At the home of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field, No. 18 Michigan (8-2 overall, 6-1 Big Ten) took down Northwestern (5-5, 3-4) in a 24-22 thriller.
Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood's game was a tale of two halves. In the first half, Underwood looked the best he had all season, but he became unraveled in the second half. In total, he threw 21-for-32 for 280 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh had his best game of the season, catching 12 passes for 189 yards. Sophomore running back Jordan Marshall added another great game, rushing for 142 yards and two touchdowns, but he exited the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent shoulder injury.
Out of the gates, Underwood was confident and accurate. He completed all five of his passes for 74 yards on the first drive of the game, but the Wolverines came up empty. Marshall's potential 17-yard touchdown was called back for holding, and senior kicker Dominic Zvada missed a 34-yard field goal.
Michigan got another crack at it after forcing a punt, however, and this time it converted. After a 32-yard reception by Marsh got the Wolverines to the 6-yard line, Marshall finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown rush. The Wolverines lit up the Wrigley scoreboards first, taking the 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.
After two empty drives, the Wildcats finally got something working on offense, pushing the ball all the way down into the red zone. But just like it had for the Wolverines, a penalty took away what would've been a touchdown for Northwestern, and forced a field goal try. The Wildcats knocked it through, making the score 7-3 with just over five minutes to play in the half.
Michigan had a chance to respond, but a blown up reverse play resulted in a fumble recovered by Northwestern, giving the ball right back. The Wildcats capitalized, but not fully, as the Wolverines forced a field goal to make the score 7-6.
Michigan had one more opportunity to extend the lead before halftime, but Zvada just missed a 60-yard attempt, keeping the score at 7-6 entering the break.
The Wolverines opened up the second half exactly how they wanted to. They forced a punt in four plays, then scored a quick touchdown. The big play of the drive was a 65-yard run from Marshall, which set up the nine-yard touchdown rush from Underwood on the very next play, whichput Michigan up 14-6.
The Wolverines defense immediately forced a three-and-out, and it looked like they were going to get a chance to blow the game wide open. But another fumble thwarted the opportunity, as junior wide receiver Semaj Morgan couldn't hang on to the ball on the punt return. Northwestern recovered the fumble and started its drive from Michigan's 36-yard line.
Once again, the Wolverines defense came up big, forcing the Wildcats to settle for a field goal to make the score 14-9.
The Michigan offense responded accordingly, ripping off a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Both the rushing and passing games were working, and the Wildcats didn't have an answer. Marshall put the finishing touches on the drive, punching in a one-yard touchdown, and putting his squad up 21-9.
Northwestern wasn't going away, though. It worked its way down the field, scoring its first touchdown of the game on the first drive of the fourth quarter, and making the score 21-16.
With the game in the balance, things turned sour for the Wolverines. Underwood made his first big mistake of the day, tossing an ill-advised pass over the middle, which was intercepted and brought to the Wolverines 6-yard line. It took only one play for Northwestern to punch it in and take its first lead of the game. They elected to go for the two-point conversion, but were unsuccessful, keeping the score at 22-21 in the Wildcats' favor.
Michigan was content to keep the ball on the ground on the following drive, but Marshall went down with an apparent shoulder injury. And on Underwood's first passing opportunity, he threw another interception. Still, the Wolverines defense very quickly forced a three-and-out, giving Underwood another chance in great field position.
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesBut the Wolverines turned the ball over for a fifth time, this time on a fumble. They went for a fourth-and-1 on the 24-yard line, and junior running back Bryson Kuzdzal couldn't handle the handoff, fumbling the ball back to the Wildcats.
While the offense was reeling, Michigan's defense was keeping the team in the game, forcing yet another three-and-out, and giving the offense another chance to remedy its mistakes with 2:10 remining in the game.
Michigan was playing for the final possession, not wanting to give the Wildcats a chance to respond. And it worked, as with two seconds left, the game was in the hands of Zvada, who was 0-for-2 on the day entering this final try.
Despite all his struggles in the game — and his season as a whole — Zvada nailed the game-winner, and his teammates carried him off the field, victorious.
