What they're saying about Michigan after Northwestern win, OSU week ahead
The Michigan Wolverines moved to 6-5 and gained bowl eligibility after a 50-6 win over Northwestern on Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor. It came on the heels of a huge week for the program with the commitment of Five-Star+ quarterback Bryce Underwood – the nation’s No. 1 overall player in 2025 – and also served as a springboard into this week’s showdown with Ohio State.
There were plenty of takeaways to be had after a Michigan victory that seemingly came out of nowhere. Here is a sampling of what some of the voices in the market and around the country said about the Wolverines.
Ryan Van Bergen, The Wolverine postgame show
“It’s awesome to see this group of seniors, especially considering the last year that they’ve had in comparison to the three years previous… to see these guys have their last home game, go their way, play a clean football game, it was just a good, dominant football effort,” Van Bergen said. “Let’s not paint a false picture here. Northwestern’s not world beaters, and we knew that when they came in, but to handle business the way it was supposed to be handled and execute what you’re supposed to execute specifically in the second half and see the ball kind of get shared, see some guys get some opportunities that to me, that’s what you needed for this team.
“They’re deserving of this last game. I’m happy for these guys that they were able to get that. I was at the game and I felt energy. I think that’s what hope feels like. I think we all may have forgotten what that may feel like, but that’s what hope feels like.
“We’ve talked about it all year throughout this podcast, but as the year has progressed, the intensity of concern has grown and grown and grown. But I think finally this week, we had wildfires and we just hit them with cannons.”
Chris Balas, The Wolverine
Michigan 50, Northwestern 6: Notes, quotes, and observations — that old, familiar feeling
And that, folks, is how a serious Michigan football team should look against a bad opponent. The Wolverines dominated defensively, got the ground game going in the second half, and smothered Northwestern, 50-6, owning the “middle eight” and the second half in finally putting it all together.
Note we didn’t say a “good” team. One game doesn’t erase a season that’s been poor by U-M standards, and team 145 could well get a reality check next week in Columbus against an Ohio State team that will be fired up to take on its shorthanded rival. While some might compare this to past Michigan teams that started to click before playing OSU and start thinking ‘what if?’ … well, we’ll stop you there.
This isn’t the 1969 team that pummeled Iowa, 51-6, before foaming at the mouth in the locker room and screaming “beat the Bucks!” before vanquishing Woody Hayes’ No. 1 team. Nor is it the 1993 or 1995 squads that underachieved before pulling it together late in the year, spanking highly ranked OSU teams at home.
For one, this team isn’t as talented as those, especially offensively. And when you take two of the best players, Michigan corner Will Johnson and tight end Colston Loveland, off the field, it gets even dicier. Johnson missed the game again with a foot injury and Loveland didn’t come out of the locker room for the second half and is “working through something,” head coach Sherrone Moore said.
But the rest were more than good enough to crush Northwestern, and for the first time all year, we saw a complete team effort on both sides of the ball. Two weeks in a row, now, the defense has totally eliminated an opposing offense in the second half. The offense, meanwhile, was balanced and effective both running and passing.
John Borton, The Wolverine
Wolverine Watch: Thrills for the future, and a needed win now
Next year, Michigan won’t need late-November wins to clinch a bowl game berth. It won’t be hoping to battle past the Northwesterns of the Big 18 world for Senior Day solace. It won’t be scrambling for scraps of respect.
The Wolverines will find themselves fighting for a playoff spot. They will emphatically stamp the 2024 campaign as a one-off, the limping transitional link between a national championship and new-era might. They will do so via recruiting in overdrive, with no-bucks-barred player procurement hinted at by the cryptic things have changed utterances behind the scenes, then by dramatically altered results.
Michigan will get it done via a transfer portal assault featuring enthusiasm unknown to an over-caffeinated Bob Ufer. They’ll arrive in earnest under Sherrone Moore through coaching adjustments, a more manageable schedule, and a much-more ready roster.
But it wasn’t about all that, on a well-chilled November afternoon at The Big House. This one stacked up as all about pride, all about grit, all about doing what you can with what you have, until things get better. All about those who have accomplished much, leaving Michigan Stadium with heads held high and no regrets.
Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire
Bye week buy-in leads to complete game for Michigan football vs. Northwestern
Of course, you cannot deny the mojo that the maize and blue have had this week.
Michigan captured the attention of the entire college football world by flipping Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 player in the entire 2025 class, from LSU. Underwood made his debut in Michigan Stadium on Saturday as a commit to the program, so it’s not surprising that the energy being felt in Ann Arbor translated to the football field.
However, Moore says that it had much more to do with preparation than energy provided by the recruiting news. But still, this was much more akin to what Michigan is supposed to look like, and Moore was glad to see it.
“That’s the standard we want,” Moore said. “We want to recruit at a high level. Regardless of who the recruits are or who we recruit, that’s separate to our team. That’s the future team. For us, it was about our preparation for Northwestern. It’ll be about our preparation for Ohio State (next week).”
Austin Meek, The Athletic
Michigan dominates Northwestern: Takeaways from the Wolverines’ victory
After three consecutive trips to the College Football Playoff, Michigan’s postseason destination is bound to be a letdown. But at least the Wolverines won’t be sitting at home.
“It means a lot to get another game,” quarterback Davis Warren said. “We’re excited about it, but the real focus right now will be next week at Ohio State.”
The Athletic’s most recent projections had Michigan playing Louisville in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Wolverines haven’t been to the Pinstripe Bowl and have a large alumni base in New York City, which would make them an attractive choice among the Big Ten teams projected to finish 6-6 or 7-5.
The Big Ten has been projected to have four teams in the College Football Playoff, though Indiana’s lopsided loss to Ohio State introduces at least a sliver of doubt. If the Hoosiers end up getting snubbed, it would push everybody else down a spot in the bowl order. Illinois gained some separation from the pack with its eighth win, and Iowa has a chance to reach eight wins by beating Nebraska on Black Friday. The rest of the Big Ten’s bowl teams are likely to be clumped together at 7-5 or 6-6. Nebraska, which reached bowl eligibility with a win against Wisconsin, will be an attractive choice for its first bowl appearance since 2016. So will Michigan, which typically isn’t available for the mid-tier bowl games.
Trevor Woods, Maize n Brew
Takeaways from Michigan’s win over Northwestern
Michigan must have used their bye week effectively as they played well on both sides of the ball. The offense was balanced with 396 total yards — 195 of which were through the air and 201 were on the ground. Michigan’s offense even did something Ohio State hasn’t done this season — score 50 points against a Big Ten opponent. On the defensive side of the ball, the scheme looked reminiscent of former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. This was the type of gameplan and execution of said gameplan Moore and Michigan needed before Ohio State.
John Niyo, Detroit News
Niyo: Michigan’s romp over Northwestern hints at brighter days ahead
Timing isn’t everything. But it’s not nothing, either.
And for a Michigan football program that has had a heck of time recapturing some of the mojo it carried through a historic run the past few seasons — culminating in an undefeated national championship last January — this was something, all right.
A week full of emphatic wins, first on the recruiting trail and then on the field Saturday afternoon, felt restorative, in many ways. And yet after a 50-6 romp over Northwestern that sent the Wolverines’ seniors out in style in their final home game — “It just feels like bliss, honestly,” running back Kalel Mullings said after his three-touchdown farewell at the Big House — there was no way anyone in that postgame locker room was about to rest on their laurels.
Not with the Michigan Stadium crowd breaking out the traditional “Beat Ohio!” chants in the fourth quarter. Not with another rivalry showdown looming next weekend in Columbus.
“No, it’s everything,” head coach Sherrone Moore said, when asked about “The Game” at hand. “In our building, it’s all over the place. We think about it 365 (days a year), so it’s the most important thing to us.”
It is to them, as well. No one needs to remind Ohio State’s head coach, Ryan Day, that it has been 1,821 days since the Buckeyes beat their archrival. And after his team had finished off a huge statement win at home over No. 5-ranked Indiana earlier Saturday afternoon, Day certainly knew what time it was.
“The minute it hit triple-zeros on that clock,” he said, “it was on to the Team Up North and the rivalry game.”
