4 Takeaways From Michigan’s Win Over Washington on ‘Big Noon Saturday’

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The nail in the coffin came from Michigan edge rusher Derrick Moore, who screamed into the backfield after trashing a Washington tight end and forcing a fourth-down sack on quarterback Demond Williams Jr. It was the final blow in a brutal stretch for Williams, who had thrown back-to-back interceptions, allowing the Wolverines to build a multi-score lead, and now, his costly fumble resulted in a turnover on downs.

From there, the Wolverines milked some clock, inched their way deeper into field goal range and tacked on another score. Another interception from Williams on the ensuing drive, this time after a flukish and fortuitous deflection on a heave downfield, sent droves of maize and blue fans to the exits having enjoyed their afternoon: Michigan 24, Washington 7.

Here are my takeaways:

1. This was the response Michigan’s defense needed

All week, the Wolverines’ defense and its highly paid coordinator, Don “Wink” Martindale, were under the microscope following a concerning effort in the team’s lopsided loss to USC.

It was last Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum when Michigan seemingly forgot how to tackle (15 misses), how to stop the run (36 carries, 224 yards, 2 TDs for the Trojans) and, at times, how to line up properly against the changing tempos employed by USC head coach Lincoln Riley, who doubles as the team’s play caller. Speculation about Martindale’s future worked its way into local and national discussions.

The response from Martindale and Michigan when facing a high-flying Washington offense that entered Week 8 ranked 16th nationally in scoring (39.2 points per game) and 17th overall (468.5 yards per game) was quite exemplary, especially considering what Huskies’ quarterback Demond Williams Jr. did against Rutgers last Friday: He threw for 402 yards, ran for 136 yards and produced four total touchdowns.

But Williams soon found that the Wolverines’ defense would offer a far stiffer challenge, one that all but eliminated his contributions as a runner and harassed him repeatedly as a dropback passer. The Huskies’ were largely quiet outside a late touchdown drive in the second quarter that tied the game before halftime. And when Williams was intercepted on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter, both of which led to Michigan touchdowns that broke open the score, his dark horse candidacy for the Heisman Trophy began to fade along with Washington’s hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff.

The Huskies only manufactured 249 yards of total offense and lost the turnover battle 4-0 as Martindale’s group regained its swagger entering a favorable portion of Michigan’s schedule.

2. Wolverines have an emerging star in WR Andrew Marsh

Try to think, for a moment, about the last Michigan wide receiver to surpass 1,000 yards in a single season. It wasn’t Roman Wilson, who caught 48 passes for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns when the Wolverines won a national title in 2023. It wasn’t Ronnie Bell, who caught 62 passes for 889 yards and four touchdowns the year prior. It wasn’t Nico Collins, who caught 37 passes for 729 yards and seven scores during the final season.

The answer, believe it or not, is Jeremy Gallon, who caught 89 passes for 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns in 2013 — back when Brady Hoke was still walking the sideline at Michigan Stadium — despite standing 5-foot-8 and weighing just 184 pounds.

For true freshman Andrew Marsh, a coveted four-star prospect and the No. 117 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, there’s a long way to go between where he currently stands and the opportunity to join Gallon in the four-figure club. The midway point of the season has now come and gone following Saturday’s convincing win over Washington, and Marsh has caught 18 passes for 297 yards and two scores. It seems unlikely that this is the season he will snap the Wolverines’ streak of 12 years without a 1,000-yard receiver.

But if the last few games are any indication of what might be coming throughout the remainder of Marsh’s career — he caught four passes for 80 yards against Wisconsin; eight passes for 138 yards and a touchdown against USC; five passes for 49 yards and a touchdown against Washington — that milestone might well be within his reach, especially with Bryce Underwood entrenched at quarterback.

On Saturday, Marsh flashed some breathtaking acceleration after catching a wide receiver screen that burned Washington’s ill-fated corner blitz. Marsh, who is listed at 6 feet and 190 pounds, raced past the offensive linemen who were supposed to block for him downfield and barreled through contact for a 22-yard score. One quarter later, Marsh dazzled the Michigan Stadium crowd by snatching a pass from the air with his right hand on a play that gained 20 yards, wiggling those same fingers with delight in a post-grab celebration.

Bryce Underwood finds Andrew Marsh for 22-yard TD, giving Michigan the lead over Washington

He’s well on his way to becoming the Wolverines’ No. 1 target and the kind of dynamic perimeter threat the Wolverines have lacked for years. 

3. Washington’s traditional rushing attack is regressing

Washington tailback Jonah Coleman enjoyed a spectacular junior season in 2024, the program’s first under head coach Jedd Fisch. Coleman carried 193 times for a career-high 1,053 yards and 10 touchdowns to establish himself as one of the better runners in the Big Ten. His healthy average of 5.5 yards per carry was tied with that of Ohio State standout Quinshon Judkins, who helped guide the Buckeyes to the national title.

Among Coleman’s most noteworthy traits last season was his remarkable consistency in his role as the Huskies’ featured back. He finished with five 100-yard games — including two against Big Ten opponents — and five more outings in which he ran for 75 yards or more. Rare was the afternoon or evening when Coleman struggled to move the ball.

The same can’t be said for Coleman’s 2025 campaign, even though he entered Saturday’s game leading the nation in rushing touchdowns with 11, a number he increased against Michigan. Coleman opened the season with remarkable performances in wins over Colorado State (24 carries, 177 yards, 2 TDs) and UC Davis (15 carries, 111 yards, 5 TDs) that suggested he would be among the most effective rushers in the country for the second straight year. Since then, however, his per-carry production has faded significantly — even as the touchdown numbers remained strong — in what is now five consecutive games with opponents holding him to 70 yards or fewer.

Some of that decline in production has been offset by the exceptional rushing skills of Williams, who chipped in with 54 yards and 136 yards during the Huskies last two games, respectively, before the Wolverines corralled him for minus-19 on Saturday afternoon. And some of it is the result of injuries along the offensive line, where Washington played without left tackle Carver Willis and left guard John Mills at Michigan.

But the trend is concerning nonetheless.  

4. Pressure on Michigan’s offensive line is intensifying

A year ago, during the first season under Sherrone Moore, the Wolverines’ offensive line took a significant step back from the lofty standard established over the final three seasons of the Jim Harbaugh era, which was capped with a national championship in 2023. There were persistent issues at right tackle, where first-time starter Evan Link allowed a team-high 30 quarterback pressures, and at center, where Michigan shuffled Greg Crippen and Dominick Giudice for much of the campaign, with occasional problems at both guard spots as well. 

The group was porous enough overall for Moore to bring in longtime Philadelphia Eagles offensive line coach Juan Castillo, an analyst for Harbaugh in 2019, over the winter to assist the inexperienced Grant Newsome, who coached the offensive line for the first time last fall.

Still, excitement and optimism surrounded the line entering 2025 as veteran guard Giovanni El-Hadi decided to return for a fifth season and the Wolverines added five-star offensive tackle Andrew Babalola, the No. 16 overall prospect and No. 3 offensive tackle in the country. Babalola, an early enrollee, spent the spring pushing Link and fellow offensive tackle Andrew Sprague for playing time, with many expecting him to eventually crack the starting lineup at some point this season — until, that is, he suffered a torn ACL during fall camp. That injury, along with some head-scratching mistakes during the first few weeks of the season, have thrust Moore, Newsome and Michigan’s offensive line back into the spotlight as conference play accelerated. Nothing about the operation was efficient enough for a team that envisions playing smash-mouth football.  

The offensive line drama took another frightful turn during the first quarter of Saturday’s game when Link, who had flipped from right tackle to left tackle this year, was carted off the field with what appeared to be a serious left leg injury. Newsome squeezed Link’s hand and Moore patted him on the chest as the medical staff waited for a stretcher to be brought onto the field. The whole of Michigan’s roster then jogged over to offer encouragement while Link was lifted onto a cart. 

Link was replaced at left tackle by sophomore Blake Frazier, a former four-star prospect and the No. 169 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class. Frazier had logged 47 career snaps prior to Saturday, with all of them coming in spot duty this season, and the Wolverines helped him with tight ends and extra blockers for much of the game.

4 ½: What’s next?

The Wolverines can reach the College Football Playoff.

Though the final score was somewhat lopsided, Saturday’s date with an explosive Washington team could be characterized as the trickiest challenge on Michigan’s schedule before the regular season finale against Ohio State. All that stands between the Wolverines and a 9-2 overall record on Nov. 29, when the Buckeyes will visit Michigan Stadium, is a string of overmatched opponents: Michigan State (away), Purdue (home), Northwestern (away) and Maryland (away). Moore’s team will almost certainly be favored in all of them.

And so, quite suddenly, the tenor of Michigan’s season has begun to change. Gone is some of the consternation that followed a difficult road loss at then-No. 18 Oklahoma in early September. Gone is some of the frustration that seeped from a sloppy defeat at USC last week.

Head coach Sherrone Moore of the Michigan Wolverines reacts during the first half of a game against Washington. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images) <!–>

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Now the Wolverines are firmly in control of their own destiny, and that might just include a trip to the College Football Playoff depending on what happens against Ohio State.

Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.

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