Usually, when one team has twice as many yards as another, that team wins going away. That's what Michigan football should have done on Saturday.
Instead, the Wolverines turned the ball over five times, struggled in the red zone, and turned 496 yards of total offense, including more than 300 from Bryce Underwood, into 24 points.
Two missed field goals didn't help. Underwood also turned it over twice in scoring range, while giving Northwestern a first-and-goal in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines lost the turnover battle by five. They missed two field goals and they still won.
That says something. Let's dive in with five observations.
One step forward, two steps back
Bryce Underwood was great at protecting the ball this season, until the past two weeks. For three quarters on Saturday, Bryce was as sharp as he's been all season.
Then, he stared down his receiver on one throw, and thought a safety was crashing down into the box instead of playing coverage. So he was going to throw the RPO, which has been successful all season. Bryce took the bait and threw an interception.
Underwood fumbled a snap on the next drive. After the defense got a stop, Underwood threw a dart to Andrew Marsh and ran for a key first down to get Michigan football in field goal range.
Underwood looked like a superstar at times on Saturday. He also had some rough moments, but don't buy into any talk that he's a bust. He's a freshman, and freshmen make mistakes. The way he responded was encouraging.
Michigan's defense was outstanding
Northwestern only had 245 yards. The Wildcats are a strong rushing team but had just 61 yards against Michigan. The Wolverines had three sacks but didn't force a turnover.
Yet, in the fourth quarter, after the last two Underwood turnovers, they delivered stops. They also limited Northwestern to a field goal after another turnover.
The defense wasn't perfect. It wasn't responsible for 22 points, though, and performed really well for most of the game, which included holding Northwestern to 2-of-12 on third downs.
Bryson Kuzdal is legit
The former walk-on from Grand Rapids was thrust into action when Jordan Marshall was knocked out of the game with an injury. Yet, the running game still churned out yards, as Bryson Kuzdal rushed 15 times for 53 yards. He didn't have any runs longer than 10 yards, but he was solid.
It sounds like Michigan dodged a bullet with Marshall. Sherrone Moore indicated that he could play next week. But the Wolverines need to get Marshall to the Ohio State game healthy. Kuzdal looked good enough to ease the workload. He also looks talented enough to help the offense the rest of the way, since Justice Haynes is out for the season, according to what Gus Johnson said.
Andrew Marsh is a superstar
The most encouraging thing to come out of this game was the performance of Marsh, who caught 12 passes for 189 yards. Marsh caught a 32-yard pass up the sidline in the second quarter that led to the first touchdown of the game.
He also found a way to drag his toe on the final drive of the game, moving the chains for a first down that the Wolverines had to have. For a team that's dealt with drops this season, one guy who doesn't drop the ball is Marsh.
Marsh and Underwood will prove to be one of the most prolific passing tandems in Michigan history. He's got 37 receptions for 565 yards. In the last six Big Ten games, Marsh has produced 535 receiving yards on 36 receptions (14.1 average).
The offense needs another wide receiver this offseason to replace Donaven McCulley, plus a true slot guy, who can be trusted to hang onto the ball, but finding a star receiver to pair with Underwood for the rest of this season, and at least the next two years, is promising, to say the least.
Dominic Zvada made a big kick when needed
Zvada hasn't kicked like he did last season. He's missed six field goals now, some of them have been chip shots like the one he missed in the first quarter. You can't fault him for missing from 60 yards. It was close.
Zvada almost had a really good day. He was close, just like Michigan football. Luckily, they both found a way to hit the game-winner.
It wasn't a hard kick. Yet, he's missed others like it this season, and hopefully, this will restore some of his confidence, which appears to be the biggest issue.