The good and the bad from Michigan football's 63-3 win over Central Michigan

No. 23 Michigan football bounced back after its defeat last week to Oklahoma with a dominant 63-3 victory over the Central Michigan Chippewas on Saturday to improve to 2-1 on the season. The Wolverines dominated in all phases of the game in what was a much needed performance from both sides of the ball to signal that the Wolverines still might have a high ceiling this year after all, even after the loss to the Sooners.

Although there was much more "good" football than "bad" for the Wolverines in this one, let's analyze both sides of the coin from the performance against the Chippewas.

The good

Bryce Underwood gets unleashed

Michigan offensive coordinator and the staff took some criticism for the gameplan and approach against Oklahoma last weekend against a very good Brent Venables defense. While the Sooners deserve a ton of credit for stifling the Wolverines for the most part, Lindsey made sure the Chippewas had no chance to do that to Michigan on Saturday as he allowed true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood to use his entire skill set.

From the jump, Underwood was pushing the ball down the field as Wolverine receivers were running route concepts down the field to allow for big plays to take place. By the time Underwood was pulled late in the third quarter due to Michigan having a big lead, he had finished his day 16-of-25 passing for 235 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The freshman did make a couple of misreads when trying to hit on big plays down the field, including on an interception in the second quarter where he didn't see the safety dropping on top of the coverage, but those types of things are going to happen and can be used as learning moments. All in all, Underwood showed poise in the pocket all afternoon on his way to a big day through the air with the help of aggressive playcalling from Lindsey, which included airing the ball out early and often.

Sep 13, 2025; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines running back Jordan Marshall (23) rushes in the first half against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

On top of the aerial game, Lindsey and the offensive staff also featured Underwood's legs and athleticism, which gives Michigan another dynamic to its offense. To win against better opponents, Underwood is going to have to make some plays with his feet as that's a strength of his, and he certainly did that against the CMU defense on his way to a 114-yard rushing performance. While many of the runs came on Underwood improvising on scramble plays, there were also a number of designed runs for him as well, which will give the Wolverines' opponents another dynamic to think about when trying to scheme against Michigan's offense. With the performance on the ground, Underwood became the first QB in program history to rush for over 100 yards in a game since Devin Gardner in 2013.

Bryce Underwood has some serious skills, folks‼️ 👀

📺: BTN pic.twitter.com/aH4Hifme91
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 13, 2025

The defense dominates and Jaishawn Barham is a matchup nightmare

Michigan's defense had not been bad for the first two weeks of the season in games against New Mexico and Oklahoma. But for the Wolverines to get to the playoff this year, that unit needs to be special and perform at the level they are capable of week in and week out with the talent and experience they have on that side of the ball.

There was a feeling that Wink Martindale's unit had another level they could turn it up to, and they certainly reached that level on Saturday while suffocating the Chippewas' offense from the very start of the game. The performance was led by linebacker Jaishawn Barham, who was all over the place and was a serious matchup problem for the CMU offensive line. If Barhman can draw that level of attention and play at a consistently high level from week to week, that will only open up other opportunities for players on the Michigan front to make plays with added attention on him.

Barham finished the game with a team-high six total tackles and two sacks. As a whole, the defense held CMU to 139 total yards and had players making plays even when going deep into the depth chart. This is a performance Martindale's unit should be able to build off and take into the Nebraska game next weekend,

The bad

Kicking game concerns?

As previously stated, there isn't a ton of negative to point out when a team wins 63-3, so there is some nitpicking that will have to happen here. In the end, this didn't mean much, but senior kicker Dominic Zvada did miss a 47-yard field goal today after missing a short 32-yard field goal at Oklahoma last week.

Kickers, just like any other position on the field, can go through slumps and/or rough patches, and Zvada has shown enough consistency throughout his career to signal that he will more likely than not get through this mini slump. For kickers, confidence and the mental part of the game are essential, and surely the Michigan staff will make sure they are doing their part in making sure they are instilling confidence in him even through a couple of missed kicks that he usually drills with ease.

Rod Moore misses another game

Michigan has caught a bit of the injury bug in the early part of the season, with 14 players listed as "out" on the injury report heading into the CMU game, with several others who were listed as "questionable" who also sat out, including senior safety Rod Moore.

It's well-known that Moore is still recovering from his torn ACL last year, but many were hopeful that he would be able to return to game action within the first three weeks of the season. With the Huskers on deck, this might have served as a good game for Moore to get out there and get live game reps if he felt good enough, but clearly he just wasn't able to go and still has some challenges to overcome with that knee.

The Wolverines' secondary will hope to have a healthy Moore sooner rather than later as Michigan gears up for Big Ten play.

Sep 13, 2025; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Central Michigan Chippewas quarterback Joe Labas (2) is sacked by Michigan Wolverines linebacker Jaishawn Barham (1) in the first half at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images