The Michigan Wolverines sit at 7-2 on the season at the second bye week, and while things haven’t been perfect, their goals are still in front of them.
Those two blemishes on their record revealed quite
a bit about this Michigan football team, and these are the three stats through nine games in 2025 that have told the story of the season so far.
15 drops through nine games
Michigan receivers have accumulated 15 drops this season, with six from Semaj Morgan (tied for fourth-most in the country) and five from Channing Goodwin. Their inconsistencies have led to more playing time for freshman Andrew Marsh. He and veteran Donaven McCulley have been by far the most consistent options on the team, recording 51 of Michigan’s 134 completions this season.
As Michigan has attempted to split its offense more 50-50, these drops have made drastic impacts on Bryce Underwood’s success. If you adjusted those drops with his current 60.9 percent completion rate, he actually jumps to a much more respectable 67.7 percent. For a true freshman playing the competition Michigan has, that’s really impressive. In fact, J.J. McCarthy’s career average in Ann Arbor was 67.6 percent and he played with much deeper teams and better talent.
Throughout the season, you can see how accurate Underwood has been when he is in the pocket and moving with confidence. The problem is he has had five different tight ends, none who have put together back-to-back successful weeks because of injuries. On top of that, he’s lacked consistent options in the passing game as this coaching staff continues to scheme opportunities for Morgan, who continues to falter.
Everyone will point out the fireballs that Underwood throws at times, and I think that is a fair assessment — it’s not all on this receiving corps. But right now, defenses are daring the Wolverines to throw the ball. Underwood has a strong demeanor, but a lack of confidence in his options because he hasn’t been comfortable with those around him and he’s seen a ton of pressure the last couple weeks. Then, in a panic, he makes late decisions with poor footwork and way too much oomph on the ball.
That has to change moving forward. Michigan needs to take advantage of every opportunity because one drop or one misfired pass has been the difference between this team keeping drives alive. Expanding Underwood’s role is necessary for this team to reach its goals, and it has to start by being corrected in this bye week.
225.6 rushing yards per game
I think it’s fair that myself and others have questioned the identity of the offense this year. The losses to Oklahoma and USC were perfect indicators of that. The Wolverines had 146 yards on the ground in Norman, but 75 of that came on one Justice Haynes run. Against USC, Michigan has just 109 rushing yards. That’s not winning football for the way Moore would like to run his team.
But overall, this team has had a ton of success on the ground. It’s the Wolverines’ bread and butter, and since the USC loss, they have gotten back to attacking teams with their run game. They had more than 250 rushing yards the last two weeks against Michigan State and Purdue.
The return to the blue collar mentality shot them back up to a Top-10 rushing offense in the country, ranking fifth among Power 4 programs. Both Haynes and Jordan Marshall have been ridiculously efficient — Haynes averages 7.1 yards per carry, and while Marshall is further behind at 5.9 yards per carry, he’s still in the Top-50 of college football. In the last two games, Marshall has improved drastically, getting up to 7.4 yards per carry against Purdue and Michigan State.
Putting the workload on the running backs like this is what will help Michigan win games against the teams it should beat. But eventually, you run into opponents who will go all out and stack the box, daring Underwood to throw it over the top. That’s when Michigan has been burned this season. Those are the game plans they will very likely see in the final three games of the season.
17.4 points allowed per game
Wink Martindale has been under some heat, but is it really justified? Michigan is Top-15 in the country in points and yards allowed per game, and is No. 11 in scoring defense. They are within striking distance of some of the best Power 4 defenses in the country, including Texas, Oklahoma and Utah.
Admittedly, Martindale and Michigan’s defense were completely outclassed by USC. But could it also be an outlier? If you removed that game, the defense has actually allowed just 15.5 points and 281.4 yards per contest, both would move them into the Top-10 in the country in those categories.
Some may say we should go the other way too, so let’s do that. Michigan allowed 139 yards and three points to Central Michigan. That would put them at 19 points and 325 yards allowed per game. That would leave them Top-20 in points and Top-25 in yards in the country.
The defense is opportunistic, too, by forcing 16 turnovers (tied for the 14th-most in the country). They are right around the same number in turnover margin because the offense takes care of the ball. Michigan is among the best defenses in college football in basically every meaningful metric.
Are the Wolverines perfect or a truly elite like the championship-caliber defense in 2023? No, but they also have a ton of youth. Cole Sullivan, Jayden Sanders, Mason Curtis, Jo’Ziah Edmond, Dominic Nichols, Nate Marshall and Shamari Earls are all sophomores or younger. A significant portion of this defense will return in 2026, and they are already playing as a unit among the best in the sport.
There’s a lot of reason for optimism about this defense heading into the final three games, including Ohio State. That game will be their toughest test and will be indicative of how this team is remembered. Shutting down the Buckeyes and Alabama to round out the 2024 season makes fans think fondly of that defense, and a repeat performance would quickly shape the narrative back to Martindale’s favor.
