Wolverines Survive Wild Turnover Fest, Beat Northwestern 24-22 at Wrigley Field

Photo from CBS sports

Nov, 15, 2025, 5:14pm

Blog by Walker Johnson

CHICAGO — In a roller-coaster showdown at Wrigley Field, No. 18 Michigan snapped a string of errors to edge Northwestern 24-22. Michigan got on the board in the second quarter when Jordan Marshall punched in a 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Wolverines a 7–0 lead. But the turnovers began to pile up. Quarterback Bryce Underwood threw two interceptions in the first half, and Michigan gave the ball away again late.

Despite their mistakes, the Wolverines’ offense stayed productive. Underwood ended up completing 21 of 32 passes for 280 yards, and freshman Andrew Marsh made a huge impact with 12 catches for 189 yards leading Michigan in receiving.

Northwestern kept coming. In the fourth quarter, quarterback Preston Stone engineered a go-ahead drive capped by a 1-yard rush from Caleb Komolafe, putting the Cats up 22–21. They even went for two but failed to convert.

With under three minutes left, Michigan drove 50 yards in 11 plays to set up a walk-off opportunity. Kicker Dominic Zvada, who had missed two earlier field goals, made no mistake this time drilling a 31-yard game-winner as time expired to send Wrigley into a frenzy. Despite the sloppy play, Michigan outgained Northwestern 496 to 245 total yards.

413’s Bottomline

This game might go down as one of Michigan’s gutsiest wins of the season. The Wolverines showed real resilience turning the ball over multiple times, missing kicks, but still finding a way to close it out. That kind of clutch poise could be crucial if they want to run the table in the Big Ten.

For Northwestern, this one stings. They executed a furious fourth-quarter comeback and took the lead but couldn’t finish. The Wildcats have been more competitive than many expected this season, but games like this remind them how thin the margin is in the Big Ten.