The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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8 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2025 "It was pretty much just a gut check. … It was time we were coming to a split in the road. Which way are we going to go?" — Michigan sophomore linebacker Cole Sullivan T hat question hung over Michigan like a lightning-laced cloud bank all week long. They'd dropped the ball — literally and figuratively — at USC, and many wondered aloud and cynically whether they would drop the season at home versus Washington. With nearly three quarters of football expended against the Huskies, they still wondered. But with the score 7-7 and angst on the move among 110,000, Sul- livan did something about it. He read a potential receiver's route perfectly, jumped it, and tucked away an intercep- tion at the Washington 14-yard line. One play later, another sophomore — run- ning back Jordan Marshall — bolted into the end zone, putting the Wolverines up for good. The 24-7 win brought rejoicing, relief and renewal following a week of searing frustration and soul searching. It also set the table for the Wolverines to pur- sue the sort of late-season run they'd dreamed of through months of prepara- tion. Yes, losses at Oklahoma and USC hurt. But those were hardly shocking slip-ups against lousy teams, especially given the youth of Sherrone Moore's squad at key positions. They couldn't afford another — and still can't. Not and still challenge in the Big Ten race. Not and have a shot at the College Football Playoff. The win over Washington kept those dreams alive, and underscored almost unlimited upside for this crew. It dem- onstrated the best defensive perfor- mance of the year, following its worst. Michigan lost its way in Los Ange- les, experiencing the earthquake of the Trojans' effectiveness. That led to some "tough conversations" in Schembechler Hall during Washington prep week, Moore acknowledged. "We talked after the game at USC about just being all in and trusting each other, trusting the process. We had some tough conversations throughout the week," Moore said. "Offensively, defen- sively, of what we need to do and how we need to adjust and how we need to play better. And the response by our coaches, our offensive coordinator, our defensive coordinator, our offensive staff, defen- sive staff was outstanding. But more importantly, our players … played with their hair on fire, played with detail, played with great fundamentals." Details on the conversations? Forget about it, Moore stiff-armed. "Those tough conversations stay in house," he insisted. "There are conver- sations. Nobody else needs to hear what was said, but we responded. Everybody responded — offensively, defensively, special teams, we responded. You've got to have those. In any great organiza- tion and any great, great family, there's conflict. There are things that happen. You've got to push each other, and we did that this week, but we've got to con- tinue to do it." The defense did it by picking off Washington quarterback Demond Wil- lians Jr. three times, after he'd thrown 1 interception all year. Freshman quarterback Bryce Under- wood showed what he can be by con- necting on 21 of 27 passes (78 percent) for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns. Un- derwood has still only tossed 2 intercep- tions all season and gets better by the game in his grasp of running Chip Lind- sey's offense and reacting to everything thrown at him. Fellow freshman and wide receiver Andrew Marsh spun from solid to spec- tacular against the Huskies. His one- handed snag of an Underwood throw proved a jaw-dropping preview of com- ing attractions. His 22-yard bolt for a touchdown on a perfectly executed screen opened the scoring and added to a hot streak that has him near the top of Underwood's targets. When it appeared that injuries had pretty well wiped out Michigan's tight end game, up popped formerly un- heralded junior Zack Marshall to snag 5 catches, 72 yards, 1 touchdown and a game ball for his trouble. No junior running back Justice Haynes, the talk of Michigan's first half of the season? No worries. The other Marshall, Jordan, de- livered 133 yards and the go-ahead TD. A split in the road? Michigan declared its direction unequivocally. But as Moore stressed, they have to keep it up. That means delivering under the lights at Spartan Stadium, against a team seek- ing Big Ten win No. 1. It means keep- ing the hammer down against Purdue (0-4 Big Ten), Northwestern (wins over UCLA, the formerly Fighting Franklins and Purdue) and Maryland (1-3 Big Ten). If the Wolverines pull off that four- bagger, one game will remain. At the end of November. Perhaps with swirling flurries and plunging temperatures. In Michigan Stadium. Oh, yes. Moore and the M-men would take their chances with that one. But they have to make it maximally meaningful first. ❏ WOLVERINE WATCH ❱ JOHN BORTON U-M Can Determine Its Own Path After the USC loss, head coach Sherrone Moore noted, "We had some tough conver- sations throughout the week" prior to the Washington game. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Senior writer John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @JB_Wolverine.