Michigan Dominates Central Michigan In Bounce-Back Win

Dominating on both sides of the ball, No. 23 Michigan (2-1) bounced back Saturday, easily taking down Central Michigan (1-2) by a 63-3 final.

The Wolverines let freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood loose. He threw 16-for-25 for 235 yards with one touchdown through the air, and added 114 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in three quarters of play. Junior running back Justice Haynes rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on 14 attempts.

Senior linebacker Jaishawn Barham was a tornado on the field, and the Chippewas couldn’t figure out how to stop him. He had two sacks in the first quarter alone as part of his six total tackles.

On the opening drive, the Wolverines showed their hand. They attacked primarily through the air, passing seven times and rushing just four. Behind Underwood’s arm, Michigan marched down the field, but it was back to the ground with Haynes to finish it off for the early 7-0 lead.

Not to be outdone, Michigan’s defense was suffocating. Led by Barham, the Wolverines made life miserable for the Central Michigan offense. Barham was getting to the backfield with little resistance and creating chaos in the pocket. 

The Wolverines offense got the ball back in less than a minute thanks to a three-and-out, and Underwood notched a passing touchdown to junior receiver Semaj Morgan to make the score 14-0.

The offense got the ball back quickly after yet another three-and-out by Central Michigan, and this time, Underwood showed off his wheels. After being largely conservative on his rushing attempts through the first two games, Underwood was allowed to rush as he pleased against the Chippewas.

He rewarded the coaches for this decision with a 20-yard rushing touchdown on a designed run, and a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Before 21 minutes had even elapsed in the game, the Wolverines had it all but wrapped it up. After forcing a turnover on downs in plus territory, it took just two plays for the score to inflate to 28-0. Freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh took a pitch on an end-around all the way to the end zone for his first collegiate touchdown.

Michigan was doing what it needed to do: dominate.

After Underwood’s first interception of the year, the Chippewas offense found a bit of a rhythm. Their first five drives resulted in a combined total of nine yards, but the sixth earned 81. While they couldn’t punch it in for a touchdown, Central Michigan got on the board with a field goal.

But the Chippewas left too much time on the clock. Underwood and the offense led a flawless two-minute drill of 11 plays for 79 yards in under two minutes capped off by sophomore running back Jordan Marshall’s touchdown. With that exclamation point, Michigan took to the locker room with a commanding 35-3 lead.

The second half started with more of the same. Michigan forced a three-and-out then promptly pushed the ball down the field. For the second time on the day, Marshall capped off the drive with a short touchdown run, this time for a 42-3 lead.

Then, they did it again. The Wolverines defense forced another three-and-out, and the offense scored a touchdown. This time, it wasn’t as easy. 

On a fourth-and-1, Michigan’s play broke down, and Underwood was in trouble in the backfield. Showing off his speed and playmaking, Underwood broke left and bullied his way into the end zone for his second rushing touchdown, making the score 49-3.

That was all for Underwood. After freshman defensive back Elijah Dotson’s first career interception, sophomore Jadyn Davis took over under center. Not much changed, however, as without throwing a pass, the Wolverines earned yet another touchdown, this time on junior running back Bryson Kuzdzal’s first career touchdown.

The Wolverines final score was another first, this time from freshman running back Jasper Parker. His one-yard rush capped off both the drive and the scoring for the game, pushing the score to its lopsided final, 63-3.

Up Next: Michigan finally gets to Big Ten action in Week 4, when they hit the road to take on unranked Nebraska.