ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Michigan’s 52-17 win over UTEP wasn’t just about the final score. After a slow start, the Wolverines closed out non-conference play with a batch of individual performances that helped turn the afternoon into a runaway.
Andrew Marsh finally looked like the playmaker Michigan expected him to be. After two quiet games in which he had only five catches for 28 yards on nine targets, the freshman All-American exploded against UTEP.
Marsh was targeted 12 times and hauled in 10 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown, with 84 of those yards coming after the catch. He also flashed his body control with a toe-tapping grab along the sideline in the first half.
He finished with seven first downs, nearly matching UTEP’s nine.
"We had more of a game planning concerted effort to get Andrew the ball because we hadn't gotten the ball enough in the first two games," Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham said. "And we understood that, and that needed to change.
And he's a guy that is one of the better receivers in the Big Ten and we've got to utilize him. I think we did a good job of that today."
The defensive front kept pouring it on, and Tariq Boney stood out even in a deep group effort. Michigan had 12 players record at least half a tackle for loss, but Boney made his impact count in just 16 snaps. He posted four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, three run stops and two quarterback pressures.
After a standout senior season at Washington, D.C., where he was named Gatorade Player of the Year, Boney has kept stacking reasons to earn more time. Whittingham praised the first-year player’s explosiveness, strength and nonstop motor, calling him “built like a fire hydrant and strong as an ox in the weight room.”
Savion Hiter had a rocky moment when his second-quarter fumble handed UTEP the ball deep in Michigan territory and led to a touchdown on the next play. But the rest of his day still landed in the positive column.
In his first extended action, Hiter ran 11 times for 62 yards and two touchdowns, with 30 yards after contact. Both scoring runs came after contact, and he picked up five first downs.
Whittingham said Hiter’s ceiling is high and described him as “a very violent runner” and “a powerful runner.” He also added that Hiter will likely be at his best once he gets more carries, noting, “Right now he's RB2; Jordan Marshall is RB1. ... But both good backs, and great to see him be productive.”
Jonah Lea'ea delivered one of the game’s biggest highlights from an unlikely spot. The senior defensive tackle and Utah transfer jumped a screen pass on third-and-21 late in the third quarter, intercepted it and returned it nine yards for a touchdown. The score pushed Michigan ahead 45-14 and capped a third quarter in which the Wolverines outgained UTEP 160 to negative-10.
Whittingham said he coached Lea'ea for the last three years at Utah and knew exactly what could happen if a screen came his way. "If he's in the game, you better not try to scream because he's going to disrupt it.
And he read it perfectly, snatched it out of the air and had a pick-six. And he just seems to have a knack for playing screens as well as anybody I've ever been around.
That was good to see."
Bryce Underwood also earned a game ball despite an early fumble on the opening drive. He finished 18 of 25 for 223 yards and two touchdowns, showing more patience, better comfort scanning the field and improved willingness to step into throws.
Several of his completions fit into tight windows, and his 76 percent completion rate was the second-best of his career. It also marked the highest passer efficiency rating of his 16 starts.
Whittingham said Underwood protected the ball after that early mistake and handled the offense cleanly. "He took care of the football when he threw it," Whittingham said.
"Made good decisions. High completion percentage was 76%, I think is what he was, 19-of-25.
I think my math is correct. Darn near 10 yards per attempt, which is excellent.
You know, it's one thing to have a high completion percentage when you're getting 5 yards an attempt, but he was much higher than that. And like I said, took care of it.
Didn't throw it to the other team. And really just went through his progressions.
"It seemed like his clock and head was really synced up and getting rid of the ball in good time."
In Other News...
Michigans Ranking Climb Just Made This Big Ten Stretch Feel Real
Michigans latest jump in the AP Top 25 came with a little more punch than the usual early-season polling shuffle. After a 52-17 win over UTEP, the Wolverines climbed one spot to No. 18, a small rise that still matters because it reflects how far the program has steadied itself in the first few weeks under first-year coach Kyle Whittingham. At 3-0, Michigan has already worked through an early ranking dip and now looks more settled than it did in September.
The next test is the one that will say even more. No. 17 Iowa is up next in a Big Ten matchup, giving Michigan a chance to turn a modest poll move into something more meaningful against a ranked conference opponent. For a team that has been building momentum and credibility, this stretch starts to feel like the point where the conversations around progress become harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan May Have Found A Freshman Pass Rush Answer
Michigan got a useful glimpse of a young pass-rush option in Week 3, when freshman edge rusher Tariq Boney made his presence felt against UTEP. Boney finished with four tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack, a production line that matched the buzz he had already been building in fall camp. Coaches Kyle Whittingham and Jay Hill had both spoken highly of him during camp, and teammates had noticed the same steady rise on the practice field.
For a Michigan front that is always looking for more disruption off the edge, the encouraging part is not just the stat sheet but how familiar the performance looked to people inside the program. Boney's play against UTEP fit the reputation he created in practice, giving the Wolverines another name to watch as the season moves into games that should ask more of the pass rush. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Has A Real Chance To Climb In This Poll Shakeup
USCs 42-35 win over Rutgers gave the Trojans a fourth victory and added another wrinkle to a polling picture that has already been turned on its head by a weekend of upsets. With LSU and Texas A&M both taking losses, the AP Top 25 is in line for movement that could reshape not just the top of the ranking, but also the way the conference race looks heading into the stretch run.
For Michigan readers, the bigger takeaway is the ripple effect. Iowa has a real opening to climb, and USCs path gets even more interesting with Oregon coming to Los Angeles next, a matchup that could carry major weight in the poll shakeup. In a season where every upset seems to pull another team into the conversation, the next round of conference games may tell us even more about who is built to stay put. [Read more 🡒]