Michigan Wolverines Stock Report: 3 Players Rising and 3 Players Falling After Big UTEP Win

Michigan struggled through the first half, taking just a 17-14 lead into the break. In the second half they were able to pile it on though, and ended up winning by a score of 52-17. Michigan put up 431 yards of total offense compared to UTEP's 150. They also racked up 11 tackles for loss, and four sacks on defense compared to UTEP's four tackles for loss and one sack.

While the stat sheet sure looks very one-sided, Michigan's two first half fumbles kept the Miners in the game early. Once the Wolverines stopped coughing up the football they were able to cruise from there, really showing out in the second half. Let's dive into the stock report from this game below.

Stock Up: Bryce Underwood

I thought Bryce Underwood played his best game of the 2026 season thus far against UTEP. He completed 19/25 passes for 223 yards, with 2 touchdowns and also added 22 yards on the ground via six carries. Now it wasn't all perfect because he had yet another fumble, which is becoming a bit of a trend, and is something he needs to clean up. Outside of the fumble however I thought he looked calm and controlled throughout the game. He made good decisions and was also very accurate in his passing.

I believe he's getting more and more comfortable in this offense, and that could be a great sign for the Wolverines moving forward. Progress may not always be linear, but there does appear to be progress there each week so far this season. With how much talent he has, if he can keep stacking positive progress on top of positive progress, we may look up at the end of the season and Bryce Underwood may be playing like one of the Big Ten's best quarterbacks.

Stock Down: Offensive Line

It's just the third game of the season and already Michigan has had three different starting units along the offensive line. This week Andrew Sprague was out, so Michigan slid Blake Frazier over to the right tackle spot and brought out Evan Link to left tackle while inserting Brady Norton back into the right guard spot. There's no question that these continued changes to the starting lineup have forced players to move around to positions they're not as comfortable at and it has shown up on the field as well.

Oklahoma, against this same UTEP defense, was able to run for 170 yards on 39 carries, good for 4.4 yards per carry. We saw last week that against a quality defense Oklahoma couldn't run the ball hardly at all. Michigan against UTEP put up 185 yards on 42 carries, good for 4.4 yards per carry. Very comparable rushing outputs against a very overmatched defense unit for the Miners.

I take that as a bit of a red flag that Michigan is still really strugglig to get the run game going. Jason Beck's Utah offense last season was in the top five in rushing output, and Michigan itself in 2025 was a very good rushing team as well. For whatever reason though that hasn't translated, at least so far, to this new Michigan offense. I don't have all the answers but I do know the run game right now is not as good as it needs to be. Michigan needs to figure it out on the ground and a big part of that is the offensive line kicking it into gear.

Michigan Wolverines running back Savion Hiter and wide receiver Andrew Marsh celebrate a touchdown against UTEP | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Stock Up: Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan

Andrew Marsh had his best game of 2026 yesterday, catching 10 passes for 105 yards and one touchdown. Michigan made it a clear emphasis to get him more involved this week and he really showcased what he can do.

JJ Buchanan continues his ascent as well, catching seven passes for 92 yards and one touchdown. He's been Bryce Underwood's favorite target through these first three games but Michigan's passing offense can take another step forward if they can continue to have both of these two targets out wide playing at a high level. In this game that was surely the case, and it's no coincidence that getting both Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan going at the same time also lined up with Bryce Underwood's best game of the season. Hopefully they can build on this moving forward.

Stock Down: Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter

As I mentioned in the offensive line portion, Michigan's running game just has not been able to really get going so far this season. The offensive line has certainly not played as well as it's capable of, but at some point you have to look at the running backs as well. Neither of these players have crossed the 100-yard mark yet this season and both of them had their struggles in this game.

Savion Hiter had a bad fumble on Michigan's own side of the field that set UTEP up for their second touchdown. Jordan Marshall's clearly not 100% right now, as he looks a step slower than he did most of last season. Both of these players have also missed multiple cut back lanes that would've led to big gains on the ground. It could just be a comfortable thing with the new offense, but Michigan needs these two players to step up and be focal points of this offense. They're both capable of being among the Big Ten's best running backs and so far the production just hasn't lived up to their capabilities.

Michigan Wolverines defensive end Benny Patterson celebrates a tackle in the third quarter of a game against UTEP | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Stock Up: Michigan's Edge-Rushers

The last, and arguably biggest, stock up for this team is Michigan's edge room. They had five different defensive ends make at least 0.5 tackles for loss in this game. At the top of the depth chart John Henry Daley had a sack, and Dom Nichols had one tackle for loss.

Even the depth players showed out for Michigan in this game though as well, with Nate Marshall, Tariq Boney, and Benny Patterson III all registering at least 0.5 tackles for loss. That's not even to mention Carter Meadows the 5-star true freshman who played in his first game as a Wolverine, or Cameron Brandt who also looked solid when he was out there.

Michigan's edge rusher room is the deepest and best unit on this team. That makes life really difficult for opposing offenses, when even the 2's and 3's can come off the bench and put pressure on the opposing offensive line. If this game is any indication of what even the depth players coming off the edge are capable of, good luck to opposing offenses blocking them in future games.

Stock Down: Michigan's Tight End Room

One of the biggest disappointments on the offense so far has to include the tight ends. On paper it's not their best unit on the team by any means but they've gotten almost nothing from this unit through three games. I'd include the fullbacks/rhino package as well in these struggles, as they have repeatedly missed key blocks at the point of attack.

Manuel Beigel has been the primary rhino this season as Michigan's sixth offensive lineman and he's been underwhelming in run blocking all season really. Eli Owens and Jalen Hoffman each had at least one key penalty or key missed block in this game. The true tight ends Zack Marshall and Hogan Hansen have zero catches so far between them. To put it simply it's just not enough production from this unit and they need to pick things up moving forward if Michigan's offense wants to get tougher to defend.

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