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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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.
Justice Haynes could lead the Big Ten in rushing
Sherrone Moore said that Michigan football running backs Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall were 1A and 1B but it was pretty clear who 1A is on Saturday night.
Haynes got 16 carries compared to 11 for Marshall, who gained just 26 yards. His long run of the night was five yards. Haynes had two that went over 50 yards. There was a 56-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the game.
The Alabama transfer also ripped off a 59-yard run in the second half that led to a one-yard touchdown. The former five-star recruit had 165 yards on 16 carries. He's a home-run hitter and lived up to everything Michigan was hoping he could be.
Underwood will get all the headlines, but Michigan fans should be just as encouraged by what they saw out of Haynes. He's a star and could lead the conference in rushing yards.
The offensive line is still a question mark
Michigan was able to rip off some explosive plays in the run game, but on the whole, the offensive line was inconsistent.
Michigan should have been able to lean on the run game more in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines took the air out of the ball late, despite 31 pass attempts, but the offense struggled to kill the clock.
Evan Link, the starting left tackle, was beaten badly on one of the two sacks, He had some good moments in the run game, all of the offensive lineman did, but they weren't as consistent as they needed to be.
Michigan wasn't blowing dudes off the ball in the fourth quarter, which was concerning with Oklahoma looming this week. If this offensive line is just average, that will put even more on the plate of the freshman quarterback.
Pass catchers are improved
It makes a world difference when you have an elite quarterback throwing you the ball. Not only can Underwood fit the ball into tighter windows, he also has a stronger arm, so a screen pass can actually work because the ball gets there in a hurry.
Semaj Morgan looked noticeably better than last season. He had four catches for 33 yards and six touches total for 47, with a run and a reception of more than 10 yards. The fumble on the punt return wasn't great. He needs to be more careful, but Morgan looked like a weapon. Last season, Michigan quarterbacks just didn't have the arm talent to take advantage of what he can do.
Donaven McCulley was solid with four receptions for 33 yards. Goodwin and Kendrick Bell each had receptions of more than 30 yards. Marlin Klein, who caught six passes for 93 yards, had two of longer than 25.
We'll see how these guys perform against better teams, but it's clear that the pass catchers have improved, in large part because of Underwood.
The defense will need to play better vs. OU
Some people are overreacting a little about the defense. Michigan allowed 17 points and 267 yards total. It was more points than Michigan wanted to allow but a trick play and some poors calls were a contributing factor.
It's disappointing to give up 17 points, but those are correctable mistakes. New Mexico had one completion of more than 20 yards. That's it. One explosive gain. The Lobos did have 21 first downs, yet some of those were attributed to eight Michigan penalties.
The Michigan football defense forced four turnovers and allowed just 1.8 yards per rushing attempt. Cole Sullivan had a breakout game. Dominic Nichols and Nate Marshall flashed in the fourth quarter, too.
The pass rush could have been better. It will need to be this week, but with all the rotating going on, it's way too early to worry about the defense.
If Michigan can hold the Sooners under 20 points, they'll have a good chance of winning the game, now that Bryce Underwood is the starting quarterback.