Handing out 5 game balls from Michigan Football’s loss to Iowa

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The No. 18 Michigan Wolverines came up short in a last-second 20-19 loss to the No. 17 Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten opener at Michigan Stadium on Saturday. Despite suffering a loss, here are five players that still deserve a game ball.

Bryce Underwood (QB)

Underwood played one of the best games of his career — finishing with a season-high 276 passing yards and two touchdowns, while completing 17-for-28 passing attempts. Highlighted by a go-ahead 49-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, Underwood played with poise and continued to show improvement following a rough performance to start the season.

JJ Buchanan (WR)

Buchanan has been Michigan’s most productive offensive weapon this season and that only continued against Iowa as the Utah transfer totaled a game-high 130 receiving yards and two touchdowns on five catches. It’s clear that Underwood and Buchanan have developed great chemistry, and it resulted in a pair of touchdowns to go with an impressive 26.0 yards per catch.

Andrew Marsh (WR)

Marsh got off to a slow start to the season as well but that’s certainly a thing of the past as he’s totally exploded in recent weeks. The Michigan wide receiver went off for a season-best 106 receiving yards on a game-high seven catches in the loss against Iowa. Over the last two games, Marsh has racked up 211 receiving yards and one touchdown on a team-leading 17 receptions.

Chris Bracy (DB)

Bracy was solid throughout most of the game, but a lot of his damage came on one series in the fourth quarter. Iowa was driving to take the lead and Bracy was sent on a blitz on back to back plays. Bracy came up with a clutch quarterback pressure and a press deflection to force a punt. Through four games, Bracy has been one of Michigan’s premier playmakers on defense.

Dominic Nichols (DE)

Nichols might not have been as productive as he was in previous games this season, but the Michigan edge rusher has continued to wreak havoc and attack opposing quarterbacks on a consistent basis. In the loss to Iowa, Nichols finished with four tackles, one sack and one tackle for loss. Despite dealing with an injury, Nichols has been a dominant pass rusher for Michigan.

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