Postgame Notes: #16 Michigan 13, Western Michigan 12
9/5/2026 11:24:00 PM | Football
• Today's game marked the 330th consecutive crowd of 100,000-plus in attendance at Michigan Stadium.
• The Wolverines improved to 9-0 all-time against Western Michigan. U-M is 38-1 all-time against the Mid-American Conference.
• U-M is now 103-15-2 all-time in home openers. This was the fourth occasion (2009, '11, '21) that WMU was Michigan's season-opening opponent.
• The Maize and Blue are now 12-0 in night games since the start of the 2023 season and 56-29 all-time. This was the third home opener to be played at night (2019 Middle Tennessee State; 2024 Fresno State).
• Head coach Kyle Whittingham is 1-0 leading the Wolverines. Whittingham was 17-4 across 21 openers at Utah.
• Quarterback Bryce Underwood put Michigan's first points of the year on the board with a one-yard rushing touchdown on the first possession. With one second remaining, Underwood threw a 47-yard game-winning touchdown pass to JJ Buchanan. He finished the game with 12 completions for 170 yards.
• In his U-M debut, Buchanan set career highs in both receptions (six) and receiving yards (126), including a 47-yard touchdown reception to win the game.
• Dom Nichols set career highs in tackles (nine), sacks (1.5) and TFLs (2.5). Nichols recorded 2.5 TFLs in the first half, more than any Wolverine recorded across a full game last season (Jaishawn Barham, 2.0, three times, last at Maryland).
• Linebacker Troy Bowles set career highs in tackles (12) and solo tackles (seven) and matched his career high in TFLs (two).
• On offense, tight end Jalen Hoffman made his first career start and caught his first career pass. Defensively, linebackers Bowles and Chase Taylor and defensive end Nichols made their first career starts.
• Evan Link made his first career start at left guard. Link had previously made starts at left tackle (six) and right tackle (11).
• The following players, who had started elsewhere during their careers, made their first starts as Wolverines: safety Chris Bracy, punter Cam Brown, wide receiver Buchanan, defensive end John Henry Daley and cornerback Smith Snowden.
• The following players with collegiate experience made their U-M debuts: Max Alford, Buchanan, Bracy, Brown, Trey Butkowski, Daley, Jaime Ffrench, Houston Ka'aha'aina-Torres, Jonah Lea'ea, Aisea Moa, Snowden and Nathaniel Staehling.
• The following players made their collegiate debuts: Jacob Baggett, Tariq Boney, Mason Bonner, Peter Donini, Savion Hiter, Travis Johnson, Salesi Moa, Aden Reeder, Jamarion Vincent and Marky Walbridge.
