The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542067
JANUARY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 31 ❱ MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Five Best Players 1. Senior linebacker Jimmy Rolder: To cap off an impressive conference season that earned him second-team All-Big Ten honors, Rolder put forth a valiant effort in a tough, 27-9 loss to Ohio State Nov. 29, po- tentially his last game in The Big House (he has one year of eligibility remaining). Rolder was all over the field defensively, recording a game-high 12 tackles, with 1.5 tackles for loss. He didn't miss a single tackle and graded out at 84.6 in that category accord- ing to Pro Football Focus. He finished the regular season as U-M's leading tackler (69 total stops, including 7 tackles for loss and 2 sacks) while playing in 11 of 12 games. 2. Junior running back Bryson Kuzdzal: The former walk-on stepped in nicely against Maryland, earning his first career start with junior Justice Haynes and sopho- more Jordan Marshall missing the game. Kuzdzal ran 20 times for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns — all three stats marking ca- reer highs. He also caught 1 pass for 8 yards. One week later, Kuzdzal led the Wolverines in running back snaps because Marshall reaggravated his injury against Ohio State, and he recorded 11 rush attempts for 38 yards with 2 receptions for 5 yards. 3. Junior cornerback Jyaire Hill: Setting the tone for a relatively fast start, Hill picked off a pass from Ohio State quarterback Ju- lian Sayin on the Buckeyes' second offensive snap of the game. That gave the offense stellar field position at the Ohio State 39- yard line, and U-M got points on the board with a field goal that gave it a 6-0 lead early on. For the game, Hill was targeted only two times, playing tight coverage, allowing 1 catch for 9 yards. Hill had a tougher game versus Maryland, giving up 3 grabs for 56 yards, but showed up against the Buckeyes. 4. Graduate wide receiver Donaven Mc- Culley: The 6-foot-5, 215-pounder caught 2 passes for 46 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown, against Maryland. While his numbers didn't jump off the page against Ohio State, he was the only Wolverine with more than 10 receiving yards — catching 3 balls for 46 yards on a day when U-M had just 63 passing yards — and also drew a pass interference call on a third down. 5. Senior edge Derrick Moore: The Michi- gan defensive line was held in check against the Buckeyes, with no sacks, but Moore was disruptive versus Maryland, recording 1.5 sacks and a career-high 10 pressures near his hometown of Baltimore. Maryland quarterback Malik Washington had only been sacked 3 times all season entering the contest, but U-M got home for 3 of its own. Key Moment A stop and a score was what Michigan needed to really drag the game out Nov. 29 versus Ohio State and make it a tight one into the late stages. The Wolverines got the stop out of the halftime locker room, but not the score, and then senior punter Hudson Hollenbeck had an inexplicable 11-yard punt. Ohio State took over at its own 43-yard line, and had a two-play drive with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Julian Sayin to Carnell Tate on a busted coverage to make it 24-9 midway through the third quarter. That was an early dagger in the 27-9 loss. Best Highlight On third-and-8 from the Maryland 12-yard line, freshman quarterback Bryce Under- wood got a Maryland defender to jump offsides. Recognizing the situation, Un- derwood went deep to freshman wideout Andrew Marsh on a fade route in the end zone. The ball was placed well and Marsh came down with the contested catch for the touchdown. Following the extra point, the game was tied 7-7 midway through the first quarter of the 45-20 win in College Park. Bold Prediction Michigan will have more opt-outs on de- fense than offense for the Dec. 31 Citrus Bowl against Texas, considering there are many more veteran, NFL Draft-eligible play- ers on that side of the football. Also, the total number of opt-outs for non-injury or transfer reasons will be lower than it was for last season's ReliaQuest Bowl (eight). — Clayton Sayfie Superlatives For Michigan's Two Games From Nov. 22 To Nov. 29 Junior running back Bryson Kuzdzal became the third U-M back to hit the century mark in a game this season when he rushed 20 times for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns at Maryland — all career bests for the former walk-on. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL