PRESENTED BY 
PRESENTED BY
Michigan should have won this comfortably, instead they lost.
And that is where the frustration should be directed after Saturday. There has been obvious progress since the opener against Western Michigan. The problems holding this team back now aren't the same questions about Underwood's mechanics or whether the offense has any answers at all.
Michigan spent most of Saturday looking like the better football team against Iowa.
It moved the ball. It controlled possession. Its defense repeatedly shut down the Hawkeyes. Bryce Underwood found Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan against Iowa’s secondary, while the Wolverines eventually started creating room on the ground.
The Blue By 90 crew of Justin Roh, Joel Honigford, and Trevor McCue breakdown Michigan’s Big Ten opener against Iowa.
Iowa brings one of the best statistical defenses in the country to Michigan Stadium, along with a rushing attack built to drag the game into the fourth quarter. This is not a matchup where Michigan needs Bryce Underwood to throw for 300 yards or one running back to take over. It is a game about staying clean, finding enough explosive plays, and making Iowa play from behind.
Michigan opens Big Ten play against an Iowa team built to punish mistakes and make every possession matter. The Wolverines’ offensive progress finally looked real against UTEP, but Saturday will show whether those answers hold up against Phil Parker’s defense.
Veteran guard Roddy Gayle Jr. won a preliminary injunction Thursday in Niagara County Supreme Court, allowing him to play for the Wolverines while his lawsuit against the NCAA continues.
The most interesting thing Jason Beck said about Bryce Underwood this week had nothing to do with his arm.
It was about what Underwood sees before he throws it.
Michigan’s offensive line has spent the opening weeks of the season trying to find the version of itself everyone expected to see.
Brady Norton thinks part of the solution might be making things simpler.
Hogan Hansen didn’t need long to make his presence felt Saturday.
His first snap back ended with an opposing defender on the ground.
Salesi Moa isn’t looking for a shortcut into Michigan’s receiver rotation.
The freshman knows exactly what has to come first.