The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 27 BY CHRIS BALAS L ast year around this time, c o a c h S h e r ro n e Mo o re 's first Michigan football team stood 4-1 and faced a key road game at Washington that would determine the course of the season. The Wolverines failed that road test, falling 27-17 in Seattle, and limped to a 6-5 record before stunning Ohio State and Alabama to finish the year, two wins that changed the narrative on the season. U-M was in a somewhat similar spot this year, standing 4-1 with a relatively lopsided loss at Oklahoma before trav- eling to California to face a talented but not elite USC team Oct. 11. Once again, a Michigan team came home from a true road game on the West Coast with a loss, this one a 31-13 disappointment that could have been worse if not for a pair of Trojans turnovers inside the 10- yard line. "Right after the game … you look at everybody in their eyes and they're looking right at you. They're focused," Moore said. "Everybody's disappointed in a loss. That's what happens. You're disappointed about what happened. "So, our job now is to not worry about every other thing in front of us. It's re- ally just to worry about today and then tomorrow, because you look at college football, you never know what's going to happen. There are wins, and there are losses … you can't predict it. So, all we've got to do is just get better to- day and then figure out how to win this game and then move on from there." "This game" was Washington on Oct. 18, which turned out to be a fork-in- the-road game for the season, at the very least. The Wolverines responded with a huge second half to pull away for a 24-7 win, keeping all goals alive with a relatively favorable schedule ahead compared to last season, when trips to Indiana and Illinois resulted in losses. Led by freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood and junior running back Justice Haynes, the offense appears to be in better shape to make a run than last year's quarterback-challenged of- fense. The defense bounced back, too, to keep hope alive. Here's how we grade the 2025 Wol- verines through seven games: QUARTERBACK — B+ Freshman Bryce Underwood has been everything expected and more, having completed 113 of 181 passes (62.4 per- cent) for 1,440 yards with 7 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. He played ar- guably his best game in a 24-7 win over Washington, completing 21 of 27 for 230 yards with 2 scores — the highest-rated frosh quarterback in the country that week, per Pro Football Focus — and the numbers would have been even higher if not for several dropped passes, not just for that game but for the season. "There's a high standard for him and what he wants, and he has a high stan- dard for himself," Moore said. "So, we're going to keep pushing him to reach that standard. "… He continues to take care of the football, which is huge, especially as a true freshman. He's doing everything possible on the field, off the field to reach his potential, and he just contin- ues to do it. I'm proud of him." He's also starting to get more involved in the run game, having rushed for 202 yards and 3 touchdowns and averag- ing 5.2 yards per carry through seven games. Underwood's ceiling is through the roof. The only concern about this room is what would happen if he were to have to miss time. OFFENSIVE LINE — C Though better than last year, the of- fensive line still has work to do to meet lofty Michigan standards. It struggled mightily against the two "good" teams it's faced this year, at Oklahoma and USC, and some would question whether the Trojans' defense qualifies in that category, having given up big yardage to other teams on the schedule. In fairness, there have been several iterations up front this year due to inju- ries — graduate left guard Giovanni El- Hadi missed games, junior guard Brady Norton, as well, and junior left tackle Evan Link went down early in the Wash- ington game — but it was so bad during the Oklahoma game that Moore spent his individual time in practice the fol- lowing week working with the position group he once coached. In the 31-13 loss to USC, Michigan graded out at its worst on the season in both pass protection (60.4) and run block- ing (56.7) according to Pro Football Focus. "I think the biggest thing is continu- ing to look at what you're doing, how you're doing it," Moore said after the USC loss. "I thought we did a good job of putting people in position, moving guys around. But we've got to continue to do that, continue to challenge the O- line, continue to challenge everybody in the rooms. It's not just one position, right? It's everybody. So, we'll all do it together and fix it." But make no mistake — a lot of it is the line. There's hope with sophomore Blake Frazier showing growth in replac- ing Link in the Washington game and with sophomore Jake Guarnera now the starter at right guard, but there's still a lot of work to do here. RUNNING BACKS — A Heading into the season, we thought sophomore Jordan Marshall might be the starter with Alabama transfer Jus- tice Haynes right there with him, 1A and 1A. Instead, Haynes has proven to be one of the most explosive backs in the country, among the top five rushers in the nation through five games before an upper body injury sidelined him before halftime in a loss at USC. MIDTERM GRADES Michigan Is 5-2 Just Past The Halfway Mark, But All Goals Remain On The Table