The word ugly can mean a lot of different things. It can refer to a physical appearance that is grotesque or not visually pleasing. It can refer to a rude, impolite attitude. It can refer to a situation that is threatening to turn violent. It can just refer to something generally unpleasant.
In football though, it has two definitions. It can mean a one-sided beatdown. Or it can mean a sloppy, bruising, ugly game. Many thought Northwestern-Michigan would be ugly. It was last year. But they thought it would fit the second definition. Instead, it fit the first.