Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia grades Michigan football after the Wolverines' 13-12 win over Western Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 5, to open the 2026 season at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
Offense: D-
Michigan football opened with an 75-yard touchdown drive off its opening script (in six plays), covering 5 minutes and 20 seconds. It ended with a 47-yard touchdown drive, decidedly off-script, that covered 35 seconds (or 36, if you don't believe the Big Ten's explanation). That's 122 yards. Over the other 54 minutes, the Wolverines had just 154 yards against a MAC opponent. It was unacceptable. Those middle eight drives featured two turnovers, six punts and no drives more
than 30 yards.
The rushing game never got going, between QB Bryce Underwood's nine carries for 47 yards and RB Jordan Marshall's 11 carries for 44. The passing game, outside of the final drive that had 75 yards, was equally as bad. Underwood went 10-for-16 for 95 yards and an interception prior to the final 35 seconds. He could've had two more picks, but for some U-M's friendly plays. JJ Buchanan was the bright spot, catching six passes for 126 yards, but again, 75 of that – on two completions – came in the final 35 seconds.
"We just stopped executing," coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We stopped controlling the line of scrimmage. They had a lot of movement with their defense. If you want to be successful against movement, you got to hit it. You just can't have too much penetration at times, and we did not do a good job picking up movement in the run game, and that was one of our biggest deficiencies."
Defense: B-
Defensive coordinator Jay Hill's group also didn't allow Western Michigan to get into the end zone. That's good. Dom Nichols was a terror off the edge all night, racking up nine tackles, including 2½ for loss (with 1½ sacks). Linebacker Troy Bowles also impressed, around the ball all night as he finished with a team-high 12 tackles, including two for loss.
And yet, U-M didn't generate a turnover. The Wolverines' goal under Hill is to hold teams under 100 rushing yards; WMU had 138. And there were times – most of the second half, actually – the Wolverines couldn't get off the field. WMU converted eight of 18 third-down attempts while holding the ball for a mind-boggling 40:08. The defense was the best unit on the night, but that's saying very little in this game.
Special teams: D+
There wasn't much work here, but what there was, wasn't great. Cam Brown did the most work: six punts averaging 44.7 yards, with one of more than 50 yards and two that pinned the Broncos inside their 20. But the return game ... Bryson Kuzdzal returned one kickoff that he probably should've allowed to go for a touchback and got 18 yards instead of 25, and the punt game was a disaster. Andrew Marsh had a 10-yard punt return but muffed the other for a turnover. U-M forced a turnover on downs on the possession, but it flipped the field early in the game.
Coaching: F
Michigan's so-called improved discipline brought nine penalties for 80 yards, in almost every way – two illegal formations, a too many men (on offense, a true rarity), a defensive pass interference, a late hit out of bounds, three holding calls and an offsides – for twice as many penalty yards as Western (80-40).
That's not to mention the schemes, which, after the the first drive, lacked rhythm, much less logic. An example: The short out-route with 12 seconds left in the first half on which Underwood was picked off to set up a WMU field goal. The best case scenario was a gain of 6 that took 5 seconds off the clock. The worst-case scenario – a game-flipping pick-six – nearly happened.
"The reality is, we have got a lot to fix, a lot of things to address," Whittingham said. "We didn't run the ball well on offense. We lost the turnover margin, three-zip. We didn't make enough first downs, and you know all this was squarely on my shoulders. There's no doubt about that, and I got to do a better job preparing this football team."
[ MUST WATCH: Make "Hail Yes!" your go-to Wolverines podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live on YouTube. ]
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 grades vs WMU: Hail Mary can't cover 4 quarters of stink
