[1] In the season opener in Ann Arbor and Rich Rodriguez's first game as head coach, the Wolverines took on the Utah Utes.

Then a few seconds before halftime, Utah's Brian Johnson completed a 19-yard TD pass to Bradon Godfrey.

Midway through the third quarter, Louie Sakoda of Utah completed his fourth field goal of the day, this one from 53 yards out.

The Wolverines got on the board first with just under 11 minutes to in the first quarter when QB Steven Threet ran in the ball himself from 9 yards out for a touchdown.

Then midway through the final quarter, the Wolverines capped off their victory when Brandon Minor ran in a TD from 15 yards out.

After their win over Miami, the Wolverines flew to South Bend, Indiana to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for their first road game of the season, renewing the longtime rivalry between the two teams.

The Fighting Irish got the first scores of the game with just under 12 minutes left in the first quarter, when Robert Hughes 2 ran in a touchdown from 2 yards out.

A few minutes later Jimmy Clausen threw another TD pass, this time a 48 yard long bomb to Golden Tate.

The Wolverines got on the board late in the first quarter with their own long bomb, a 40-yard TD Steven Threet pass to Sam McGuffie.

But the Fighting Irish capped off their scoring when the Wolverines fumbled the ball and Brian Smith picked it up and ran it back 35 yards for a touchdown.

Scoring one touchdown and two field goals in the second quarter, Wisconsin finished the half with a 19–0 lead.

Their initial attempt resulted in a pass caught for an apparent score, but was thwarted by an ineligible receiver penalty.

They came back to life in the fourth quarter though, when Mark Moundros caught a 2-yard pass for a touchdown, but kicker K.C.

It was also the Illini's first victory at the Big House since 1999, and University of Illinois quarterback Isiah "Juice" Williams set a Big House record with 431 all-purpose yards, breaking the record previously held by former Illini quarterback Tony Eason (403).

With the loss, the Wolverines fell to 2–3 on the season and 1–1 in the Big Ten, their worst record after five games since starting 1–4 in 1967, two years before Bo Schembechler arrived.

In the first quarter, the Rockets scored first when a pass from Michigan QB Steven Threet was intercepted in the end zone by Tyrrell Herbert and run back 101 yards for a touchdown.

Lopata missed the field goal though, sealing the victory for the Rockets and marking the first time the Wolverines had ever lost to a Mid-American Conference team.

In the fourth-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history, the Penn State Nittany Lions ended a nine-game losing streak to the Wolverines, dating back to 1997.

Stephfon Green took a screen pass from Pat Devlin and outran the Wolverines defense 80 yards for the Nittany Lions' final score.

Odrick sacked Michigan quarterback Nick Sheridan, who was in for the injured Steven Threet, in the end zone for a safety and Penn State's first lead of the game, 19–17.

Aaron Maybin finished with four tackles, including a sack of Threet that forced a fumble, recovered by Abe Koroma, and led to a Penn State touchdown.

The Spartans struck first, scoring on a huge 61-yard TD pass from Brian Hoyer to Blair White with just under 12 minutes to go in the first quarter.

The Wolverines tied it up near the end of the first quarter when Brandon Minor scored on a 19-yard TD pass from Steven Threet.

Midway through the third quarter, the Wolverines took their only lead of the game when QB Steven Threet ran in a touchdown himself from 2 yards out.

A few minutes later Martavius Odoms got a huge score when he ran a punt back 73 yards for another TD, putting the Wolverines up 14-0.

The Boilermakers struck back with less than a minute to go in the half when Kory Sheets scored another TD, this time on a 3-yard run.

In the 3rd quarter, the Wolverines were shut out, but the Boilermakers scored 2 more TD's, both by Kory Sheets, making his day's total 4.

The Boilermakers put the game in the win column with less than 30 seconds left when Desmond Tardy caught a 28-yard TD pass.

The Buckeyes made it 14-0 when Brian Hartline caught a 53 yard long bomb for another TD just after the start of the second quarter.

With the loss, Michigan's season ended with a 3-9 record, officially the worst for the school in the 129 years of the football program.