Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia grades Michigan football after the No. 18 Wolverines' 20-19 loss to No. 17 Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 26 in Week 4 of the 2026 college football season at Michigan Stadium.
Offense: B-
The good aspects were obvious. Bryce Underwood threw for a career-high 276 yards, including two touchdowns to JJ Buchanan. Both Buchanan and Andrew Marsh had more than 100 receiving yards, the first such U-M duo since Ronnie Bell and Roman Wilson in December 2022. The running game, which has been slowed, looked a bit better, with Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter each running for more than 50 yards against a stout Iowa front.
But the issues, were equally as obvious. Twice Michigan got in the red zone and came away with no points – in the second quarter, and then again in the third. If Michigan gets just field goals on the two drives deep in Iowa territory, the Hawkeyes' late drive wouldn't have mattered. Likewise, a brutal conversion rate on third and fourth downs – 5-for-14 – proved detrimental.
"We drove the ball well, we had more offensive yards than them, but we couldn't finish in the end zone," offensive lineman Evan Link said. "We got to finish those drives better, and ... I think that's what lost us this game today."
Defense: C
For three quarters, U-M defenders earned an "A." The defense hadn't allowed any points, and just 129 yards of total offense, over the first 45 minutes. But an inability to get off the field late was the story of the game.
Iowa went on two touchdown drives in the final 16:19 of the game, for a total of 166 yards. Both drives were aided by somewhat flukey situations. The first came when DJ Vonnahme came in from out of bounds to haul in a 21-yard reception after his teammate deflected the ball, setting up a 16-yard TD.
The second saw Addison Ostrenga grab a 29-yard pass that he tipped in the air to himself and hauled in over Rod Moore with two seconds to play. Iowa appeared as if it was going to spike the ball with the clock set to wind when the ball was set, but U-M's John Henry Daley was down with an injury behind the play and the officials called a timeout. That allowed the Hawkeyes one final snap which ended with another 16-yard touchdown strike.
In all, Iowa QB Hank Brown racked up 142 passing yards in the final 15 minutes after having just 85 in the first three quarters.
Special teams: D+
For all the bad bounces, U-M wouldn't have been in a position to lose the game had Iowa not returned a 99-yard touchdown on a kickoff to answer Michigan's first score of the game. Those were Iowa's only points for the first 45:58.
Twice, Iowa was able to pin U-M inside its 5 to start possessions. With that, a touchdown and 150 total return yards, it made up for what the Hawkeyes were unable to do on offense for much of the afternoon.
Cam Brown had just one punt that went 50 yards and pinned Iowa inside the 20, but ironically it came on Iowa's game-winning touchdown drive. The highlight of the unit was a 41-yard Trey Butkowski field goal, but the damage was already done.
Coaching: C-
There were questions in every unit. Why did offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who called a nice game for the most part, opt to run the ball three times with 2:33 left, rather than passing for a first down to seal the win.
On defense, why go with press-man coverage on the final play? On special teams, how do you completely miss Braeden Jackson on his TD?
But the most concerning issue, again, was penalties.
Michigan was flagged eight times for 75 yards, including a critical 15-yard late hit call on Zeke Berry in the final minutes after Iowa's third-and-14 pass had fallen to the ground. But even before that, U-M appeared to convert two separate third downs, only to be called back for a false start (JJ Buchanan) and holding (Jake Guarnera). U-M didn't convert the second try on either occasion.
Once again, Michigan lost the turnover battle, too. That's the third time in four games. A game against Iowa requires a team to play clean and crisp, something the Wolverines haven't done this season. This time, it cost them.
"Bottom line is we were penalized too much again today," Whittingham said. "it's excessive and we've got to do something about it. It was a couple of really costly ones. Particularly on that last drive ... the [other] thing — and I've been saying it for a few weeks now — that we haven't been doing a good enough job is just getting takeaways on defense.
"We got zero today and ended up minus-one in the turnover margin."
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Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football vs Iowa grades: Lots of blame to go around
