Tag: Northwestern

Michigan 24, Northwestern 22

I was almost half right. My score prediction was 24-13 in favor of Michigan in my game preview, which I never posted because I only finished half of it. So I got Michigan’s score correct, but Northwestern was able to put a few more points on the board than I expected.

It helps to get 5 turnovers. Michigan is apparently the first FBS team ever – ever!!! – to win a football game while giving up 5 turnovers and creating 0 turnovers. The offense was actually pretty productive on a down-to-down basis, but Bryce Underwood threw 2 interceptions, there was a fumbled exchange with the backup to the backup running back Bryson Kudzdal, and there was just a bad play on an end around exchange with Andrew Marsh. Three of those turnovers were bad plays by Underwood, who played pretty darn well otherwise. It was a bit of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde game for him, because he completed 21/32 passes for 280 yards and ran 9 times for 30 yards and 1 touchdown. Those are season/career highs in attempts and yards, and it ties a career high in completions. The most inexcusable turnover was the handoff to Kudzdal, on which Underwood put the ball up at chest level, so Kudzdal never had a chance. That’s just a basic play for a quarterback that really shouldn’t ever happen. (That being said, the offensive line got its butt kicked on that play, and Kudzdal probably would have been stopped for a loss to end the drive, anyway.)

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Michigan’s 10 Longest Plays vs. Northwestern

Here’s a look at the top ten longest plays over the years against the Northwestern Wildcats.

1. Jehu Chesson 96-yard kickoff return touchdown (2015)
2. Jamie Morris 80-yard kickoff return (1984)
3. Anthony Carter 78-yard punt return touchdown (1979)
4. Tyrone Wheatley 74-yard touchdown run (1991)
5. Steve Breaston 67-yard punt return touchdown (2004)
6. Elvis Grbac 65-yard pass to Amani Toomer (1992)
7. Elvis Grbac 64-yard touchdown pass to Desmond Howard (1991)
8. Jordan Marshall 63-yard kickoff return (2024)
9. Stan Edwards 62-yard kickoff return (1977)
10. Lawrence Ricks 60-yard touchdown run (1981)
11. Anthony Thomas 60-yard touchdown run (1999)
12. John Kolesar 60-yard punt return (1988)

Hit the jump to see video of the top three plays.

Michigan 50, Northwestern 6

I’m happy for the seniors. FS1 put up a stat box at one point talking about the seniors on Michigan’s team and their accomplishments. Over the past 3+ seasons, they have won a national championship, won the Big Ten three times, and gone 3-0 against Ohio State. We also saw senior Tavierre Dunlap score his first career touchdown on senior night at home. We saw Donovan Edwards get in the end zone for just the fourth time this year, which has been a disappointing season relative to expectations. There was Kalel Mullings scoring a career-high 3 touchdowns. We also saw transplanted players like Josaiah Stewart getting 2 sacks, T.J. Guy getting 1 sack, and Aamir Hall getting his first career interception in a Michigan uniform. This year has not gone according to plan overall, but at least senior night went well.

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Preview: Michigan vs. Northwestern

RUSH OFFENSE vs. NORTHWESTERN RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan ranks #73 nationally in rushing offense (155.5 yards/game) and #74 in yards per carry (4.34). Indiana largely shut down the rushing game two weeks ago in a disappointing effort from the offensive line. Kalel Mullings (141 carries, 740 yards, 8 TD) still leads the team in rushing, but he has ceded carries lately to Donovan Edwards (114 carries, 513 yards, 3 TD) and even Benjamin Hall (4 carries, 9 yards against Indiana). Head coach Sherrone Moore hinted that a couple other backs could see playing time this week, including freshmen Micah Ka’apana and Jordan Marshall. The offensive line should see the return of starting RG Giovanni El-Hadi this week, but with RT Andrew Gentry out for the season and backup OT Jeffrey Persi working back from an injury, the right tackle spot will be manned by Evan Link. Northwestern is #28 in rush defense (114.6 yards allowed/game) and #28 in yards allowed per carry (3.59). The general trend is that the solid teams have run the ball well against the Wildcats, and the bad teams haven’t; Washington, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio State have all gone for 144+ yards on the ground. Michigan hasn’t been greatly effective at running the ball, but they are pretty committed to hammering away until they clearly can’t do it. Junior weakside LB Mac Uihlein (6’1″, 230) leads the team with 65 tackles, followed by redshirt junior CB (yikes!) Theran Johnson (5’11”, 182) and redshirt sophomore nickel Robert Fitzgerald (6’0″, 208) with 44 stops each. The defensive front is made up of fourth-year or older players, with 6’3″, 310 lb. DT R.J. Pearson and 6’2″, 297 lb. DT Carmine Bastone in the middle; one defensive end is Aidan Hubbard (6’4″, 252), the brother of former Ohio State and current NFL defensive end Sam Hubbard. Hubbard and 6’3″, 272 lb. DE Jaylen Pate lead the team with 5 tackles for loss each. I don’t think Michigan will run over Northwestern, but I do think they will be able to keep the chains moving, especially if they can incorporate QB Alex Orji in some +1 runs.
Advantage: Michigan

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2021 Michigan vs. Northwestern Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Andrel Anthony. Anthony has better speed than I thought he had coming out of high school, and he showed some playmaking ability on Saturday, squeezing a few yards out of what seemed to be doomed to be a big chunk loss on an end around. Maybe he’s not ready to be a big-time contributor, but I think he should earn a few more snaps.

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