4 Immediate Takeaways From Michigan Football's Stunning Win Over WMU

Magic in Ann Arbor.

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Saturday marked the first game under Kyle Whittingham, and the long-time head coach was about to walk out of Michigan Stadium with a major loss. But magic happened.

Michigan appeared to have lost 12-7, but one second was put back on the clock after Bryce Underwood threw the ball out of the end zone. And on one final heave, he found JJ Buchanan for a win.

Here are four immediate takeaways from Michigan's 13-12 win.

Magic in Ann Arbor

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App. State upset Michigan back in 2007 on a blocked field goal. That was bad, but this one felt almost worse. Until magic happened.

A win is a win, but it didn't feel good.

There was plenty of hype, but it turned out to be hype. Whittingham's team was beyond undisciplined. The Wolverines had nine penalties in the game, and their star QB looked as bad as he did last season, if not worse.

The Wolverines were thoroughly outplayed in the game. Michigan's defensive line played well for the most part, but WMU earned the win and the Wolverines had a lot to figure out.

No improvements from Bryce Underwood

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The first drive was flawless. Bryce Underwood the Michigan offense came out swinging and it looked like they were going to be able to do whatever they wanted against Western Michigan. Underwood had command and was poised in the pocket.

But that quickly ended. Old habits reared their ugly head. Underwood went back to starting down his targets, footwork was a mess, and he tried to do too much with the ball. He threw one interception, and almost had two others — one being called back.

He had a chance to lead Michigan down for a win, but Underwood fumbled the ball away and the Wolverines appeared to suffer a loss — until the magic occurred.

Coaches were confident in Underwood's progression from last season to this season under Jason Beck and Koy Detmer Jr. Whittingham, however, cautioned that he wanted to see Underwood in a live situation.

And he saw it. There were minimal, if any, progressions from last season. A scripted drive was good, and that was about it. Underwood's final heave was good, but he has a ton of things to get worked out.

Michigan's D-line was mostly impressive

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Kyle Whittingham didn't shy away from saying Michigan's defensive line was going to be the strength of the defense, and in the first half, that was 100% the case. The Wolverines' defense was on the field a lot, but they shut down the Broncos' rushing attack.

During fall camp, Dom Nichols was tabbed as Michigan's best pass rusher, and that was certainly the case on Saturday. He had 9 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 2.5 TFLs in the game. The Wolverines were fast off the ball and they have a lot of players who can come in and play.

In the third quarter, the defense finally got gassed, and WMU dominated the LOS from an offensive standpoint.

Major issues with O-line and opening up running lanes

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While the Michigan defensive line was supposed to be the strength of the defense, the Wolverines' offensive line entered the season experienced, and coached by one of the best O-line coaches in the nation. And while Jim Harding is highly regarded, the Wolverines' O-line did not live up to the hype.

Michigan struggled to open up rushing lanes for the Wolverines' running backs. Pass protection was better than run blocking, but even that wasn't very good. The O-line had several holding calls and was outplayed by a smaller WMU defense.

This was one of the games where Michigan had a clear size advantage and that didn't matter on Saturday night.

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