Michigan's win over UTEP was far from perfect. There were some shaky moments, especially in the first half as the Wolverines got off to a sluggish start.
Twice in the first half, Michigan football trailed UTEP, a team that was 2-10 a season ago, and lost 51-0 to Oklahoma during the first week of the season.
Of course, both UTEP touchdowns were the result of Michigan turnovers. The Wolverines lost two fumbles. They also had some costly penalties, although they were cleaned up. Kyle Whittingham's team ended the game with a 52-17 win over the Miners and was penalized three times.
The running game even got going, finally. Michigan got 185 rushing yards on the ground. That was essential. It opened things up for the passing game in the second half, but still, the offensive line needs to be better next week against Iowa.
One thing that should make Iowa think, though, is the Wolverines pass offense, which was finally able to make a team pay for loading the box. That was part of the issue early in the game against UTEP.
The Miners were being aggressive on defense just like Western Michigan and Oklahoma. This time, Bryce Underwood was able to make them pay.
Michigan's passing game showed improvement
The 6-foot-4, 228-pound sophomore quarterback put together his best performance of the season, especially throwing the ball. Underwood was 19-of-25 for 223 yards. He did fumble the ball away in the first quarter. That's something he needs to shore up.
However, Underwood accounted for 245 yards. The passes were crisp and accurate. It wasn't always perfect. There were misses, but every quarterback is going to have some missed throws.
The touchdown passes to Andrew Marsh, who caught 10 passes for 107 yards, and JJ. Buchanan, who caught six passes for 92 yards, were great examples of giving wide receivers a chance to run with the ball after the catch.
Marsh had five receptions for 29 yards in two games. It was important to get him and Underwood back on track. The Wolverines did that on Saturday. The mistakes need to stop. Fumbles, interceptions, and penalties are the perfect recipe for losing to Iowa next week.
At the same time, if Michigan football fans are looking for positives from the 52-17 win on Saturday, beyond the 149 total yards allowed by the defense, it was Bryce Underwood and the passing game.
That's one reason to be encouraged heading into Big Ten play.
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