Awarding 5 game balls for Michigan Football’s win vs UTEP

· Yahoo Sports

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - SEPTEMBER 19: Savion Hiter #5 of the Michigan Wolverines drives through the tackle by Esteban Guillory #16 of the UTEP Miners for a first half touchdown at Michigan Stadium on September 19, 2026 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The first half was much closer than it should have been, but the Michigan Wolverines handled business on Saturday against the UTEP Miners, 52-17, at a rainy Michigan Stadium.

Here are our five game ball recipients from this week’s game.

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WRs Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan

After a great end to his freshman year in 2025, it’s been a slow start to the season for sophomore wideout Andrew Marsh. He had just five catches for 28 yards going into the UTEP game; he had eight catches on nine targets for 68 yards in the first half alone against UTEP, including this sensational grab along the sideline that was initially ruled incomplete.

Marsh also scored a 34-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to put the Wolverines up 38-14. He ended the game with 10 catches for 105 yards and one score.

Meanwhile, JJ Buchanan also made his presence felt early on. He caught Underwood’s first touchdown pass of the day — a 21-yard strike right before halftime — and had a strong first-half stat line of five catches for 66 yards and the touchdown. He ended with seven catches for 92 yards and one touchdown.

The Michigan pass game needs to get going with Big Ten play beginning next week, so it is nice to see Marsh and Buchanan both have a strong end to the non-conference portion of the schedule.

RB Savion Hiter

The numbers won’t do it complete justice — he only ran 11 times for 62 yards — but Hiter looks more than capable enough of taking over RB1 duties if Jordan Marshall misses any time due to the injury he suffered in the third quarter.

Hiter scored the first touchdown of his college career to tie the game, 7-7, in the first quarter. His second score of the day was even better, as you can see in the video below.

The run game (the offensive line, specifically) still has plenty to work on, but Hiter looks prepared to take on a full workload against Iowa next Saturday if Marshall isn’t able to suit up.

All the LBs

An offseason of question marks has turned into answers three weeks into the season for the linebacker group. So far, they have been pretty dang good, and especially on Saturday against the Miners.

Chase Taylor led the team in tackles on the day with five, while also racking up a tackle for loss and half of a sack. Troy Bowles and Max Alford each had four total tackles and one tackle for loss, while Aisea Moa and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng combined for four tackles and half of a tackle for loss. True freshman Markel Dabney also made the first tackle of his college career.

All in all, the linebackers were flying all over the field vs UTEP and are playing really good football right now.

Edge rusher Tariq Boney

Welcome to college football, Tariq Boney!

After earning one snap last week — and registering a pressure on Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer — the first-year edge rusher one-upped himself against UTEP. He finished the day with four total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack and two quarterback hurries. He should have had another sack, but he got flagged for roughing the passer, even though FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira thought it was a weak call.

Overall, the stock is WAY up on the true freshman edge rusher.

Who would you give game balls to for today’s game? Let me know down in the comments below!

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