A win is a win. That’s the mentality Michigan Wolverines fans should have after an ugly 21-16 home victory over the Purdue Boilermakers. Through nine games last year, Sherrone Moore’s Wolverines were 5-4.
Having as young of a team as he does in 2025, being in the hunt for a College Football Playoff appearance with three weeks to go is impressive.
At the same time, that was freaking Purdue. A squad that is winless in the conference and has given up more than 500 yards multiple times this season. There is no way the final score should have been that close, and Michigan was a three-touchdown favorite. It was one of those games that should have never been in question, but it instead felt like the Wolverines could lose until the last whistle.
It continues to be a polarizing season for Moore and this Michigan team, and by the end of the month we’ll either be viewing this game as a fluke or be highlighting it as a point of concern heading into 2026. Here are a few of things we learned from this game that could impact the Wolverines the rest of the way.
Something must start clicking for Bryce Underwood
I am a firm believer in Bryce Underwood. The fact I even have to say that is a joke, and anyone who says otherwise is not someone you should be listening to. He was the No. 1 recruit in America for a reason, has shown flashes of being a superstar, and everything he has struggled with is coachable. He is an athletic freak and has the potential to be one of the greatest Wolverines of all time. The success of this program and his success goes beyond this year; every snap, every throw he gets is a building block for the future, good or bad.
That said, reaching the College Football Playoffs is still attainable, but the Bryce Underwood of the last two games will not take them there. Call it the coaching, call it poor receiving, call it Underwood being inaccurate — something is not working in this passing game, and right now, Underwood is not leading this team to wins.
In the last two weeks, Underwood has completed 54 percent of his passes for 231 yards and an interception. Again, not all of it is on him, but that’s not going to cut it in the final quarter of the season. He has to take the next step now if Michigan is going to win out, beat Ohio State at home and earn a spot in the playoffs.
These final three weeks will be telling. Michigan goes on the road against teams that are better than Michigan State and Purdue. Northwestern is on the brink of being bowl-eligible and will be playing at Wrigley Field. It only lost to Nebraska by a touchdown in Lincoln and will face USC on Friday. That’s 100 percent a trap game, and the Wolverines can’t afford for Underwood to not perform.
Then comes a tough contest at Maryland, which also sits in that middle of the pack in the conference. That’s a longer trip for the Wolverines and is the week before Ohio State, a classic trap game scenario. Looking at similar opponents, the Terps have performed well, beating Wisconsin in Madison and losing to Washington and Nebraska at home by a combined seven points.
On the road, those are two good teams fighting for that pivotal sixth win and hungry to beat a Michigan team still seen as near the top of the Big Ten. And that’s all before playing perhaps the best defense in the country in The Game.
The closing of the 2024 season with wins over Ohio State and Alabama shaped Michigan’s expectations for 2025. How Underwood finishes down the stretch here is crucial. It’s going to help not just this year, but also start to form perspectives that will impact recruiting and the transfer portal heading into 2026. With so much on the line, the time is now for things to start clicking for Underwood.
Justice Haynes may have played his last snaps at Michigan
I hate to continue to sound like a downer, but seeing running back Justice Haynes in a boot on a scooter at the top of the broadcast was jarring. Now he will reportedly get surgery, and you have to think that might mean he misses the rest of the season. At a minimum, he won’t be fully healthy for the Ohio State game.
Haynes has an NFL future ahead of him, and it’s likely coming in the spring. If I’m him, I seriously question coming back if I’m not 100 percent for games that are meaningless. It’s leveraging his future for the short term.
The hope should be Sherrone Moore has instilled the same importance on The Game as years past. But Haynes isn’t homegrown, and while tape against Ohio State would be important, he already has good tape and a good evaluation from scouts heading into the offseason.
I would suspect Haynes sits out a bowl game unless it is in the playoffs. So even if he does play against Ohio State, we likely won’t see him again after that. It’s a really tough blow for the Wolverines, and hopefully he will be back sooner than that and I’m blowing this out of proportion.
Everyone should also be extremely thankful that Jordan Marshall is a Wolverine. He has picked up the pace and hasn’t missed a beat filling. Keeping him fresh and healthy is key heading into the season finale, amplifying the importance of Underwood’s play even further.
The bye week couldn’t come at a better time
Exhale. Michigan’s 7-2. The sky is not falling. Moore and this coaching staff have two weeks to prepare for Northwestern. Underwood gets another week in practice where he can focus on his footwork and gain chemistry with his receivers.
The Wolverines can get healthy. Cole Sullivan, Rod Moore, Jaishawn Barham, Evan Link, Jimmy Rolder, Donaven McCulley, seemingly all of the tight ends, and many others have been banged up or missed the Purdue game. This next three-game stretch may be the most difficult this season, and the Wolverines get the chance to get healthy and recalibrate before heading into it after two subpar performances.
There is so much to like about this team, and so many key players are so young. The talent is apparent across the board, it’s just about getting everyone on the same page and getting things to start clicking. No matter how ugly it has been, this team still has a chance to achieve every one of its goals and continue to build towards potential championship-caliber teams in 2026 and 2027. That feels a long way away right now, but every week that goes by is another opportunity for this team to reach that potential.
