{"id":76946,"date":"2025-08-31T09:30:52","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T13:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=76946"},"modified":"2025-08-31T08:59:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T12:59:31","slug":"michigan-vs-new-mexico-2025-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/08\/31\/michigan-vs-new-mexico-2025-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan Opens Underwood Era With 34\u201317 Win Over New Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood<\/a> looked composed in his debut while Justice Haynes powered the ground game with three scores. A third-quarter targeting ejection to Jaishawn Barham<\/a> added late drama as Michigan closed out the season opener against New Mexico.<\/p>\n

Underwood\u2019s Debut in Michigan vs New Mexico 2025<\/h2>\n

The 2025 season opener at the Big House drew more than 100,000 fans eager to see Bryce Underwood\u2019s first start. It wasn\u2019t flawless, but the Wolverines handled business with a 34\u201317 win behind Justice Haynes<\/a>\u2019 three touchdowns and a defense that came up with turnovers.<\/p>\n

First play: a handoff. Then another. By the third snap, Underwood got his first throw off, a quick out. The crowd cheered anyway.<\/p>\n

The freshman looked steady. No panic. He finished with 21 completions for 251 yards and a touchdown. Not perfect. A couple of throws floated. One zipped late to the sideline and almost got jumped. But he kept control. That was the assignment.<\/p>\n

His best came in the second quarter. Play fake, set his feet, zipped it down the seam to tight end Marlin Klein<\/a>. Touchdown. The noise inside the Big House rattled the windows. Klein finished with six grabs for 93 yards. A safety blanket all night.<\/p>\n

Haynes Steals the Show<\/h3>\n

While fans came for Underwood\u2019s debut, Justice Haynes put on the real display. The sophomore carried 16 times for 159 yards and three touchdowns. He scored twice in the first quarter, staking Michigan to a 14\u20130 lead, then broke a 59-yard run in the second that electrified the crowd.<\/p>\n

His third touchdown in the fourth quarter ended New Mexico\u2019s hopes. By then, the Lobos\u2019 defense had little left. Haynes averaged nearly 10 yards per carry, establishing himself as the difference-maker in the\u00a0<\/strong>game.<\/p>\n

Lobos Show Fight<\/h3>\n

New Mexico didn\u2019t fold. Quarterback Jack Layne<\/a> threw 47 times, completing 31 for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Both went to Dorian Thomas<\/a>, who caught 10 passes for 71 yards.<\/p>\n

The Lobos cut the lead to 17\u201310 in the second quarter and pulled within 27\u201317 early in the third. For a brief stretch, the visitors made Michigan work. But turnovers and Haynes\u2019 dominance proved too much.<\/p>\n

Barham\u2019s Ejection Overshadows the Third Quarter<\/h3>\n

The loudest groan of the night came midway through the third. Linebacker Jaishawn Barham appeared to sack Layne and return the fumble for a touchdown. The stadium roared, only for the play to be overturned on replay. Officials flagged Barham for targeting and ejected him.<\/p>\n

The penalty erased the score and left Michigan without one of its top defenders. After the game, head coach Sherrone Moore voiced his frustration and confirmed plans to appeal. \u201cWe\u2019re going to talk about the ejection when we get to that point with the Big Ten,\u201d<\/em> Moore said. \u201cBecause we don\u2019t agree, and we\u2019ll handle it from there.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Because the foul occurred after halftime, Barham is suspended for the first half against Oklahoma,<\/strong> unless the appeal is successful. Moore doubled down on the team\u2019s stance. \u201cWe\u2019ll appeal it. That\u2019s all we can do right now.\u201d- On3. <\/em>The incident didn\u2019t swing the outcome, but added drama to the opener.<\/p>\n

Defense Finds Its Footing<\/h3>\n

After giving up 10 points in the second quarter and another score early in the third, Michigan\u2019s defense closed the door. The Wolverines forced three interceptions, one each from TJ Guy<\/a>, Brandyn Hillman<\/a>, and Cole Sullivan,<\/a> that snuffed out any chance of a comeback.<\/p>\n

The front seven stifled the run, holding New Mexico to 51 yards on 27 carries. Mason Curtis and Derrick Moore were disruptive, combining for two sacks and several tackles for loss.<\/p>\n

The Lobos did find space on quick routes, but once Michigan tightened up in the fourth quarter, the game was secure.<\/p>\n

Special Teams Stay Clean<\/h3>\n

Special teams often decide openers when offenses are still shaking off rust. Michigan\u2019s unit was sharp. Dominic Zvada went two-for-two on field goals and was perfect on extra points. Freshman Andrew Marsh averaged 23 yards per kick return, including a 29-yarder that boosted field position. The hidden yards helped Michigan maintain control in the matchup.<\/p>\n

How Michigan vs New Mexico Unfolded<\/h3>\n

The script: Haynes scored twice in the first quarter for a 14\u20130 start. New Mexico chipped away, cutting it to 17\u201310 before Underwood\u2019s touchdown to Klein stretched the lead to 24\u201310 at halftime. Layne and Thomas connected again in the third to make it 27\u201317, right before the Barham targeting drama. From there, Michigan\u2019s defense delivered turnovers, Zvada added a field goal, and Haynes put the game away in the fourth. Final score: 34\u201317.<\/p>\n

What We Learned<\/h3>\n

The Wolverines showed their formula. Haynes can carry the offense while Underwood develops. The freshman quarterback didn\u2019t overwhelm the box score but played within himself. The defense forced three turnovers in total and stuffed the run.<\/p>\n

Areas for growth are obvious. Receivers outside of Klein didn\u2019t produce much. The secondary gave up too many short completions. And the Barham suspension looms large for Oklahoma if the appeal is denied.<\/p>\n

Bigger Picture<\/h3>\n

Michigan leaves Week 1 with exactly what it needed: a win, a steady freshman debut, and proof that the running game can set the tone. The defense showed vulnerability but also resilience. And the program now has an appeal process in motion that could affect next week.<\/p>\n

Moore summed it up. His team did enough, but he expects more.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Next<\/h3>\n

The easy part is over. Michigan travels to Norman to face Oklahoma<\/a>, a team with more speed, more depth, and more questions for Underwood to answer. He\u2019ll need to throw downfield more often. Receivers will need to make plays. The defense will need to hold up without mistakes. For now, though, the opener gave the Wolverines a foundation. A quarterback who didn\u2019t blink. A running back who dominated. A defense that closed when it had to.<\/p>\n

\n

Main Image: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood looked composed in his debut while Justice Haynes powered the ground game with three scores. A third-quarter targeting ejection to Jaishawn Barham added late drama as Michigan closed out the season opener against New Mexico. Underwood\u2019s Debut in Michigan vs New Mexico 2025 The 2025 season opener at the Big House […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5604,"featured_media":76957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2,17],"tags":[33768,184,79,33919,34775,34285,279,35464,3011],"class_list":["post-76946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bigten","category-featured","category-news","tag-andrew-marsh","tag-cfb","tag-college-football","tag-derrick-moore","tag-dominic-zvada","tag-mason-curtis","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-new-mexico","tag-sherrone-moore"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5604"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76946"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76958,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76946\/revisions\/76958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}