The Bryce Underwood era got off to a solid start on Saturday night with a 34-17 win.
Underwood was spectacular in his debut, completing 21 of 31 passes for 251 yards. He had one touchdown, zero interceptions, and took two sacks. He also didn't run the ball, but the coaching staff still used his mobility, and the threat of it plenty.
The RPO game was dangerous for Michigan. If Andrew Marsh had located the ball on one pass, it could have been even better.
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— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) August 31, 2025
There were glimpses, though. The running game finished with over 200 yards. Michigan football allowed 17 points but one touchdown was on a trick play. Another came after one of the worst targeting calls you will ever see, and a dropped pass on third down that was called complete, and wasn't reviewed.
The Wolverines also subbed in a lot of backups, which was a good thing, but it did lead to more points scored than expected. Michigan football didn't cover the spread, but who cares? If Barham wasn't flagged for playing football, New Mexico punts down 27-10, and the lead probably gets pushed to 20-30 points.
It didn't happen and that's alright. Here's a look back at the Wolverines win and five things we learned moving ahead to Oklahoma next week.
Bryce Underwood is the real deal
Michigan faced some actual adversity in the opener. The lead was cut to 17-10 after a fumble on a kickoff by Andrew Marsh. The Wolverines faced a third-and-14 deep in their own territory.
Instead of punting, the coaches trusted their freshman quarterback, who rifled a pass to Channing Goodwin for 39 yards, which was longer than any pass play Michigan football had last season.
Underwood completed a few more passes before connecting with Marlin Klein, who was impressive in his own right, for the touchdown, giving U-M a 24-10 halftime lead.
Underwood found Klein for another big gain in the third quarter on a gorgeous touch pass. We didn't see him complete a deep ball, and drops didn't help, but Underwood completed four passes of 20 yards or more. The offense also had two runs of 50 yards or more.
The explosiveness that has been talked about was on full display. As far as Underwood, he gave himself a C+. I'd give his debut an A. It wasn't perfect, but he protected the ball and made some elite throws, including when Michigan needed it.
Against New Mexico or not, that's a good sign moving forward.