ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Though it took nearly three quarters to reflect in the score, the Michigan football team secured an impressive win Saturday afternoon, taking down a 5-1, upset-minded Washington team with a 24-7 win.
The Wolverines (3-1 Big Ten, 5-2 overall) started the game in uneven fashion, driving four times inside Washington's 35-yard line on their first six drives but only having seven points to show for it. But thanks to a Cole Sullivan interception, Jordan Marshall touchdown one play later, a dominant defensive performance and Michigan's passing game finding a rhythm, the Wolverines pulled away with 17 unanswered points in the final 17 minutes of the game.
Michigan ultimately out-gained the Huskies, 417-249, including a 187-40 margin on the ground. Bryce Underwood completed 21 of 27 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns, Jordan Marshall had 25 carries for 133 yards and a score, while Zack Marshall and Andrew Marsh combined for 10 catches, 122 yards and two touchdowns on 12 targets.
On defense, the Wolverines recorded three interceptions, seven tackles for loss and a forced fumble in a disruptive showing, and return to form after last week's humbling defeat to USC.
The win keeps Michigan's College Football Playoff hopes alive, and gives the Wolverines momentum ahead of next week's roa clash with rival Michigan State.
See some early takeaways from the game below.
Cole and Jordan give Michigan the lift
As the Wolverines' struggled to convert on the opportunities in front of them (more on that below), a lull took over Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines weren't out of the game by any stretch, especially at home in a 7-7 game, but they didn't exactly seem ready to take a badly needed win, either.
That is, until Cole Sullivan delivered one of the biggest plays of the season. On the Huskies' first play of a drive after a Michigan three-and-out, the sophomore linebacker tracked Washington's slant route, then picked off Williams' pass before returning it to Washington's 13-yard line. On the very next play, fellow sophomore and fellow No. 23 Jordan Marshall weaved past Max Bredeson's block, and up the hash marks for an immediate score.
In just 10 seconds of game clock, Michigan went from an ominous 7-7 game to a 14-7 lead that felt like a breakthrough.
Sure enough, the Wolverines would go on to snag another interception (Jimmy Rolder), score another touchdown (Underwood to a wide-open Zack Marshall in the corner of the end zone) and take over the game when Michigan marched to the Huskies' two-yard line and kicked a field goal to take a 24-7 lead that held to the final whistle.
Missed opportunities abound early
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