Wolverines Ups & Downs: Who Stood Out In Win Over Northwestern

Once again, it wasn’t pretty, but Michigan escaped with a win over Northwestern. 

The Wolverines have proven quite adept at ‘winning ugly’ thus far this season, and while it might not be the way they draw it up, it’s hard to argue with a tally in the win column at any rate.

Michigan dominated the game when it came to yards gained, collecting 496 yards to Northwestern’s 246, but the Wolverines’ five turnovers negated any advantage that might have brought them.

Regardless, senior kicker Dominic Zvada’s 31-yard made field goal as time expired gave Michigan the win, no matter how it looked, and kept the Wolverines’ playoff hopes alive.

Here are three ‘Ups,’ one ‘Down,’ and two that could really go either way…

Freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh had one of the best performances from a Michigan receiver in a while on Saturday. He hauled in 12 of his 15 targets, and his 189 receiving yards is tied for sixth all-time in Michigan program history for a single game.

Since Marsh cracked the starting lineup against Wisconsin, he has been the Wolverines most reliable receiver. He has forged an obvious connection with freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, and that should be scary for the rest of the Big Ten. As the duo grows together, they have the chance to become one of the most formidable passing duos in the country.

Michigan has struggled at times to put together a consistent passing attack, but Marsh will undoubtedly be a large part of the eventual solution.

As sure as the sun rises, the Wolverines’ lead running back will have a 100-plus yard game. Sophomore running back Jordan Marshall put together his fourth-straight such game, tallying 142 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

With the Big Ten’s top running back junior Justice Haynes still out with a foot injury, Michigan hasn’t seen a drop-off in ground production. After the end of last season, it was assumed that Marshall would be the Wolverines’ top running back this year, but they scooped up Haynes in the transfer portal, forcing Marshall to fight for the spot.

Marshall took that competition in stride, and he’s proving that he might be just as much of a star as Haynes is. Even if Haynes does return at some point this season, Marshall will still be a big part of this offense.

Marshall left the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent shoulder injury, but head coach Sherrone Moore says he is hopeful that he’ll be all good to go for next week.

Junior wide receiver Semaj Morgan has had a volatile season thus far. He was an integral part of the 2023 national championship squad as a freshman, and had a solid season last year as a sophomore, but he’s struggled to find his footing here in 2025.

He’s served as Michigan’s punt returner for much of this season, but several miscues in recent weeks might force him out of that role. Saturday, Morgan seemed like he was putting together a solid punt return in the third quarter, but the ball popped out as he was being tackled, and Northwestern recovered the football. Andrew Marsh took over punt return duties from that point onward.

Morgan can certainly still have a positive impact for the Wolverines, but it’s the small mistakes that have been his problem in 2025. He’s proven capable of being an impact player when he’s right, and Michigan needs him to get back to that form.

The Wolverines’ defense as a whole was stellar against a competent Wildcats rush attack. Northwestern was averaging 181.4 yards per game on the ground coming into the game, but it was only able to manage 61 yards on 26 carries against Michigan’s staunch defense.

This has been something that the Wolverines have done extremely well all season, and it came up big late in Saturday’s game. When they needed stops in the fourth quarter, they kept Northwestern behind the sticks and bailed out Michigan’s struggling offense.

Underwood’s first half was the best half of football he’s played all season, hands down. In the first 30 minutes, he threw 15-for-20 for 185 yards and looked comfortable and confident in the pocket. But in the second half, he threw just 6-for-12 for 95 yards and two interceptions.

His two interceptions came on back-to-back passing attempts in the fourth quarter and allowed the Wildcats to climb back into the game. So, in some respect, that alone could earn Underwood a ‘Down,’ but outside of those two throws Underwood was great.

Especially after two rough showings against Michigan State and Purdue, Underwood’s performance on Saturday was actually encouraging on a lot of fronts. It’s a weird one, as he doesn’t fit into either category, but his performance was notable all the same.

It’s hard to give a ‘Down’ to the guy being hoisted into the air after kicking the game-winning walk-off field goal, and I won’t. Regardless, Zvada’s kicking woes still being around this late into the season isn’t what the Wolverines wanted.

Zvada missed his first field goal of the day from 34 yards, a try that is usually automatic for him. After missing just one field goal all last season, he’s missed five this season from closer than 50 yards. Zvada also just barely missed a 60-yarder at the end of the first half, but you can’t hold that one against him.

Ultimately, it was Zvada’s leg that earned the victory in clutch fashion, and he deserves a lot of credit for his calmness in the moment. Hopefully that helps him get his confidence back, because Michigan needs him in top shape as the season reaches its climax.

Junior running back Bryson Kuzdzal stepped up in a big way when Marshall went out in the fourth quarter, holding it down in a big moment…Graduate wide receiver Donaven McCulley found a bit of a rhythm again after a stretch of disappointing weeks, grabbing four catches for 59 yards…Senior edge rusher Jaishawn Barham has a nice day, recording two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry.