The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 41 ❱ MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Five Best Players 1. Sophomore wide receiver JJ Buchanan: The Utah transfer has established himself as Michigan's best receiver in the early going, hauling in 15 receptions with 2 touchdowns, including the game- winning Hail Mary against Western Michigan on Sept. 5. His 266 receiving yards ranked ninth in the Big Ten coming out of Week 3. Buchanan has made 3 contested catches on 6 attempts, per Pro Football Focus, and has been a downfield threat with an average depth of target of 14.9 yards. 2. Senior defensive end John Henry Daley: The "Vanilla Gorilla" is still shaking off some rust coming off an Achilles injury sustained last November, but he's been productive as all get out early in the year. He's made 14 tackles, including 4 for loss, and 2 sacks with 8 pressures. He also deflected a screen pass against Oklahoma. In the 17-10 win against the Sooners on Sept. 12, he had 3 TFL, including a sack, helping him earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week recognition. 3. Senior cornerback Jyaire Hill: The Kankakee, Ill., native's fourth- quarter interception and return to the 6-yard line against Oklahoma helped set up the go-ahead score that sealed the victory. Hill has graded out at 80.8 in coverage per PFF, allowing only 2 receptions for minus-3 yards on 4 targets. 4. Junior defensive end Dom Nichols: The 6-foot-5, 245-pounder had "breakout player" written all over him heading into the season, and he's lived up to the hype thus far. The Frederick, Md., native has recorded 11 tackles with 4 TFL, 2 sacks and a team-high 11 pres- sures. He saw 2.5 of his TFL and 1.5 of his sacks come in the opener against the Broncos, asserting his dominance. 5. Sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood: The Detroit native was shaky in the opener against Western Michigan, one of the reasons why it came down to his Hail Mary to Buchanan, but that play won the game. And Underwood's performance on the ground in the victory over Oklahoma was critical, with 18 rushes for 87 yards and a touchdown. He also completed 9 of his 17 throws for 111 yards and could've had even more completions if he got some breaks with receivers coming down with the ball down the field. Underwood connected on a career-high 76 percent of his passes for 223 yards and 2 touchdowns in the nonconference finale, a 52-17 victory over UTEP. Key Moment Michigan took a 10-0 lead into halftime but went three-and-out coming out of the locker room and saw Oklahoma dominate the third quarter Sept. 12. In the third, Oklahoma outgained Michigan 129-51, with quarterback John Mateer going 7-for-7 passing for 125 yards and a score. The Sooners tied the score early in the fourth, but Michigan took control back with an interception by Hill on a pass from Mateer that appeared to be tipped by senior linebacker Troy Bowles. Hill returned it 24 yards to the 6, and two plays later, junior running back Jordan Marshall punched in a score from 1 yard out. Michigan led 17-10, and the defense slammed the door despite the offense not being able to pick up that final first down to seal the game. Fans had a cathartic experience watching the clock tick down following sophomore defensive end Nate Marshall's sack on what wound up being the final play of the game. Best Highlight After Underwood fired the first Hail Mary attempt out of the back of the end zone down 12-7 to Western Michigan on Sept. 5, this one was placed in the front of the end zone, and Buchanan came screaming in to haul it in with zeros on the clock. Fans rushed the field, not because the win was worthy, but because of the play that got them the victory. It stands as the first-ever Hail Mary walk-off win in program history. Bold Prediction Since Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers follow- ing the 2023 season, Michigan is averaging 16.9 points per game in 10 tries against ranked opponents, going 3-7 in those opportunities. The Wolverines' offense has been off to a rough start to the 2026 campaign, but that can happen with a new coordinator. We predict Michigan will hit the 27-point mark against a ranked opponent be- fore October is over, against either Iowa on Sept. 26, Penn State on Oct. 17 or Indiana on Oct. 24. — Clayton Sayfie Superlatives For Michigan's Three Games From Sept. 5 To Sept. 19 Senior cornerback Jyaire Hill's interception against then-No. 11 Oklahoma helped turned the tide against the Sooners. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Sophomore receiver JJ Buchanan was an emerging star for the Wolverines through the pre-Big Ten stretch of the season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL