The good and the bad from Michigan football's 24-10 win over Wisconsin

No. 20 Michigan football came away with a 24-10 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers at the Big House on Saturday to improve its record to 4-1 on the season.

Let's analyze "the good" and "the bad" from the victory.

The Good

The performances of Andrew Marsh and Donavan McCulley

Receivers Andrew Marsh and Donavan McCulley stepped up in a big way in the Wolverines' win over the Badgers. Both made great catches on 50-50 balls down the sideline on nicely thrown balls by QB Bryce Underwood.

In the third quarter, McCulley found the endzone for the first time in a Maize and Blue uniform on a 29-yard reception where he bounced off multiple defenders and used his strength and athleticism to run after the catch. Each looked dynamic when they were in space and created separation on routes, which is a welcoming sight for Chip Lindsey's offense.

For the game, McCulley finished with 112 receiving yards to go with his touchdown on six catches, while Marsh hauled in four catches for 80 yards.

Defense turns in another big performance

Things did not look so promising on the first drive for Wink Martindale's unit when the Badgers marched down the field for a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive in the game's opening minutes behind QB Hunter Simmons, who got the surprise start for Wisconsin under center. After that, though, the defense was lights out.

The Badgers ended the game with just 252 total yards, and aside from an occasional play here and there, the Wolverines played on the front foot on that side of the ball. The secondary looked in top form with Zeke Berry and the corners making great plays on balls in the air, while Rod Moore came up with an interception on a deep ball in the third quarter.

Up front, the defensive line and linebackers were locked in on what was a grade-A showing from the defense as a whole.

TJ Guy — Oct 4, 2025; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Kerry Kodanko (73) blocks m4d in the first half at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Justice Haynes continues to be electrifying

The Alabama running back transfer has been the Wolverines' best player on offense this season and is showing no signs of slowing down.

In the win over the Badgers, Haynes finished with 117 yards rushing with two scores and exploded for another big run of 43 yards in the opening quarter. When Haynes gets the slightest of creases, he makes the most of his chances, and that showed up again on Saturday afternoon.

Justice Haynes continues to star.

The RB's big run gets @UMichFootball near the goal line, and then he scores two plays later.

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/y5s8ONLAio
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 4, 2025

The Bad

Michigan still has a case of "the drops"

When a true freshman QB is going through the learning curves of college football on a week-to-week basis, he has to be able to rely on his wide receivers to catch the football when they are called upon. For Underwood right now, that's not the case on too many occasions.

Coming into Saturday's game, drops were already an issue for the Michigan wideouts, and it persisted on Saturday against the Badgers. First, with 12:53 to go until halftime, it was Max Bredeson dropping a ball right to his chest on a 3rd-and-1 play to stall a Michigan drive when the offense needed some momentum. Then, late in the quarter, although it would have taken a lot for the Wolverines to score points starting from their own 6 with under 30 seconds left, Semaj Morgan dropped a perfectly thrown ball from Underwood that led him right in stride and hit him in the hands. Kendrick Bell also had a drop late in the third on a play where Underwood scrambled to keep the play alive.

At some point, Michigan's pass catchers are going to have to get this issue figured out. The unit wasn't absent of making plays for their quarterback by any means, they just have to be more consistent if the Wolverines hope to reach their potential on the offensive side of the ball.

Zvada comes up empty on another field goal

Michigan kicker Dominic Zvada had seemed to get out of a mini early season slump after his performance against Nebraska. However, in the third quarter against Wisconsin with the score 17-7, Zvada missed a chip shot field goal from 27 yards out to the left.

He did drill a 40-yarder early in the game to put the Wolverines up 10-7 at the time, but simply put, Zvada is too good of a kicker to be missing field goals from that short.