Michigan 63, Central Michigan 3

 

Bryce Underwood (image via GBMWolverine)

Michigan is really good. No disrespect to CMU, but that was an a** kicking. Michigan dominated them physically, and that happened minus the two starting offensive guards and a potential starting left tackle in Andrew Babalola. Michigan averaged 7.7 yards per play, including 6.9 yards per rushing attempt and 9.4 yards per passing attempt. Michigan had seven players with a rush of 10+ yards, including two wide receivers in Andrew Marsh and Anthony Simpson.

Or Central Michigan isn't good. One thing I have noticed over the years is that the weaker opponents usually have at least one guy who's dangerous, whether it's a tough running back who's difficult to bring down or a speedy slot receiver or maybe a quick quarterback. That's not the case with Central Michigan. I didn't see anyone who made me nervous, and they couldn't threaten the Wolverines. Defensively, they might play with enough discipline to get some wins this season, but they don't have playmakers on offense.

Hit the jump for more.

Preview: Michigan vs. Central Michigan

 

Matt Drinkall

I've been aware of Matt Drinkall for a while because of clinics and such. Having spent several years at Army recently, he's very much entrenched in that style of football, which is about discipline and conservative football.

RUSH OFFENSE vs. CENTRAL MICHIGAN RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is #60 in rushing offense (173.5 yards/game) after two contests and #37 in yards per carry (5.42), based largely on the running of Alabama transfer Justice Haynes (35 carries, 284 yards, 4 touchdowns), who has 75-, 59-, and 56-yard runs already this year. The big question for this phase is the offensive line, which already lost 5-star freshman Andrew Babalola prior to the season and saw left guard Giovanni El-Hadi go down last week against Oklahoma. Even Cal Poly transfer Brady Norton, the starter at right guard, had to leave last week's game at one point, drawing in redshirt freshman Jake Guarnera. El-Hadi will likely miss this week's game, so I would expect Nate Efobi to start this week. Central Michigan is #48 in yards allowed per game (99.5) and #84 in yards allowed per carry (3.98) after a week in which they allowed Pitt to run 26 times for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns. That's not an awful performance, but it indicates CMU will probably struggle against a Big Ten rushing attack. Senior inside linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski (6'1", 235) leads the team with 14 tackles and fifth year senior OLB Dakota Cochran (6'2", 240) is right behind him with 13. Redshirt sophomore OLB Korver Demma (6'3", 245), a transfer from Nebraska, leads the team with 1.5 tackles for loss. The defensive line will be undersized compared to most Michigan opponents. This should be a "get right" game for Michigan's offensive line to continue working on its cohesiveness.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more.

Michigan's 10 Longest Plays vs. Central Michigan

 

Chris Perry (image via Gainesville Sun)

Michigan is 3-0 over Central Michigan all-time with wins taking place in 2003, 2006, and 2013. It's a little surprising to me that it was twelve years ago when the Wolverines last played the Chips, but I guess time flies.

All of these names make some sense except one . . . and that name appears twice.

1. Chris Perry 63-yard run (2003)
2. Raymon Taylor 53-yard interception return (2013)
3. John Navarre 48-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards (2003)
4. Devin Gardner 45-yard pass to Joe Reynolds (2013)
5. Dennis Norfleet 39-yard kickoff return (2013)
6. Steve Breaston 38-yard punt return (2003)
7. Dennis Norfleet 38-yard run (2013)
8. John Navarre 36-yard pass to Steve Breaston (2003)
9. Shane Morris 36-yard pass to Devin Funchess (2013)
10. Derrick Green 30-yard run (2013)
11. Joe Reynolds 30-yard blocked punt return for a touchdown (2013)

Yep, it's walk-on receiver Joe Reynolds appearing twice on the above list that's a name you totally didn't expect to see.

Hit the jump for some highlights:

2025 Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 2

 

Andrel Anthony (image via X)

FORMER PLAYERS

Raheem Anderson, C (Western Michigan): Anderson is a backup lineman for Western Michigan.

Andrel Anthony, WR (Duke): Anthony caught 5 passes for 58 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 45-19 loss to Illinois.

WHAT A CATCH BY ANDREL ANTHONY.... pic.twitter.com/dSWoaaVVyx

— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) September 6, 2025

This Darian Mensah to Andrel Anthony connection 👀 pic.twitter.com/cmwc9dEXQh

— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) September 6, 2025

Jeremiah Beasley, LB (Missouri): Beasley made 1 tackle in a 42-31 win over Kansas.

Kechaun Bennett, DE (UCLA): Bennett made 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack in a 30-23 loss to UNLV.

Tristan Bounds, OT (Arizona): Bounds is a starting offensive tackle for Arizona.

Hit the jump for more.

10 Longest Plays vs. Oklahoma

 

Bo Schembechler and Barry Switzer (image via Dr. Sap on X)

I posted the other day about the lone prior matchup against Oklahoma (LINK), but now I have another game's worth of plays to include:

1. Justice Haynes 75-yard touchdown run (2025)
2. Bryce Underwood 44-yard pass to Donaven McCulley (2025)
3. Bryce Underwood 38-yard pass to Donaven McCulley (2025)
4. Rob Lytle 25-yard kickoff return (1975)
5. Bryce Underwood 25-yard pass to Channing Goodwin (2025)
6. Gordie Bell 20-yard kickoff return (1975)
7. Andrew Marsh 20-yard kickoff return (2025)
8. Bryce Underwood 19-yard pass to Semaj Morgan (2025)
9. Rick Leach 17-yard pass to Gordie Bell (1975)
10. Rick Leach 16-yard run (1975)
11. Rick Leach 16-yard pass to Keith Johnson (1975)

Here's a look at Haynes's 75-yard touchdown run to open the second half:

Holy sh*t Justice Haynes is fast as hell. pic.twitter.com/oKBSRYxkc7

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) September 7, 2025

2025 Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 1

 

Jake Thaw

FORMER PLAYERS

Raheem Anderson, C (Western Michigan): Anderson did not play in a 23-6 loss to Michigan State.

Andrel Anthony, WR (Duke): Anthony caught 3 passes for 51 yards and 1 touchdown in a 45-17 win over Elon.

Dealin' 😤

Darian Mensah's second TD pass of the night is a 27-yard connection with Andrel Anthony. @DukeFOOTBALL | #GoDukepic.twitter.com/8JjVE8dG7K

— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) August 29, 2025

Jeremiah Beasley, LB (Missouri): .Beasley made 7 tackles and forced 1 fumble in a 61-6 win over Central Arkansas.

Kechaun Bennett, DE (UCLA): Bennett made 2 tackles in a 43-10 loss to Utah.

Tristan Bounds, OT (Arizona): Bounds started at offensive tackle in a 40-6 win over Hawaii.

Hit the jump for more.

Michigan 34, New Mexico 17

 

Bryce Underwood (image via Toledo Blade)

The team the team the team. I'm not going to start off talking about He Who Shall Not Be Named in the First Paragraph because I want to take a more holistic look at Michigan's 2025 team. But this looks like a complete team. I don't think it's a championship team, but it's a complete team in that there are no glaring weaknesses or players who are obviously overmatched. Now some might say "Meh, it's New Mexico and they were 5-7 last year and lost their coach and brought in a bunch of new players," but it's a team that had a mindset of running the ball last year (#2 in the country in 2024) and it's one that seems to have taken on the attitude of its coach. I heard good things about Jason Eck a few years ago on the coaching clinic circuit, and the team played with some swagger, which you have to do coming into Michigan Stadium as a giant underdog. Michigan looks like a pro team in the sense that there are no easy days against pro teams. If you have an injury on your 53-man roster in the NFL, you bring in another guy who looks like a pro, because he's been a backup or he's a veteran who played for ten years but maybe didn't have the right contract situation. I mentioned before that this is the deepest Michigan team I've seen (perhaps not the best, but the deepest), and I think that showed on Saturday night.

Hit the jump for more.