Michigan’s narrow 30-27 win over Nebraska felt like deja vu wrapped in grit and relief. The Wolverines, now 3-1, had already blown out Central Michigan 63-6 a week earlier, but this road test in Lincoln carried more weight. Acting HC Biff Poggi was running the sideline for the second straight game with Sherrone Moore serving a suspension. But the locker room energy after the win was like something out of a Jim Harbaugh reel. 

This is when one of Michigan’s biggest bodies and sharpest wits dropped a line that brought nostalgia. DL Enow Etta, the 6’5, 320-pound sophomore from Keller, Texas, couldn’t resist voicing his thoughts as shared on X on September 23. “#Michigan DL Enow Etta says seeing Biff Poggi dancing in the locker room after the game reminded him of Jim Harbaugh,” the post read. “He joked that he hoped he got his cigar and ice cream after that game.” The dance looked familiar. It was a direct throwback to Jim Harbaugh. Etta, who had been around since 2023 and tallied five tackles, including two solos and 0.5 sacks so far this season, has seen enough of his former HC’s theatrics to know. 

Biff Poggi, now serving as Michigan’s associate HC, has spent years in Jim Harbaugh’s shadow. Analyst in 2016, associate HC in 2021–22, and now, Sherrone Moore’s stand-in while the Wolverines navigate the storm of his first two-game suspension for Week 3 and 4 tied to the Connor Stalions scandal. It’s no wonder his celebration style feels like their old HC. He was trained by the man himself. But the way Poggi tells it, his Michigan journey didn’t begin like anyone else’s.

“In my house, we have kind of a little church group Bible study on a Wednesday night, and I leave my phone with my daughter,” Biff Poggi recalled this week. “I said, ‘Only interrupt me if it is one of the children and there’s blood involved.’ She comes down and says, ‘There’s this guy named Jim Harbaugh on the phone.’” Thinking it was a prank, he picked up, but then as he added, “we just start talking about Michigan football.” And that was the start of Poggi’s maize-and-blue era.

And now, in Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore’s absence, Biff Poggi has delivered. He went 2-0 in his short stint, including a 63-6 demolition of Central Michigan and the road nail-biter in Lincoln. For players like Enow Etta, who arrived during Harbaugh’s tenure, the continuity matters. The vibe is still alive. But the real test comes after the smoke clears, literally and figuratively.

Bryce Underwood hype and the road ahead

Michigan’s 3-1 start heads into a bye week, and all eyes have already turned to the Wolverines’ QB. Bryce Underwood, the true freshman from Belleville, has been thrust into the national spotlight, not just for his poise, but for how quickly he’s made the college game look routine. Against Nebraska, he played mistake-free football outside of a lost fumble, showing the kind of resilience that makes coaches trust him more every week. And the hype isn’t just coming from Ann Arbor’s echo chamber. 

Former Minnesota HC Tim Brewster lit up social media with a bold declaration to his 71,000 followers. “Cant say how impressed I am [with] Michigan QB Bryce Underwood,” he wrote. “No question he will leave Ann Arbor [with] a Heisman Trophy!!” It was brash and premature, and yet it didn’t feel completely out of bounds. That’s how high the ceiling already looks for Michigan’s new QB. But Bryce Underwood’s next stretch of games will shape that narrative. 

A home date with Wisconsin could serve as his confidence springboard, but it’s the back-to-back clashes with USC and Washington that will truly test whether he’s ready for stardom. And tucked away at the end of October is Michigan State, a rivalry showdown that could pit him against Aidan Chiles in a duel for Midwest bragging rights. If Biff Poggi’s locker-room shuffle stirred memories of the past, Bryce Underwood’s arm could very well define the future.