Michigan left New Jersey with a 28-21 win over Rutgers, and the box score told a pretty clear story: the Wolverines got the offense moving early, leaned on Tommy Carr, and did enough defensively to close it out.
The victory pushed Michigan to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play. It also gave the Wolverines their first road win of the season.
Against Rutgers, Michigan kept the series trend rolling. The Wolverines are now 10-1 all-time against the Scarlet Knights, including 5-1 in New Jersey.
They’ve won five straight road games in the matchup and 10 in a row overall. Rutgers’ only win in the series came in New Jersey in 2014, the first meeting between the programs.
Michigan’s offense put together 427 total yards, its third-highest output of the season and the fourth time this year it has topped 300 yards. The Wolverines also came out fast, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions for the first time this season. It was just the second game of the year in which Michigan scored in all four quarters, matching the Iowa game.
The third-down work stood out, too. Michigan finished 12-of-16 on third down and averaged 5.9 yards per play.
Carr was at the center of it all. He finished with 266 passing yards and accounted for three total touchdowns, including two on the ground.
That gives him three rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns on the season. His 22-of-27 passing line worked out to an 81 percent completion rate, the best single-game mark by any freshman starting quarterback in U-M history among players with at least 20 attempts.
Carr’s first-half numbers were especially strong. He threw for 184 yards before the break, the most by a Michigan quarterback in the first half since Bryce Underwood had 185 at Northwestern last year.
Michigan’s first score came on JJ Buchanan’s six-yard touchdown catch on the opening possession. That was Buchanan’s team-high fifth receiving touchdown of the season. The drive covered 92 yards in 10 plays and took 5:52, making it Michigan’s longest scoring drive of the year by distance.
Salesi Moa helped set that up with a 44-yard reception, his longest of the season. Later, tight end Mason Bonner made his first catch of the year, a 27-yard grab near the end of the first quarter.
Buchanan’s second catch of the day, a 30-yard gain, pushed him past 1,000 career receiving yards, leaving him at 1,002. Andrew Marsh also reached the 1,000-yard mark in the game on his fifth catch.
Jordan Marshall added Michigan’s second touchdown, scoring from two yards out to finish an eight-play, 75-yard drive. It was his fifth rushing touchdown of the season.
Rutgers had trouble sustaining anything on offense. The Scarlet Knights went just 3-of-10 on third down and managed only nine first downs. Michigan’s defense also continued a recent trend, as the Wolverines have now gone two straight games without allowing an opponent to complete a second-half pass.
In Other News...
Bryce Underwood Could Force A Tough Michigan Decision Soon
Bryce Underwoods path at Michigan has already taken an unexpected turn, with the former five-star quarterback recruit getting benched in favor of Tommy Carr after struggling against Penn State. For a program that has spent so much time building around quarterback stability, the situation has quickly become one of the more intriguing personnel questions on the roster, especially with Underwood still carrying the kind of athletic profile that can tempt a staff to find another way to use him.
Michigan has not made any official decision about a position change, and no approach has been set in stone, but the idea is clearly on the table as the Wolverines sort through their quarterback situation. Underwoods future role now feels like one of those early-season decisions that can shape more than just depth-chart order, because if the staff decides his best path is somewhere other than quarterback, it would say plenty about where things stand behind center. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Escaped Rutgers But The Real Frustrations Arent Going Away
Michigan got what it needed against Rutgers, but not in the cleanest way. The Wolverines squeezed out a 28-21 win after letting a late-game lead slip away long enough to make things uncomfortable, even with Tommy Carr turning in a strong night through the air and on the ground. His 266 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns gave Michigan enough punch to survive, but the overall feel of the game was less about control than escape.
For a program that still has bigger ambitions in the 2026 season, the concerns did not disappear with the final whistle. The defense had stretches where Rutgers found room to answer, including the fourth-quarter tie that briefly changed the tone of the night, and the offense again left questions about consistency and coaching direction. A win is a win, but this one did little to quiet the frustration around how Michigan is being put together week to week. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Fans Still Have One Big Question About This Team
Michigans football profile has drawn a mixed bag of reaction lately, with praise from some corners and sharp criticism from others. Utah State coach Bronco Mendenhall singled out offensive coordinator Jason Beck for the work being done on that side of the ball, while former Michigan players and analysts have pushed back on Kyle Whittinghams coaching style and the way he has handled his public comments.
Greg Schiano added another layer to the conversation by calling Michigans defense elite and pointing to several of its key players as the reason for that reputation. For fans, the contrast is what makes the bigger question linger: if the defense is playing at that level and the offense is drawing positive notice, why does the overall picture around the program still feel so unsettled? [Read more 🡒]