions on Sundays. But I felt as though I needed a couple of days to really digest what happened on Saturday night. The one word I can use to describe it; concerning. I would’ve never predicted what happened against Western Michigan; I don’t think anyone would’ve. So, let’s go ahead and break down the madness.
1. the miracle
With 3:04 in the 4th quarter, Michigan found itself trailing 9-7 to the Broncos and the ball at their own 7-yard line. A Jordan Marshall run for 15 yards was followed by another carry of 1 yard that was called back with a 5-yard penalty for illegal formation. The next play was a 2nd and 14 from the Michigan 18-yard line, that resulted in Bryce Underwood scrambling for a first down to 31. Or so we thought. After review it was revealed that Underwood fumbled the ball before he was dragged down. It seemed all but sealed that Western Michigan had come into Michigan stadium and handed the Wolverines one of their most shocking losses in program history. But once again, the defense held strong. After Western Michigan nearly coughed up the ball themselves on 3rd and 2, they settled for a 33-yard FG.
35 seconds. 12-7. Michigan gets the ball back on their own 25 after a touchback.
2 straight incompletions by Underwood made it 3rd and 10. On the following play, he connected with JJ Buchanan down the middle for a 28-yard gain to the WMU 47-yard line. From there…chaos. The Michigan offense no-huddled to the line of scrimmage where Underwood spiked the ball to stop the clock with 9 seconds remaining. Michigan then lined up in a hail mary package with Andrew Marsh, Buchanan, Mason Bonner, and Travis Johnson. Underwood preceded to throw the ball out of the back of the endzone and the clock showed 0:00. Western Michigan stormed the field from the sidelines and Michigan fans began pouring into the aisles. Until Big Ten Official Jim Wharrie jumped on the mic and announced that 1 second would be added onto the game clock.
3rd and 10 from the WMU 47 with 0:01 second left. Any hope of a playoff run would be essentially squandered with this loss. Michigan ran out the same formation and personnel. Underwood snapped the ball, and the Broncos rushed 4. After about 5 seconds, Underwood let it fly from his own 40-yard line. When the ball came down, JJ Buchanan had saved Michigan’s season with a sprawling catch over about 5 Western Michigan defenders. The Big House erupted. Fans stormed the field and chaos ensued. Michigan had saved itself from one of the most embarrassing losses in recent memory. The controversial ending had fallen in Michigan’s favor. But left the country in scrutiny, arguing whether or not the singular second should’ve been added back on the game clock. In the end, the Big Ten released a statement and thorough explanation of why the second was added. The MAC accepted the statement mere hours later.
2. The Good
Man, JJ Buchanan has arrived. The sophomore transfer from Utah compiled 6 receptions for 126 yards and one massive touchdown. This gives Michigan a serious weapon at wide receiver not named Andrew Marsh. Buchanan showed that he is going to be a matchup nightmare for plenty of Big Ten teams. I’m not willing to give anything on offense a “good” rating.
I would love to give some credit to this defense. They were on the field for 40:08 of game time and didn’t give up a touchdown. Our offense put them in some bad spots, and they surely bent, but never broke. Western Michigan was stifled in the run game with only 2.9 yards per carry. The Broncos ran 67 plays and only managed 221 total yards. Some names that stood out to me:
- Troy Bowles: 12 total tackles and 2 tackles for loss
- Chris Bracy: 9 total tackles
- Dom Nichols: 9 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 2.5 tackles for loss
- Smith Snowden: 4 solo tackles and 1 pass deflection
I thought the secondary and linebacker room looked a lot better than I thought they would. Granted, Western Michigan doesn’t exactly have a prolific passing attack, but they can certainly run the ball. I’m excited to see how well they can play against a talented offense like Oklahoma.
3. The Bad
I could write about this for days. I love Bryce Underwood; I have hope that he will be a good quarterback. But he NEEDS to turn a corner. I saw the same mistakes that I saw last year. After hearing for 8 months about how sharp he has looked and people saying he looks like an NFL quarterback in practice, it is just disappointing. I know it’s one game, but that is an inferior defense and a team that he should be putting up good numbers against. Underwood finished 12/22, 170 passing yards (108 on the first drive and hail mary), 1 TD, 1 INT, and 1 lost fumble. Underwood was bailed out from having another interception on his record after he tried to force a first down on a 3rd and 10. The interception was reviewed and it was ruled a WMU defender tipped the ball while standing out of bounds which ruled the play dead. Overall, I just want more out of Underwood. Oklahoma is going to be a huge test for Underwood and this offense.
The rushing attack was also a fairly large disappointment. Jordan Marshall and new 5-star freshman Savion Hiter had loads of hype riding on their coattails coming into the 2026 season. What did we get in week 1?
- Marshall: 11 carries for 47 yards and 0 TD
- Hiter: 5 carries for 15 yards and 0 TD
The two aforementioned backs combined for 3.7 YPC. I think half of the blame also belongs to the offensive line. I thought the pass protection was fairly decent. But I felt as though there were plenty of times when multiple people were lost on run protections. I do also want to give credit to the Western Michigan defense, I thought they played out of their minds and caused a decent amount of havoc for Michigan’s offense.
Next, I didn’t see much creativity from offensive coordinator Jason Beck on Saturday night. Whether it was because he was saving plays for next week’s matchup or because he had a bad night, I was dissatisfied. The only part of it that I was happy to see was the Bryce Underwood designed runs. I believe that Underwood is best when he is out of the pocket whether that be with his feet or throwing on the rollout. I’m hoping that Beck draws up more plays for Underwood to perform out of the pocket against Oklahoma.
Lastly, I thought there were several players who were non-factors that I was expecting a little more out of. John Henry Daley accumulated 3 tackles and didn’t really get on the QB all night. Andrew Marsh only had 2 catches for 15 yards. Savion Hiter only had 15 rushing yards, but saw more limited playing time than I thought he would. These are nit picks but I’m hoping to see these guys perform better against Oklahoma.
4. What’s Next?
I trust Kyle Whittingham. I think he was the correct choice for head coach. I’m excited to see how he adapts next week. Oklahoma is going to be a HUGE test. They played Michigan’s Week 3 opponent, UTEP, in Week 1 and destroyed them 51-0. John Mateer shined going 11/17 for 225 yards with 3 TD and 0 turnovers. Oklahoma’s defense held UTEP to 198 total yards on 56 plays. If Michigan can find a way to win this game it would catapult them into the top 10 range and likely put a lot the controversial week 1 discussions to bed.
I need better quarterback play from Bryce Underwood. Michigan needs to limit turnovers and make an effort to turn over Oklahoma a few times as well. The run game also has to get going. Marshall and Hiter should be able to hit a few more big plays if the offensive line continues to improve. This is going to be a long few days, but if Michigan can pull of a win on saturday, it’s all going to be worth it.
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