Michigan went out on the road for the first time in 2026 and easily put together its worst performance of the season, losing to Minnesota, 20-14. That final score doesn’t even begin to tell the story of how badly the Wolverines were dominated.
Here’s a look at the position grades from the loss
Quarterback – D
Bryce Underwood looked pretty good last week against Iowa and even got off to a nice start in the first quarter against Minnesota, but things quickly unraveled in the final three quarters of the game, and this
ended up being one of the worst outings of his career so far.
Underwood finished the day completing 10-of-21 passes for 101 yards with two interceptions. He also ran the ball for 20 yards.
Over the next two weeks, there’s sure to be some discussion amongst fans if he should be the quarterback going forward, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem to matter who’s under center with some of the constraints in this offense, namely the play-calling and confusing usage of personnel.
Running Back – C-
It was a pretty unproductive day for the running backs, but that was in part due to the offense as a whole struggling and the offensive line once again not being able to get a good push. Savion Hiter and Jordan Marshall combined for just 59 yards on the ground on Saturday, despite the Minnesota run defense not being anything particularly special.
The lone highlight of the day from the running backs was Jordan Marshall’s touchdown in the second quarter, but even that came with a fumble as he crossed the goal line. It’s been a ho-hum season for this group so far after some high expectations entering the season.
Wide Receiver – C-
After big games from both Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan, the wide receivers were pretty quiet on Saturday, with the two combining for just seven receptions and 79 yards. No other Michigan wide receivers caught a pass against Minnesota.
Much of this can be pinned on the subpar play of Bryce Underwood and some questionable decision-making from Beck in the booth. Marsh did drop a wide-open pass in the first quarter that would’ve gone for a first down, and nobody else was able to get open to make things easier on the quarterback. It was a bad day from this group today, but this is still the least concerning position group on the offense going forward.
Tight End – C-
Michigan’s tight ends were a bit more involved today even though the passing attack as a whole was down. Hogan Hansen once again got the start, signaling that he should be the guy at this position going forward. He caught three passes for 22 yards, including a reception on the Wolverines’ opening drive. Additionally, Zack Marshall was targeted on Michigan’s final drive of the game, but he dropped the pass despite it hitting him in the chest.
Despite Hansen continuing to be a growing part of the offense, it’d have been good for someone from the tight end group to emerge in a game where the wide receivers weren’t having success.
Offensive Line – D
Michigan’s offensive line looked to have something going on its first two offensive series, but seemed to run into a wall for the final three quarters of the game. That prevented the run game from getting going at all, something that likely contributed to the offense being unable to establish much of a rhythm.
In the passing game, the Wolverines were pretty unsuccessful as well up front, allowing the Golden Gophers to get home for three sacks and allowing Bryce Underwood to get hit on a throw, causing his second interception of the game. With Andrew Sprague missing his third straight game with injury, this group could use the bye week to get right and get healthy.
Defensive Line – B-
This wasn’t the best showing from the defensive line, as the group wasn’t as disruptive as it’s shown to be at times this year. They weren’t able to sack Drake Lindsey at all but did get hurries from Nate Marshall and Benny Patterson. In the run game, the Golden Gophers were able to get 126 yards on the ground. It wasn’t the best day at the offense for this group, but the defense as a whole wasn’t to blame for Saturday’s loss.
Linebacker – A-
Even though there’s not too much praise to go around from this loss, the linebackers were by far the best position group on the field for the Wolverines on Saturday. Troy Bowles and Nathaniel Staehling stood out with really nice performances. Bowles registered nine tackles, including 1.5 for a loss, and was credited with two hurries. Staehling also had six tackles, including 1.5 for a loss, while Aisea Moa had seven tackles.
Staehling produced the team’s biggest highlight of the day, reading Minnesota’s designed pass to running back Darius Taylor perfectly and jumping in front of it before returning it for a pick-six to help put Michigan up 14-7 near the end of the first half. The lone blemish for the group was a pass interference called on Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng on a third down to extend a Minnesota drive in the third quarter.
Defensive Backs – C+
Michigan’s defensive backs were pretty busy on Saturday with some highs and lows. Smith Snowden was the most noticeable guy on the field, especially in the first half. He was beat on a back-shoulder throw to Minnesota’s Nate Jennings, but followed it up shortly thereafter with an interception, his first of the year. He was also flagged for a pass interference later in the game.
Coverage was pretty sound overall, but Minnesota did opt for many more short passes, testing the defensive backs’ tackling skills, something that didn’t seem up to snuff on Saturday and led to several plays going for extra yards.
Special Teams – D+
It was a pretty poor showing from the special teams units despite a blocked Minnesota punt in the second quarter. That was the lone highlight of the day, while Andrew Marsh muffed his second punt of the year, helping to set up a Minnesota field goal that made it 14-13. Additionally, Cam Brown wasn’t as sharp with two touchbacks, while Bryson Kuzdzal opted to return a kickoff from the goal line and was only able to bring it out to the 17-yard line.
Coaching – F
Through five weeks, the coaching staff is most to blame for the struggles that Michigan has had, due to the blatant lack of discipline and avoidable mistakes we’ve seen week after week.
Offensive Coordinator Jason Beck particularly struggled on Saturday, not making many adjustments to the game plan and personnel and not being creative enough with Bryce Underwood’s usage, something that played at least a small part in his struggles on Saturday.
The bye week comes at a great time, as the Wolverines have several adjustments to make on offense and special teams, while needing to reinforce their attention to detail.
