Michigan didn’t look much like a team cruising through its nonconference slate for the first half Saturday. Then the Wolverines turned the game into a runaway.
After a shaky opening stretch against UTEP at Michigan Stadium, No. 19 Michigan blew the doors off in the second half and rolled to a 52-17 win in Week 3.
The Wolverines scored 38 straight points after trailing 14-7, then shifted their attention to Big Ten play with No. 20 Iowa up next Saturday.
The first half had the kind of sloppiness Michigan can’t afford once conference play begins. There were two turnovers, a pile of penalties and enough blown assignments to keep UTEP hanging around. But the second half belonged to Michigan’s defense, which slammed the door and helped the offense pile up points in bunches.
Jay Hill’s defense opened the third quarter with three straight three-and-outs, then finished the period with a 6-yard pick-six from defensive tackle Jonah Lea’ea. By the end, Michigan had 11 tackles for loss, four sacks and 11 players involved in plays behind the line of scrimmage.
The final numbers told the story of how thoroughly Michigan controlled things after halftime. The Wolverines outgained UTEP 431-150 and scored 35 points in the second half while allowing the Miners just 28 total yards over that same stretch.
Bryce Underwood delivered his cleanest passing performance of the season, going 19 of 25 for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores went to his top targets, JJ Buchanan and Andrew Marsh, who combined for 17 catches and 192 yards.
Marsh was especially busy. After catching just five passes for 28 yards through the first two games, he became a centerpiece of the offense Saturday, finishing with a game-high 10 receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown. He was targeted 12 times, the second most of his career.
His best moment came on Michigan’s first scoring drive, when he hauled in a high third-and-7 throw near the left sideline, somehow kept his balance and dragged a toe as a defender tried to push him out of bounds. He also showed sharp feel on a third-and-4 drag route later in the first half, settling into space for 9 yards and a first down, then added a 34-yard touchdown on a slant route for his first touchdown of 2026.
Buchanan kept making plays too. He finished with a career-high seven catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, with most of his damage coming in the intermediate game.
He caught a 17-yard pass and then a 21-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14 with 1:31 left in the first half. Later, his 9-yard curl helped set up the go-ahead field goal before halftime.
Michigan’s ground game was steadier than the box score might first suggest, with 42 carries for 185 yards and a 4.4-yard average. But a lot of that production came after the defense had already flipped the game. Before the break, the Wolverines had just 22 carries for 66 yards, along with two fumbles and only one touchdown.
That lone first-half rushing score came from five-star freshman Savion Hiter, who punched in a 6-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7 early in the second quarter. On his next touch, though, he fumbled, and UTEP quickly turned that into a 1-play, 18-yard touchdown drive when EJ Colson hit Lamar Sperling on a play-action pass for a 14-7 lead.
From there, Michigan took over.
The Wolverines’ decisive burst started with the defense forcing those three straight three-and-outs to open the second half. Then the offense answered with touchdown drives from Jordan Marshall, Hiter and Marsh before Lea’ea’s interception return score finished off a 28-0 quarter.
Even late in the blowout, Michigan found something new. Freshman quarterback Tommy Carr, grandson of former Michigan national title-winning coach Lloyd Carr, made his collegiate debut midway through the fourth quarter and delivered.
He completed both of his passes for 23 yards, including a 19-yard fade to four-star freshman receiver Salesi Moa in the left corner. Carr also ran twice for 23 yards.
Mother Tammi Carr was shown jumping for joy in the press box, one row below Lloyd.
The day still wasn’t spotless. Michigan opened the game with a drive that reached the UTEP 2 before a hold on tight end Eli Owens wiped out the gain, and Underwood fumbled two plays later.
On the next series, Dominic Nichols had a sack erased by an offsides call, then Michigan gave up a 45-yard touchdown on the following play. Hiter’s later fumble helped UTEP briefly regain the lead.
But by the time the second half settled in, the gap between the teams was obvious. Michigan had moved past a messy start and into full control, and now it heads into conference play undefeated in nonconference games for the first time since the 2023 national championship season.
The next stop is Iowa, which enters next Saturday’s game at 3-0 after a 55-0 win over Northern Iowa. Michigan will open Big Ten play at home at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.
In Other News...
Michigan Fans May Need To Rethink Pregame Plans For UTEP
Michigan fans heading into the UTEP game may need a little more flexibility in their usual Saturday routine. Michigan Athletics and public safety officials are keeping an eye on weather conditions that could affect the schedule, including possible delays to gate openings and parking access, with the university directing fans to rely on official athletics channels for the latest updates.
For a No. 19 Michigan team that is 2-0, the on-field focus remains the same, but the pregame experience may look different depending on how the weather develops. If gates do not open on time, fans are being told to stay in safe locations and wait for further guidance, a reminder that the logistics around kickoff can shift quickly even when the game itself is still on track. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Still Has One Big Concern After Another Blowout Win
Michigan kept rolling in a 52-17 win over UTEP to move to 3-0, and the final score reflected how thoroughly the Wolverines took control after shaking off a sluggish start. Early turnovers could have made things interesting, but the offense settled in and the second half turned into another convincing display, with quarterback Bryce Underwood throwing for 223 yards and two touchdowns in just three quarters.
Andrew Marsh was a bright spot again, finishing with 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown, giving Michigan another reliable target as the passing game found a rhythm. The defense also settled in after a few early mistakes, but even in a blowout like this, the game did not fully erase the concern that has lingered around the Wolverines through the opening stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Finally Found Some Offense But A Bigger Worry Is Growing
Michigan finally got the kind of offensive afternoon it had been waiting for, rolling past UTEP 52-17 as Bryce Underwood looked more comfortable as a passer and the unit found more rhythm than it had shown earlier in the season. There was even a milestone for the freshman group, with Tommy Carr tossing his first career touchdown pass, a small but useful sign that Michigan was getting production from more than one spot on the field.
Still, the more immediate concern out of the win may be on the other side of the ledger, where the injury list keeps getting harder to ignore. Right tackle Andrew Sprague, running back Jordan Marshall and cornerback Zeke Berry all missed time or were limited, and for a team trying to build momentum, those absences could matter as much as any box score improvement. Michigan got the offense it needed Saturday, but the health of a few key players is becoming a bigger storyline by the week. [Read more 🡒]