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Michigan

Best and worst from Michigan's win over the CMU Chippewas

michigan-icon-fullby: The Wolverine Staff22 hours agothewolverineon3
Biff Poggi
Michigan Wolverines football interim head coach Biff Poggi led his team to a 63-3 win over CMU. (Photo by Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images)

By Clayton Sayfie

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football dominated Central Michigan, 63-3, Saturday afternoon at The Big House. Here are the best and worst from the game.

Best player

Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood got bored and threw deep instead of hitting sophomore wideout Channing Goodwin underneath on his lone interception. But besides a couple other misses, the 6-foot-4, 228-pounder was dialed in and played extremely well in his third college game, bouncing back from a rough outing in the 24-13 loss at Oklahoma the prior week.

Underwood connected on 16 of his 25 pass attempts for 235 yards and 1 touchdown, adding 114 yards and 2 touchdowns on 9 carries.

The floated pass with perfect touch for a 32-yard touchdown to junior Semaj Morgan, the roll out, reverse field, scramble for an 18-yard score on fourth-and-1 … there were some masterful plays.

Michigan was going against a CMU defense that allowed over 300 passing yards to its first two opponents, San Jose State (308) and Pittsburgh (340), so this wasn’t the test that Oklahoma was or Nebraska will be. But Underwood making plays, gaining confidence and building chemistry with the rest of the offense was a welcomed sight.

Underwood can make this offense next level

Acting head coach Biff Poggi, the 66-year-old former Charlotte head man, was very revealing in his postgame press conference, which isn’t the style of his boss, Sherrone Moore, who was suspended for this game and will miss all of Nebraska week.

One of the interesting nuggets he provided was that Moore and Co. wanted to use Underwood more as a runner, and that the Wolverines learned a hard lesson from the game plan against Oklahoma.

Underwood ran 9 times, amassing the most rushing yards by a Michigan quarterback in a game since Devin Gardner in a 43-40 overtime loss to Penn State in 2013 (121). The Wolverines dialed him up on some designed runs, but he also said he reviewed film from the first two weeks and realized he has room to scramble. That all came together in his performance.

Additionally, Michigan had a conservative game plan against the Sooners, with the intention to pound the rock, control the ball and limit turnovers. But the Wolverines’ ground game was ineffective, and Michigan didn’t dial up the risk enough to actually win it, instead just staying close.

Poggi said afterward that Michigan won’t “ever again” take the air out of the ball with Underwood behind center. If that’s what it took for the Wolverines to unleash the Detroit native, at least a negative has led to something better.

New wrinkle

Michigan experimented with using senior linebacker Jaishawn Barham as an edge rusher this offseason, though he lines up on the end of the line at times anyway. But the Wolverines used him exclusively as a defensive lineman against the Chippewas, a move that paid off instantly.

The 6-foot-3, 243-pound Barham sacked CMU quarterback Joe Labas for an 8-yard loss on the first defensive snap of the game. He added a sack later in the first quarter and tied atop the team with 6 total tackles.

Barham started at EDGE along with senior Derrick Moore, high school teammates at Baltimore St. Frances Academy — coincidentally, where interim head coach Biff Poggi was the head coach.

Oddly enough, graduate EDGE TJ Guy — a usual starter — didn’t play a single snap. He wasn’t listed as out or questionable on the availability report, and he was dressed for the game.

Strong ground game

Michigan still ran the football well — not just with Underwood. The Wolverines exploded for 381 rushing yards, their highest total in a contest since putting up 418 in a 41-17 beatdown of Penn State Oct. 15, 2022.

Junior running back Justice Haynes went for over 100 yards for the third-straight game, carrying 14 times for 104 and a score, adding 1 catch for 16 yards. He was one of five Wolverines to rush for a touchdown.

In fact, Haynes was the only Michigan player to record a rushing touchdown that had entered the game with one on his résumé. Underwood (1), sophomore running back Jordan Marshall (2), junior running back Bryson Kuzdzal (1), freshman running back Jasper Parker (1) and freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh (1) all had rushing touchdowns for the first time as collegiate athletes.

Central Michigan’s run defense had been solid through two weeks, giving up 3.1 yards per carry to San Jose State and 4.8 to Pittsburgh. The Wolverines ran all over the Chips, though, to the tune of 6.9 yards per rush.

Most banged-up position group

Michigan was without both of its starting guards — graduate Giovanni El-Hadi (left) and junior Brady Norton (right) — on the offensive line. Junior Nathan Efobi started on the left side, while sophomore Jake Guarnera filled in on the right.

The Wolverines are getting thin on the offensive line. In addition to El-Hadi and Norton currently being out, freshman tackle Andrew Babalola tore his ACL in fall camp and is out for the season.

The Wolverines have struggled at the position already, too, but Saturday’s game was at least a bounce back from what happened at Oklahoma. Moore, per Poggi, spent every individual practice period with the offensive line this week, and if that doesn’t show just how much they have to improve at this point, nothing will. This was a positive step foroward.

CMU had no sacks and forced just 1 negative play.

The explosive plays showed up

Michigan wasn’t just consistent down-to-down, but also explosive. The Wolverines had eight plays that went for 20-plus yard gains, four on the ground and four through the air.

Additionally, after coming into the game with just 4 rushes of 10-plus yards (which included 3 from Haynes that went for 50-plus), Michigan had a whopping 17 runs of 10-plus yards, which is hard to fathom. The Wolverines gashed the Chippewas.

Stifling defense

Michigan’s defense gave up just 139 total yards (79 rushing, 60 passing), the fewest by the program in a game since allowing 110 in a 59-0 victory over Connecticut Sept. 17, 2022.

While Michigan scored, attempted a field goal or ran out the clock on all but one of its drives, CMU had only one possession that endured longer than 32 yards — a 14-play, 81-yard field goal march. Out of 13 drives, just two others (20 yards, 32 yards) went for double-digit yards, and both ended with the Chippewas coming away scoreless.

How the turn tables

Central Michigan is one of the most unusual teams in the country because it plays three quarterbacks on a consistent basis, and there’s not much rhyme or reason as to why one is in the game over the other. But the Chippewas were without Jadyn Glasser, meaning only Joe Labas and Angel Flores saw action.

Neither did all that much. The duo combined to complete 11 of their 20 passes for 60 yards.

Michigan, on the other hand, was the team that actually played three quarterbacks. Given that Underwood was the only signal-caller to play in the season’s first two outings, this was a sign of a blowout — and that’s exactly what this game quickly turned into.

Underwood’s day was done with 3:12 to go in the third quarter. Sophomore Jadyn Davis and graduate Jake Garcia handed the ball off in mop-up duty, but neither attempted a pass.

Michigan was the three-QB team. As Michael Scott would say, ‘Oh how the turn tables.’

Playing for Moore than just themselves

According to Poggi, Michigan’s team dinner Friday night was emotional. Moore’s suspension began 12:01 a.m. Saturday and will run through 11:59 p.m. after next week’s game at Nebraska.

Before Moore left the team last night, he told them to play for themselves, not him. But after he walked out the door, Poggi put the message out there to not “listen to that.” Moore not being there was a motivator and will play a factor against Nebraska. He won’t be able to coach in practice, though, making it a unique challenge.

Fashion choice

Poggi is known for his cut-off shirts that he sported while leading Charlotte from 2023-24, but he went with sleeves for his head-coaching debut at Michigan. Why?

“My friend [Michigan athletic director] Warde Manuel said congratulations, but you’re wearing sleeves, no shorts, and a cap,” Poggi said after laughing. “That’s what went into it.”