Offense notes: Bryce Underwood dazzles but gives himself C+ grade in Michigan debut

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — New Mexico had the momentum late in the first half, down 17-10, and Michigan was facing 3rd and 14 from its own 21-yard line with 1:31 remaining in the second quarter. Lobos head coach Jason Eck called timeout in hopes of having enough time to put together another scoring drive should his team get the ball back.

But that only gave Michigan more of an opportunity to get into the end zone itself. Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood threw the ball on a rope to sophomore wideout Channing Goodwin for a 39-yard gain. Plays later, Underwood found senior tight end Marlin Klein for an 8-yard touchdown.

Just like that, Michigan’s advantage was 14 points heading into the halftime locker room. The Wolverines’ offense “shallowed out” for much of the second quarter, per Haynes, but showed it can get going in a hurry, thanks in large part to Underwood’s skill set.

Klein emerged as a favorite of Underwood’s, hauling in 6 catches for 93 yards, leading all receivers in both categories. He said before the season that he has a lot to show, and he started to tell that story with his performance.

“I can catch the ball and make plays in the passing game,” said Klein, whose touchdown was the first of his career. “And that’s what I have to continue to do for this team. If we want to go where we want to go, we need all 11 players on offense, defense, and special teams to make plays for us. I just want to be the best tight end in the country for this team and I think that’s what I showed tonight.”

Goodwin’s reception marked the first of his career.

“I call him technician,” junior running back Justice Haynes said. “Channing is technically sound in everything. He’s a technician — he really is. He’s consistent, comes in each and every day, working, works hard and you can always count on him. There’s not a day I’ve seen where Channing has an off day, a bad day. He’s always having a day — a great day.”

The passing game dazzled in the 34-17 victory over New Mexico, amassing 251 yards. Underwood completed 21 of his 31 throws with the lone touchdown, and there were a few on-the-money passes that were dropped.

Underwood dreamed of playing at Michigan growing up, and Saturday night was his first opportunity to suit up in a winged helmet in front of the college football world.

“That was a surreal feeling being in The Big House,” Underwood said. “I’ve been coming to the games since I was eight years old, so it was just a surreal feeling to me. Having a block ‘M’ on my chest and to score a touchdown. 

“At the beginning of the fourth quarter, that’s when the moment actually sunk in a little bit. My mindset going into the game just is to do as well as I can as a freshman, cause that’s what people are going to see me as and I want to change the narrative, of course.”

That narrative is that he can be good for a freshman. The way he sees it, though — “I’m a quarterback for the University of Michigan.”

The 6-foot-4, 228-pound Detroit native isn’t satisfied, looking to perform at a high level for any quarterback, not just a first-year one. Asked to grade his own performance, he gave it a “C+.”

“Lot of things I’ve got to work on, also the team as well,” Underwood noted. “Going to go back to the drawing board and going to come back better next week.”

Michigan’s pass game performance sure was a contrast to last season. The Wolverines didn’t throw for more than 208 yards in a game and had four contests with fewer than 100 yards.

Justice Haynes breaks Michigan record for most rushing yards in a debut

Haynes, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound Alabama transfer, made a strong first impression, too. The Alpharetta (Ga.) Buford product churned out 159 yards on the ground, a new program high for a Michigan running back in a debut since 1970. That, plus his 3-touchdown performance, marked career highs.

Haynes was able to come up with the big play on multiple occasions. He was responsible for a 56-yard touchdown dash in the first quarter, then ripped off a 59-yarder down to the 1-yard line at the start of the fourth.

“Yes, this is what I expect from myself,” Haynes said. “All glory to God and all those up front. But I definitely do expect this from myself each and every week. I put in a lot of work, I feel like, and I’m hard on myself. I’m going to go back and watch the film and see what I could’ve even done better in this game.”

Haynes earned the start, but sophomore Jordan Marshall also received plenty of playing time. He wasn’t as effective, though, rushing 11 times for 29 yards with a 5-yard long.

Even Haynes had his fair share of uneventful carries, with 9 of his 16 attempts going for 3 or fewer yards, not including his 1-yard touchdown. Moore broke down what he saw from the offensive line.

“I thought the offensive line overall, the consistency that I saw throughout the game was really good,” Moore said. “There’s always the hey, you could have made this block you could have did this, but when you rush for over 200 yards you feel pretty happy about that. I know we had some explosive plays in there, but there were also some four or five yard gains and three yards gains that turn into those big plays, so I think that’s super important.

“I think the progression they’re taking, especially from the bowl game to now having new guys in there, has been really good. Been fun to watch.”

Michigan rushed for 201 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry, and Underwood took 2 sacks. The Wolverines had only 3 negative plays overall.

Miscellaneous Michigan football offense notes

• Michigan played seven offensive linemen in the game. Two backups saw significant time — junior Nathan Efobi at right guard and sophomore Blake Frazier at right tackle. Frazier was at right tackle for Haynes’ 1-yard touchdown run, providing nice push.

• The last time Michigan had 251 passing yards in a game was against Purdue Nov. 4, 2023 (335).

• Underwood became the fourth Michigan freshman to start at quarterback, joining Rick Leach (1975), Chad Henne (2004) and Tate Forcier (2009).

• Underwood broke the record for most passing yards by a freshman quarterback in a debut with 251. Forcier previously held the record with 179 versus Western Michigan in 2009.

• Underwood’s 251 yards were also the sixth most for any Michigan quarterback in their debut and the most since John O’Korn (270) in 2017.

• Michigan’s 452 total yards are its most in a game since posting 492 versus UNLV in the third game of the 2023 season.

• Junior wide receiver Kendrick Bell recorded a career-best 30-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.