It didn’t always look pretty, but Michigan accomplished its main goal in its season opener. The Wolverines defeated the New Mexico Lobos 34-17 on Saturday night in front of more than 110,000 fans at Michigan Stadium. [Sign up for Maize & Blue Review for $1 and get PLUS access for 7 days!] There are certainly […]
It didn’t always look pretty, but Michigan accomplished its main goal in its season opener. The Wolverines defeated the New Mexico Lobos 34-17 on Saturday night in front of more than 110,000 fans at Michigan Stadium.
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There are certainly a number of things that can be cleaned up, but overall, there’s a lot to be encouraged by from U-M’s season-opening performance.
Here are three takeaways from the 34-17 victory.
The Bryce is right
Bryce Underwood was simply magnificent in his highly anticipated Michigan debut. If one thing is certain about Saturday night’s game, it’s that Bryce Underwood lived up to the hype he had been garnering all offseason — at least in the 60 minutes of action he saw this week.
Surely, the true test will come seven days from now in a far less welcoming environment, but Underwood arguably aced his first test of the season.
It’s hard to imagine the freshman’s debut could have gone any better. He completed 68 percent of his passes for more than 250 yards, and he had zero freshman mistakes, which is arguably most important.
Underwood is clearly an immediate upgrade to anyone Michigan put behind center last season, and his presence was welcoming to all supporters of the Wolverines.
Sloppy mistakes cloud solid overall performance
If Michigan fans had been told before the game that Bryce Underwood would complete 21-of-31 pass attempts for 251 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, they would have been thrilled. That’s exactly what Underwood did, but somehow Michigan still left something to be desired after Saturday’s season opener.
Much of Michigan fans’ frustration can be targeted toward the referees, which were less than stellar, especially in the third quarter. Had the zebras not screwed up a number of calls, scoreboard watchers might have been a little more pleased with Michigan’s performance.
But beyond poor officiating, the Wolverines still made several mistakes. Michigan committed six penalties for 45 yards, and it also made two special teams blunders. Semaj Morgan muffed (but recovered) a punt in the first quarter, and Andrew Marsh lost a fumble on a kickoff return in the second frame.
If Michigan has any hope of defeating Sherrone Moore’s alma mater next Saturday, it will need to clean up unforced errors and penalties.
Jaishawn Barham’s absence could prove costly next week
Whether Jaishawn Barham’s third-quarter strip sack was truly targeting, the Wolverines’ starting linebacker will miss the first half of next week’s Oklahoma game in Norman.
On 2nd down and 1 with 9:39 remaining in the third quarter, Jaishawn Barham had a clear path to New Mexico quarterback Jack Layne. Like a freight train, Barham drilled Layne, burying him into the Michigan Stadium turf.
In the process, Layne lost control of the ball. Barham scooped up the loose rock, and returned it into Michigan Stadium’s north end zone, giving the Wolverines a 33-10 lead, with the extra point pending.
However, after video review, it was determined that not only was Layne down before he fumbled, but the referees also ruled that Barham was guilty of targeting, which disqualified him from the remainder of the contest and will sideline him for the first half of next week’s Oklahoma game.
That play proved to be a major turning point not only in Saturday night’s game, but also for next week. Barham won’t be available in the first 30 minutes of what will be a hard fought battle in Norman. Jimmy Rolder will presumably fill in for the suspended Barham.
Michigan will need all the help it can get as it goes on the road for the first time of 2025, and losing Barham certainly doesn’t help its case against the Sooners.
Of course, Michigan can appeal the suspension, according to the NCAA rule book.
“A targeting call ejection occurring in the second half of a game can be appealed to the NCAA national coordinator of officials by the player’s conference or school. The national coordinator, often referred to as the ‘football secretary-editor,’ reviews video of the play to determine if the player was clearly and obviously incorrectly penalized. If the review confirms the error, the player’s carryover penalty (suspension for the first half of the next game) can be vacated.”
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Category: General Sports
