The good and the bad from Michigan football's 24-22 win over Northwestern

No. 18 Michigan football (8-2) escaped Chicago on Saturday with a 24-22 win against Northwestern (5-5) despite turning the ball over five times at Wrigley Field.

Let's break down "the good" and "the bad" from the game.

The Good

Bryce Underwood finds a rhythm in first 3 quarters

Coming off two consecutive games against Michigan State and Purdue where true freshman QB Bryce Underwood seemed uncomfortable at times and unable to find a rhythm, against the Wildcats on Saturday, the Wolverines seemed to make it a point of emphasis to throw the ball early and often to loosen up the Northwestern defense.

Bryce Underwood fakes out everybody for the TD 💪@UMichFootball extends the lead at Wrigley Field pic.twitter.com/Q1rN8QSwyx
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 15, 2025

Underwood maneuvered the pocket quite well and connected with Andrew Marsh on several occasions, as Marsh compiled nine catches for 135 yards in the first half alone. The protection broke down too many times in the first half, and Underwood stepped into a rusher in the first quarter, which set the Wolverines behind the sticks three times in the game's first 30 minutes with three sacks allowed, which in part played a role in Michigan only scoring seven first half points.

In the third quarter, Underwood continued to attack the Northwestern secondary with his arm. During Michigan's drive late in the third to put the Wolverines up 21-9, Underwood connected with Donovan McCulley for gains of 13 and 26 yards to help put his team in scoring range before Jordan Marshall capped the drive off with a one-yard touchdown run.

Nov 15, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) throws the ball against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

But as far as how Underwood looked and how the passing game was able to flow at periods in the game, that aspect of things looked far better than what the Wolverines have put on the field in the couple of games before this.

Obviously, things went awry in the fourth quarter as Underwood threw two crucial interceptions that nearly cost the Wolverines the game, but he did step up on the last drive and connected on a big pass play to Marsh to set up Dominc Zvada's game winning field goal.

Overall, Underwood finished 21-of-32 passing for 280 yards with two picks.

A healthier defense steps up in the big moments

Michigan had been banged up at several key positions over recent weeks, particularly at linebacker. The absence of Jaishawn Barham, Jimmy Rolder and Cole Sullivan was felt against the Boilermakers last week.

Against Northwestern, Rolder and Barham returned and provided a steady force to Wink Martindale's unit and made several plays against the run in particular.

As a whole, the defense stepped up in a big way when needed, as Northwestern had opportunities to both tie and take the lead in the first half while driving the ball inside the five-yard line each time. Michigan, however, was able to hold the Wildcats to two field goals behind a strong effort from the defensive line to slow down Caleb Kolomafe and the Northwestern rushing attack, before providing pressure on QB Preston Stone in third down situations to force the Wildcats to settle for three points each time.

In the second half, after Michigan coughed up a fumble in its own territory, the defense stepped up again with a big stop, holding the Wildcats to their third field goal of the day.

The one area Michigan struggled at times on defense was in the back end, particularly with a lack of plays being made against Northwestern receivers on 50-50 balls in man coverage. The Wolverines did break a share of passes up from Stone, but on Northwestern's drive early in the fourth, Michigan allowed passes of 24 and 22 yards that led to a Wildcats' touchdown to cut the Wolverines' lead to 21-16 at the time.

However, after Northwestern went up 22-21 late in the fourth quarter, the defense came up with crucial stops to give the offense multiple opportunities late in the game, including a stand that gave the Wolverines' offense the ball back that set up the game winning kick.

The Wolverines held Northwestern's offense to just 245 total yards for the game, as Stone was just 13-of-27 for 184 yards, while Michigan bottled up Kolomafe as he had just 31 yards rushing.

Nov 15, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive back Zeke Berry (10) defends Northwestern Wildcats wide receiver Griffin Wilde (17) as he tries to make a catch during the first half at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

Marsh, Zvada come up big in the clutch

The Wolverines completely had their back against the wall late in the fourth quarter after blowing a 21-9 lead thanks to a flurry of turnovers. However, even with all of the momentum against them, Michigan found a way to make plays when it mattered the most in all areas.

What a CATCH this was by the Freshman Marsh 🔥@UMichFootball pic.twitter.com/Zk2behKJHe
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 15, 2025

On Michigan's last drive, first, it was Marsh, who had a career-high day with 189 receiving yards on 12 catches, who hauled in an incredible catch near the sideline in which he dragged both of his toes in on a well-thrown ball form Underwood to give the Wolverines a first down on a third-and-10 play.

Michigan then ran the ball behind the efforts of Bryson Kuzdzal to set Zvada up for a 31-yard field goal, which he kicked right down the middle of the uprights.

The moment was a much needed one for Zvada as he has now missed a handful of short field goals this season, including one from 34 yards out in the first quarter against the Wildcats. For his sake, stepping up in the clutch the way he did could be a confidence boost for him moving forward.

The Bad

Self-inflicted errors stall promising Wolverine drives

Despite compiling 215 yards of total offense in the first half, Michigan could only muster seven points on the scoreboard. Northwestern's defense does an excellent job of making teams earn their way down the field and are stingy in the redzone, but the Wolverines didn't do themselves any favors either.

On the game's opening series, the offense put together an 11-play, 59-yard drive, but ended with no points after Underwood was sacked on second down and Dominic Zvada missed another short field goal from 34 yards out on fourth down.

Then, with 5:22 left until halftime, the Wolverines were putting together their most balanced drive of the first 30 minutes when it came to having success both on the ground and in the air. However, a fumble from Marsh on a reverse play that the Wildcats' defense blew up was recovered by Northwestern and put Michigan's drive to a halt around midfield.

Simply put, Michigan is going to have to start finishing drives on a more consistent basis in the last two games of the regular season.

Fourth quarter blunders nearly cost Michigan the game

In the fourth quarter, Michigan took things to a whole new level when it came to making mistakes. Underwood's first interception set the Wildcats up to take their first lead of the game.

His second pick came off a play where it looked like he should have handed the ball off in an RPO situation. And Underwood's third turnover of the quarter came off a bad exchange with Kuzdzal on a handoff in Northwestern territory when the Wolverines were trying to regain the lead.

Somehow, the Wolverines managed to survive all the blunders and come away with a win in what can best be described as "the quarter from hell." But moving forward, Michigan cannot afford so many critical errors and have a -5 turnover differential for a game. With that being said, the team has to be credited for finding a way to win and being dominant enough to overcome all of the mistakes.

Nov 15, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Michigan Wolverines running back Jordan Marshall (23) runs for a touchdown against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

Special teams play continues to be poor

With each passing week, it seems like the Wolverines' special teams play couldn't get any worse. Yet, the Wolverines continue to somehow seemingly hit rock bottom in that category on a week to week basis.

As mentioned previously, Zvada missed another short kick that cost Michigan points early on. Then, midway through the third quarter, when the Wolverines had all the momentum after a touchdown drive to go up 14-6 and a defensive stop, right as Michigan was about to retain possession, Semaj Morgan fumbled the punt return and gave the Wildcats the ball in Michigan territory.

Luckily, the Wolverines' defense came to play and held the Northwestern offense to a field goal, but outside of the Zvada game-winner, there are few positives to take away from the unti as a whole.

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