2. Michigan's injuries are becoming a thorn in their side
Jaishawn Barham and Donaven McCulley went to the locker during the game on Saturday. Even Jordan Marshall limped off the turf for a few plays. Marshall said in the on-field interview following the expiration of the clock that his team needed him and that he can feel the pain tomorrow, so he toughed it out like an ironman would. For the other two Wolverines, their injuries didn't look as bad, but the decision makers at Michigan are very cautious when it comes to players getting banged up.
Before the game, we found out about Jimmy Rolder, Cole Sullivan, Justice Haynes, and Rod Moore's status. Counting Evan Link, that's almost half of the starters not available for action. Michigan's offense was already one-dimensional because of how poorly Bryce Underwood was overthrowing his backup receivers.
In the meantime Blake Frazier has impressed in Link's absence. Marshall is playing at the same level that Haynes was excelling at. While Zack Marshall has grown up in a hurry with Hogan Hansen out and Marlin Klein's inconsistency.
Defensively Derrick Moore is surging. Ernest Hausmann is racking up tackles in the stat column and the cornerbacks remain steady, besides a couple of pass interference calls on Jyaire Hill and T.J. Metcalf. Both infractions led to Boilermaker touchdowns.