Gavin Montijo ‘26, Sports Editor
After a slow start to the season for the University of Michigan Football team, they rode a five game win streak into the biggest game of the season against top-ranked Ohio State University. With a win, the Wolverines would have strengthened their bid to make the College Football Playoffs for the first time since 2023, when they won the National Championship. Fans were cautiously optimistic, as Michigan had won the last four meetings against Ohio State.
The weeks leading up to the Ohio State game showed the potential but also the weaknesses among players and the team. Against the University of Washington, Michigan forced multiple turnovers as the defense dominated; the following week, they beat rival, Michigan State University, where junior running back Justice Haynes performed on the ground, contributing two touchdowns and 152 yards in what ended up being his last game of the year due to a season-ending injury sustained during the game.
In the following two games against below .500 opponents, Purdue and Northwestern, the team struggled with turnovers on offense. Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood struggled in both games, throwing three interceptions across the two game span, and having a costly fumble in the Northwestern game. They narrowly won the Purdue game 21-16 as sophomore running back Jordan Marshall led the way by running for three touchdowns. In the Northwestern game, true-freshman receiver Andrew Marsh was the one of the sole bright spots in the team’s performance. He had 189 yards on 12 receptions, along with Marshall having two touchdowns and 142 yards but getting injured during the game. They won 25-22 due to a game winning field goal by senior kicker Dominic Zvada who struggled during the game, missing his previous two field goal attempts. The defense came up clutch to make multiple stops in the final ten minutes of the game and third string running back Bryson Kuzdzal got the ball on offense at the end of the fourth quarter to get into field goal range to win the game, which he did. Underwood struggled after a hot start, and the offense had five total turnovers and was not trusted at all to complete the game, making Michigan’s run game the only option to put points on the board.
The next game, they faced the University of Maryland, winning 45-20, highlighted by a three touchdown performance from Kuzdzal in place of the injured Marshall. This set up a win-and-in game against Ohio State to make the playoffs. With a win, they would have had a strong 10-2 record, including a win over the number one team in the nation. The Wolverines started off the game against Ohio State hot, with a long run from Marshall that set up Zvada for a field goal to take the lead 3-0. The following OSU drive, cornerback Jyaire Hill intercepted quarterback and Heisman contender for the Buckeyes, Julian Sayin, and the Wolverines looked poised to make it five straight. The Michigan offense stalled on the following drive, and Zvada made it 6-0. The interception woke the Buckeyes up, as they went on a 27-3 run, dominating the Wolverines’ defense. Head coach Sherrone Moore recently said, “I think our defense starts with the guys up front.” Well, the guys up front underperformed as the defense line got no pressure the entire game and ended the day with zero sacks.
Offensively, Underwood struggled, passing for only 63 yards with an interception in the fourth quarter to seal the game for the Buckeyes. Marshall got hurt again and Kuzdzal struggled against the nation’s number one defense. The playcalling was questionable, as they only attempted five passes in the first half and only started to up the pass game after it was too late. Underwood was not productive enough with the limited throws he did have. Marsh, who was one of the best receivers in the country during the second half of the season, was held to zero receptions or yards on the day.
Many have questioned the playcalling by the first year offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, who in previous seasons with other schools had led high-flying offensives centered around a dangerous passing attack, but during this season he refused to trust his quarterback to pass the ball and instead stayed with their run game even if it was struggling. He also had trouble getting the ball to his talented offensive weapons like Marsh. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has also been criticized due to his high blitzing defense that leaves the middle of the field open for quarterbacks to attack. Martindale has made Michigan’s defense one of the highest blitz rating teams in the country, which has been good in previous years with a talented defensive line, but with the step back in talent this year, they struggled at times with getting pressure. In their three regular season losses to the University of Oklahoma, University of Southern California, and Ohio State, they combined for one total sack. Choices by Sherrone Moore have been under fire by fans, especially for the development of Underwood as many believe he is under utilizing the number one player in the class of 2025. Underwood is very talented but has struggled to make some passes and key decisions during games this year. This could be due to the lack of a quarterback coach and pass game coordinator as Moore never hired one in the off season.
The Wolverines will be playing in a bowl game against the University of Texas, and if they win, it would put them at 10 wins. Though fans might disagree, Moore said, “That’ll be a huge success for this team to get ten wins with such a young team.” When looking ahead to next season, 2026 is believed to be a make or break year for the Wolverines core, as Underwood could decide to enter the transfer portal with another bad year from this offense and under utilizing his abilities. Moore could be fired as well if he struggles to develop the talented freshman and keeps getting involved in scandals stemming from the Harbaugh era. Though he is a talented recruiter, he will need to have one of his best recruiting classes to rebuild this defensive line and get Underwood more talented receivers around him. If Michigan is yet again blown out by Ohio State next year, it might mean the end to the Moore era at Michigan.
Lyon Life 