Northwestern had the game won, leading 31-28 with 18 seconds remaining when Michigan took over for their final drive of regulation. Then Daniel Jones got a hand on a Devin Gardner pass, the ball popped into the air, and Roy Roundtree hauled in a 58 yard pass to set up a game tying field goal. In overtime, Michigan scored a touchdown and Northwestern couldn't get a first down.
The offense had a good day on both the ground and through the air, resulting in the most points for a Michigan opponent since their season opener against Alabama. Trevor Siemian pitched in with a two-minute drill touchdown drive to end the first half and a critical touchdown to retake the lead late when Kain Colter left the game with an injury.
The defense had a rough day: Fitzgerald Touissant broke off the longest run by a Northwestern opponent to date, though it did end in a fumble. The run defense generally suffered from poor tackling, allowing Michigan to grind out a few yards at a time. The pass defense, however, was the clear problem: Northwestern only managed one sack, committed a couple of costly pass interference penalties, and allowed Devin Gardner to go 18-29 for 286 yards. Both poor coverage and allowing YAC were problems.