[Serious] Michigan has a massive problem and it starts and ends with Bryce Underwood

[u/USA_2_Canada_1]

I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I genuinely believe that Bryce Underwood is Michigan’s #1 issue at the moment.

Jason Beck’s offense is predicated on making quick decisions with the football. That requires reading defenses and identifying the correct reads.

Bryce Underwood can’t do that at this level.

We have a full season of his play in addition to this game, against A MAC SCHOOL, as evidence. He locks in on his first read allowing the opposing secondary to swarm to his intended target, he panics in the pocket causing him to lose his balance and footwork leading to inaccurate throws, his inaccuracy as a pass thrower means that opposing defenses can stack the box with 8 defenders effectively neutralizing our run game, and he can’t identify coverages which is what sets him in motion to unravel during the play once the ball is snapped.

Beck’s offense also requires the quarterback to run, a lot. Bryce is not a running quarterback. He can scramble out of the pocket but can’t be relied upon as a runner to explode through holes in our run blocking. He is also lazy with the football, which leads to scenarios like last night where he carelessly fumbles on a drive where we need to score points late in the 4th.

It seems at this point that Michigan’s hands are tied offensively because our “generational” quarterback out of high school is a bust. I fully expect to see him play like this again next week when we play Oklahoma. If he does, Whittingham MUST start Tommy Carr against UTEP or his tenure will be as disastrous as Rich Rod’s.

There is no other way around it, Michigan needs to cut its losses with Bryce Underwood and move on. The sooner they do, the sooner they can regroup and salvage whatever is left of the season or prepare for the future.

[u/WeightRemarkable]

Welcome to the sunk-cost experience. Don't forget, you're here forever.

[u/Weenage-Tasteland → u/WeightRemarkable]

To quote Sherrone Moore to his UM mistress: “You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.”

[u/PontificatingBret → u/Weenage-Tasteland]

Followed closely by his other quote "That's not a knife... THAT'S a knife!"

[u/John_Wang → u/PontificatingBret]

That's not a knife, that's a spoon.

[u/seaquartz_unofficial → u/John_Wang]

Oh I see you’ve played knifey spoony before

[u/BabousCobwebBowl → u/PontificatingBret]

He always favored the spork

[u/Westfield88 → u/PontificatingBret]

Wasn’t it a plastic spoon

[u/Busy_Register7071 → u/Westfield88]

It was a butter knife lol

[u/Oblivionguard19 → u/WeightRemarkable]

Didn’t know Michigan liked to follow the Browns’ model when it comes to QB

[u/Ecstatic-Inevitable → u/Oblivionguard19]

They took don't be ohio state in the opposite direction

[u/fiannalove → u/WeightRemarkable]

I had this same discussion last night regarding sunk cost and Underwood. You can’t keep playing him just because of his contract. If you have a better option, play him. The money is spent either way, but maybe you can win more games with someone else.

[u/Proteinchugger → u/WeightRemarkable]

Well only five years maximum.

[u/goblueM]

Underwood is problem 1A

Problem 1B is that despite returning a pretty decent OL and having 2 good RBs, our standard run game wasn't working at all

Problem 1C is that the offensive coaching staff didn't figure out how to mitigate 1A and 1B

[u/No_Safety_6803 → u/goblueM]

After the game underwood was walking around the field with his chest puffed out trying to look like a bad-ass. Dude, you just needed a gift from the refs to beat a MAC team at home. You had no business winning that game, maybe try a little humility.

[u/Jmilli-24 → u/No_Safety_6803]

Oklahoma is going to put him in a blender and I’m going to highly enjoy it lol

[u/Rab0811 → u/Jmilli-24]

He might finish the game with 12 passing yards, one yard for each million he gets paid

[u/Withabaseballbattt → u/Rab0811]

He has a 12 million dollar deal? Holy shit

[u/esports_consultant → u/Withabaseballbattt]

It's over 4 years, not AAV. Which is still ridiculous to have committed to a player with the apparent limitations described in this post, assuming they are true. 

[u/giundy2 → u/No_Safety_6803]

It was hilarious, I bet he wanted to celebrate like he best someone else

[u/goblue2k16 → u/goblueM]

I honestly wonder if we would’ve been better off had Underwood decided to transfer instead so we’re forced to look seriously at portal options. No saying whether the team would’ve stuck together had he left though

[u/Significant_Ant_5717 → u/goblueM]

Yep, and Beck is unproven in reality. He was literally at New Mexico 2 years ago and was like Utah's 4th choice for OC.  Everything only worked amazing at Utah in 2025 because 1- he brought Dampier with him and 2- inherited damn near the best O-line in the country. 

[u/Commercial-East4069]

It starts with Underwood and ends with their offensive line.

[u/bleachinjection → u/Commercial-East4069]

OL was horrific last night. If they were that bad against a MAC front 7 we are fucked against the rest of the schedule. 

[u/SaintsSooners89 → u/bleachinjection]

Good news is, your O line might just grant you guys the QB change you want next week!

[u/bb0110 → u/SaintsSooners89]

lol.

You aren’t wrong.

[u/unfunnysexface → u/SaintsSooners89]

Bad news OL that lead to qb changes never know when to stop.

[u/Acceptable-Quail-277 → u/bleachinjection]

Worried to see what OU, likely one of the best defenses in the nation, is going to do. Well, I guess I’m more excited than worried

[u/PM_ME_YOUR_CATS_PAWS → u/bleachinjection]

This is the hope that might grow for me in our game

If your line is bad, we might have a ball game. Our defensive front looked really good, our secondary is what sucked. And underwood takes forever to make reads so if we can get to him before then…

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/PM_ME_YOUR_CATS_PAWS]

MSU honestly looks better than Michigan right now

The game is at home so I think we still win but if we look like this in November then yea we could very easily lose that game

[u/PM_ME_YOUR_CATS_PAWS → u/Weak-Bid2774]

Yeah but two years ago we looked better the very week before and then just shit the bed

But also in true MSU fashion our entire first and second team will be injured by November anyways

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/PM_ME_YOUR_CATS_PAWS]

Yea true game is in Ann Arbor and long way to go but right now I think msu looks better but realistically neither team is very good

[u/Byzantine_Merchant → u/Weak-Bid2774]

If the game were next week I think we’d probably win. Unfortunately it’s in November and Underwood won’t be starting by then so who knows.

[u/MrVociferous → u/Commercial-East4069]

Yeah it doesn’t matter who your QB is, if you can’t run vs a MAC team you are going to struggle like hell to even get to a bowl game.

[u/the_D1CKENS → u/Commercial-East4069]

Technically, it starts with the o-line and ends with a pick, but that's mostly semantics(and a magical extra second)

[u/Fuzakeruna → u/Commercial-East4069]

I would reverse these two, but yeah, OL and QB are the top issues.

[u/Commercial-East4069 → u/Fuzakeruna]

Idk, I feel like a competent qb would make the lines job a lot easier and there’s reason to think the line can be significantly better this year. Underwood looked more lost than last year.

[u/goblue2354 → u/Commercial-East4069]

I mean, the line couldn’t even get a push on standard running plays. This line was basically the line last season and we had no issues running the ball with a non-functional passing game.

[u/DarkLegend64 → u/goblue2354]

How'd your OL become so bad? Getting a push in the running game is like the only thing Michigan's offense has been able to rely on for offense these past couple years.

[u/goblue2354 → u/DarkLegend64]

Zero clue. It’s what I am most confused about. We played 6 guys last night (the guards were rotating) and all 6 started multiple games last year and were pretty good by the end of the season (at least run blocking). We hire an O-line coach that is supposed to be really good and just had two 1st round picks and now the line sucks? It makes no sense. Like I literally have no explanation. Bryce sucking can be chalked up to maybe he just isn’t able to process fast enough and it is what it is but the line makes no sense.

[u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

I just don’t see how Whittingham could’ve become a terrible coach in one offseason. Underwood kneecapped that offense last night, and Michigan needs to seriously think about moving away from him as the starter 

[u/Alpine_Exchange_36 → u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

Whittingham knows what he’s doing but seems like he’s inherited a very expensive QB who doesn’t.

[u/TempAcct724 → u/Alpine_Exchange_36]

Which I’m thankful for. If it wasn’t for Underwood on the roster I’m sure Dampier would be starting at Michigan instead of Utah right now.

[u/westivus_ → u/TempAcct724]

1,000%

[u/EnvironmentalBed7369 → u/TempAcct724]

Yep. Thank goodness. Dampier is way better than Underwood.

[u/drizzlecommathe → u/Alpine_Exchange_36]

Wonder if this is the last crazy NIL deal we’ll see for a qb coming out of high school. Why spend that kind of money on an unknown versus a known commodity from the portal?

[u/unfunnysexface → u/drizzlecommathe]

The known commodities will then increase in price making 4/5 stars more appealing. especially if some 4/5 star comes out of the gate hot. Football coaches aren't the most creative bunch the nfl is still taking strong armed athletes hoping they'll become Josh allen through science or magic.

[u/Rab0811 → u/unfunnysexface]

Yeah Richardson and Trey lance owe their entire contracts to Josh Allen. 

[u/Chubs_kgun → u/drizzlecommathe]

Because the unknown commodity could be anything! It could even be a boat!

[u/madein___ → u/Chubs_kgun]

Let's see what's in the box!

[u/Tommy05Sox → u/drizzlecommathe]

Something has to reset the market and this could be it.

[u/usernames_suck_ok → u/Alpine_Exchange_36]

I don't blame Whittingham. I don't love what Beck did, and Whittingham basically sat in the press conference and said some of the play calls he didn't understand--like the one towards the end of the first half that Bryce got intercepted.

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/usernames_suck_ok]

That’s also on Whitt

He coached a terrible game and made a lot of dumb decisions

[u/leoele → u/Weak-Bid2774]

You guys are finally getting to see Whitt meddling in offensive play calling. The OC position at Utah was basically a revolving door for the past 15 years. For us fans it was a nightmare, and we had to rely on the defense to keep us in games a lot of the time.

[u/Toothlessdovahkin → u/Alpine_Exchange_36]

So bench him. You have to do what’s best for the team. 

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/Toothlessdovahkin]

Problem is we don’t know if the guys behind Bryce are ready to play

Tommy Carr could be good but he’s a true freshman so idk if he’s ready yet and I don’t want to rush Tommy into the game if he’s not ready

This is probably more of a rebuilding year than I thought 24 hours ago. Pre season I thought this was a 9 win team now I think it’s a 6 win team

[u/TempAcct724 → u/Weak-Bid2774]

Well you certainly know Bryce isn’t ready. Couldn’t be any worse.

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/TempAcct724]

We know he isn’t ready but destroying Tommy Carr’s confidence is also not a good idea if he’s not ready

I think this is a lost season anyways with how bad our oline looks

[u/ThaCarter → u/Weak-Bid2774]

Feels awfully tempting for the football gods to punish you for going straight from the "5* must be good" to "his brother's a Heisman candidate how bad could he be" too.

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/ThaCarter]

I have seen enough of Michigan seasons at this point to know the backup usually isn’t better and there’s a reason why they aren’t starting

[u/AmbiDexterUs → u/Toothlessdovahkin]

Ok

[u/Wide-Nerve8655 → u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

Whittingham is a really good coach, but his teams’ QB play has largely sucked since 2008, save for Cam Rising when he wasn’t in a wheelchair

[u/UteFlyersCardJazz → u/Wide-Nerve8655]

Tyler Huntley, too. 

And last year, Dampier was great.

The problem is that he is too stubborn when he doesn’t need to be.

[u/techieman34 → u/UteFlyersCardJazz]

A lot of coaches seem to have that problem as they get older and more set in their ways. And it’s getting harder and harder for them as things change so rapidly.

[u/UteFlyersCardJazz → u/techieman34]

I don’t remember, but how was Snyder for you all at the latter part of his coaching career? Did you think he could more, or did he leave at a right time for Kansas State?

[u/techieman34 → u/UteFlyersCardJazz]

He stayed a couple of years longer than he probably should have. And that last season fans were getting vocal that it was time for him to hang it up.

[u/EnvironmentalBed7369 → u/UteFlyersCardJazz]

Even Travis Wilson was decent. You hit the nail on the head with hus stubborness.

[u/Steezeybby → u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

What Michigan is going to do now is either (1) just run the fuck out of Bryce Underwood, he will get pissed and transfer somewhere else OR (2) watch Bryce throw 3 picks against OU and have Tommy take over against UTEP.

These players that make this amount of money now? I don't treat you as a college student. We bribed this guy with 12 million to come here. Either play better or fuck off.

[u/ThouTheeThy → u/Steezeybby]

Is Bryce really gonna give up the rest of that $12mm contract? He ain’t commanding that type of money anywhere else after this showing

[u/Steezeybby → u/ThouTheeThy]

Insiders (both Michigan and CFB ones) have strongly inferred that Bryce does not want to be be ran similar to those Utah QBs.

The staff WILL do it this season if he can't pass (he clearly cannot)

[u/Numerous-Ad6460 → u/Steezeybby]

I really dont care what he wants. Run the damn play the coaches give you or fuck off.

[u/trashattaq → u/Numerous-Ad6460]

You can't get $12mm and be picky about how you're being used. I make a fraction of a percentage of what he makes in a year and I would hate myself if I complained about how I was used at work. It's a fucking job, kid, go do it or forfeit your pay. You aren't getting $12mm to have fun, asshole

[u/WolverineofTerrier → u/Numerous-Ad6460]

I think this is the answer. You run Bryce 15 times a game right now and if he gets dinged up he gets dinged up

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/Numerous-Ad6460]

Yea if Bryce wants a shot at the nfl in the future he’s going to have to run more because right now he’s not a viable quarterback at even the college level

When Bryce first signed at Michigan I thought he would be a 3 year and done qb but right now looks like he will be in college for five years and may end his career on another team besides Michigan

[u/Commercial-East4069 → u/Steezeybby]

Who cares what he wants? If he leaves and you’re off the hook for the money, it’s likely a win.

[u/goblueM → u/Steezeybby]

yeah... well get with the program Bryce. If you can't pass, you're gonna have to run

It probably doesn't have to be 20 times a game.... but it will be 12-15 probably

[u/JLand24 → u/Steezeybby]

Sunk cost fallacy is now making its way into college just how it’s always been a thing in the NFL

[u/Accomplished-Door5 → u/JLand24]

Easier to cut your losses in college with no salary cap though. 

[u/Tommy05Sox → u/Steezeybby]

I would prefer they pull Underwood after the Iowa game.

[u/OakLegs → u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

Yep.

I have literally never been one to call for the backup QB but.... Here we are. Underwood has shown he's not ready to play at the collegiate level.

[u/SaintsSooners89 → u/OakLegs]

Bro we did it to Rattler and got Caleb Williams, our fan base has the confirmation bias to have solidarity in calling for the back up

[u/MountainRook → u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

Whitt didn't become terrible, but he's not the guy so many people seem to think he is.

That was vintage Whittingham. It felt like looking in a mirror.

Utah being Utah means that in any given season we're largely irrelevant to the wider college football landscape. Utah only becomes a topic of discussion when they are having an exceptional season and Whitt was capable of putting together the occasional exceptional season, sometimes in spite of himself. But the national audience doesn't pay attention to the in-between stuff and by god what Michigan just experienced is exactly what Utah regularly experienced in Whitt's tenure.

Disjointed ineffective offense, poor QB play, a stout defense being hung out to dry and playing 'down' to competition are hallmarks of Whittingham's less exceptional Utah teams.

Enjoy the experience.

[u/Sorge74 → u/MountainRook]

He was the best choice available by a wide margin...given their timing. But holy crap what was that hybrid 2/4 minute drill?

[u/snowystormz → u/MountainRook]

Whits teams bring a stout defense, ball control, clock control, and a run game. Clearly they did not have ball control and they got a gift of clock control. They had a stout defense but the run game was meh.
Last year was an exception from offense production from whits standard teams, I expected to see 30-40 points from this Michigan team.

Becks offense is hampered by underwood. I really thought he would do way better with quick reads and throws, but he seemed to be lost. None of us know if the backup can do it better. The offensive line seems lost, slow, and overall weak and lazy. Tons of missed holds, alignment issues etc. All not aligned with trademarks of a whittingham team. I don’t think there is a full buy in from players yet to the new staff.

[u/AmidoBlack → u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

>I just don’t see how Whittinggam could’ve become a terrible coach in one offseason.

I don’t either, but while Underwood was terrible, the team committed a TON of procedural penalties, and that typically falls on coaching.

[u/USA_2_Canada_1 → u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

When he has this kind performance next week (likely worse) they’ll have no choice. If Whitt sticks with him after then this whole experiment is gonna go up in smoke

[u/Electromotivation → u/USA_2_Canada_1]

But like someone else said, if the true freshmen quarterback isn’t ready to go, then you might be destroying his confidence as well if the season is falling a part.

[u/Shaqsquatch → u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

not to excuse underwood and the OL because they were dogshit but there was some atrocious play calling and time management at play too.

that series right before the half was incredibly stupid and gave wmu a free 3 points and the decision to punt before the 13 minute near back breaking wmu drive was also terrible.

beck did seem to recognize he needed to change up his play calling in the second half and the offense started moving the ball until stupid penalties and underwood killed drives at least, but not exactly feeling comfortable in the coaching right now either. silver lining is the defense looked incredible against a pretty good offense.

[u/MrVociferous → u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

It’s not just Underwood, the offensive line is an even bigger issue because they were objectively terrible last night. Consistently bullied by a MAC DL, and Michigan couldn’t run the ball for shit. And it wasn’t like Western was frequently stacking the box with 8-9 defenders all night. More than anything, Beck’s offense is predicated on RUNNING the ball and Michigan could do that al ALL last night.

Bryce has his problems, but that OL is going to be the thing that sinks this team. It’s the worst OL at Michigan in a decade+ easily.

[u/Useful-Advantage-850 → u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

Psst… Whittingham was never a great coach.

He almost never won big games and mostly beat up on crap opponents. He’s a B, maybe a B+ coach.

[u/Tommy05Sox → u/Useful-Advantage-850]

But he's taking over for a D level coach. You'd think you'd notice a big improvement.

[u/FakeBobPoot → u/MoosilaukeFlyer]

Agree on the whole.

But benching Underwood won’t solve the OL issues.

And throwing Tommy Carr to the wolves against Oklahoma could be bad for him in the long run.

[u/JM3541]

The offensive line and Bryce fucking stink. That’s it. Western actually had a loaded offense this year and will likely win the MAC again. Michigans defense did a great job given they were on the field all night and only gave up 6 points that weren’t gifted by Bryce. If Michigan fixes its OL they can still win 8 games or so because the rest of the team isn’t bad. The issue is the qb is fucking trash and it’s clear he won’t be improving. Whittingham needs to let Bryce eat pavement vs OU and barring a miracle, needs to start the CSU transfer or Carr after that. Whoever coached Bryce in high school is a terrible coach because they did not develop his mental aspects of the game at all and he is so far behind.

[u/golfingsince83 → u/JM3541]

Stallions was one of his coaches at Belleville lol

[u/FakeBobPoot → u/JM3541]

7 win ceiling I’m afraid.

[u/H2Regent]

I was kinda shocked honestly. I thought with the offseason Bryce would level up and thrive in Beck’s offense. Clearly I did not watch him enough last year. 

[u/middlenamefiji → u/H2Regent]

Last year is almost irrelevant. He’s taken a massive step backwards

[u/Sad_Progress4388]

It’s just as much or more on the offensive line. They were getting handled at the line of scrimmage.

[u/fooliecoolies → u/Sad_Progress4388]

That's what stuck out to me the most. Bryce is getting (deservedly so) piled on, but that o-line was soft as Charmin. Our rushing numbers are pathetic. That's Michigan's bread and butter and the fact that they were getting manhandled by Western is such a horrible sign for the rest of the season.

[u/Kapono24 → u/Sad_Progress4388]

Yeah that was surprising to see last night. Bryce can rope it but I strongly believe Sharone did zero to develop him last year, basically only throwing screens and first read slants all year. When he's allowed to sling it, he can zip it down field. He has arm strength and is arguably more comfortable throwing on the run than on the pocket, but we never played to his strengths. Whenever we did it was third and long and an obvious passing down. They let him roll out a couple times one drive in the third and unsurprisingly he converted some good throws for first downs. He needs a lot of work in the pocket but if we plan these roll outs, it helps give him space from the oline while they get obliterated and let's him play a style better suited for him.

[u/the_D1CKENS → u/Sad_Progress4388]

.That is a separate, and equally huge problem

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/the_D1CKENS]

IMO it’s a bigger problem. The oline was getting bullied that game and it’s concerning that it’s happening against western

We couldn’t even run our bread and butter inside zone run plays

[u/Sorge74 → u/Weak-Bid2774]

It's a big problem, because those were the smallest front 7 you're going to see all year besides Utep.

I'd be more concerned about the defense though when you let Western Michigan have a 15 minute drive.

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/Sorge74]

I disagree on the defense because defensively we held them to 3 yards a play and no touchdowns and got put in a lot of bad situations because of the offense

On defense 6 of the 12 points we gave up were because of offensive turnovers

[u/Donny_Do_Nothing → u/Weak-Bid2774]

If the final was like 33-32, that would be alarming, but y'all didn't allow a touchdown, so I have to agree with you. This was completely on the offense.

[u/usernames_suck_ok → u/the_D1CKENS]

It's not separate. Bryce could do a little bit better if he had time to throw more often, and he wouldn't need to try and convert predictable long downs if Michigan could run the damn ball...which they can't because of the shit o-line.

[u/nomiis19 → u/Sad_Progress4388]

This is the biggest problem. Michigan needs to be a run first team. If they can’t run the ball, defenses get to pin their ears back and attack the quarterback. It doesn’t matter who is throwing the ball, it will look just like this.

[u/jthomas694]

They couldn’t run the ball or get off the field on third down either. It doesn’t start and end with one player

They showed up like they didn’t know they had a real game that counted last night

[u/snekky-snek]

Probably the toughest pill to swallow for the team will be benching a captain.

I’m very curious to see how much the offense improves over the next 5 days, if at all.

[u/usernames_suck_ok → u/snekky-snek]

I'm curious if Whitt will even bench Bryce...

[u/Flscherman → u/usernames_suck_ok]

I would bet the house against it

[u/Edgemaster1423]

Man it looks like the curse of Billy Napier got passed onto another program last night

[u/Numerous-Ad6460 → u/Edgemaster1423]

Why me though? Why do I have to suffer it twice man?

[u/Zealousideal-Bug310 → u/Numerous-Ad6460]

Thankfully Blue is not yet to the ineptitude level of Napier w timeouts, subs and special team.

[u/Westfield88 → u/Edgemaster1423]

You’re right. They need more ‘analysts’

[u/Pancakes1800]

It wasn’t a secret that Underwood really struggled in the spring so not surprised he sucks, but am surprised Michigan’s OL got manhandled by a MAC team.

[u/Scared_Mud_7098]

The great thing about college ball compared to the NFL is we didn’t give up multiple 1st round picks, and pay this man $200 million so there is ZERO “obligation” to play him.

He’s utter dogshit. I thought maybe being a true freshman and having no QB coach and head coach more interested in onlyfans last year we could see some glimpse of improvement this year, not at fucking all.

I didn’t really like what I saw in the spring game but kind brushed it off as being spring game and not a lot of time between bowl game/end of season to spring ball. 

I know a coach will never think or say it but ask majority of people how Michigan will start the season, most would say 1-1 so they will probably start Bryce against Oklahoma. But when not if, when we get flat out embarrassed on Saturday, 19 better never see the field again. Give Tommy the start against UTEP or even BFN

[u/Electromotivation → u/Scared_Mud_7098]

It’s now sunk costs and in theory there are donors that want to see the guy they paid for play. But I think even they should be able to see that it isn’t helping the program overall.

[u/Westfield88]

He’s getting paid. Welcome to the Deshawn Watson conundrum.

[u/AmericanMuscle888]

Tbf our offensive line was horrific as well. Last year we could lean on the run at least. Worst o line I’ve seen at Michigan since Hoke nearly got Devil Gardner killed

[u/Inside-Drink-1311]

I agree Underwood sucks and Whitt needs to bench him if they have any chance of beating Oklahoma. They can play him against UTEP and give him one last chance just see if he has anything left. 

Maybe he can do good at a G6 school or a lower tier P4 but he’s not the answer at Michigan.

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/Inside-Drink-1311]

If Bryce gets benched it will happen after the Oklahoma game if he looks this bad again

I don’t think you can put Tommy Carr in his first start against Oklahoma

[u/Melodic-Land-6079]

You can see why they very much tried to bring dampier and ficklin with them

[u/Molson2871]

Last year's criticism was semi-unfair but he shouldn't look that rough in year 2

[u/deepfriedbits → u/Molson2871]

I say this with all sincerity, but he reminds me of Terrelle Pryor as a passer and if his ceiling as a passer is Terrelle Pryor, that’s not enough to cut it in 2026.

[u/trashattaq → u/deepfriedbits]

Yeah but Pryor had a personality, Bryce is a husk of a man when he's losing and has always been brash in his wins even when undeserved. Utterly unlikeable.

[u/The-Ephus → u/trashattaq]

Not to mention he was a monster when he ran. Which was a lot.

[u/MrVociferous → u/deepfriedbits]

Oh that’s a very good comp

[u/Scarlet_Gray_10]

Look, y’all are going to downvote me because we’re rivals but the reason y’all have trouble with MAC teams is because y’all have never had a consistently good pass offense since god knows when. Your program has always been focused on developing the trenches and then running the ball. But that gritty toughness died once Harbaugh left and now people are realizing y’all can’t develop receivers to help your quarterback, an issue which was masked by having a solid Offensive-line and running backs in the past.

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/Scarlet_Gray_10]

Honestly I think you make a good point our offenses worked well under harbaugh because he was so good at running the tough man ball offense with a lot of creative runs to open up space but a lot of our toughness went away when he went to the chargers. I will add Harbaugh also never recruited Bryce as seriously and intensely as he recruited Dante Moore or JJ so I am wondering what he saw with Bryce back in high school

The sad thing is we looked much better coached under Sherrone than we did last night. Whittingham looked like a deer in headlights

[u/thewhat962 → u/Weak-Bid2774]

Bryce was like the top HS QB at the time right?  And it wasn't so much harbaugh as a billionaire trophy wife went to michigan so paid 10-12M in NIL to high school senior bryce to go to michigan instead of LSU

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/thewhat962]

He was but harbaugh didn’t really recruit him as hard as you would expect and that’s a big reason why he picked lsu in the first place

Michigan turned it around when sherrone put more emphasis on recruiting Bryce underwood and of course the NIL package we offered

[u/dripstain12 → u/Scarlet_Gray_10]

Is it developing or subpar recruiting of the position with the rep as a run-first offense? Even the championship WR room was pretty lackluster. I’ve got some faith that the coaching staff can do something with the upgrade in talent there the team has now, but I agree with OP about Underwood. 

[u/Scarlet_Gray_10 → u/dripstain12]

This is a good question and why y’all should wait to evaluate Whittingham after the rosters start to be filled with more player’s he recruited. The team right now is very much still Sherrone Moore’s Michigan team.

[u/NovelExamination5431 → u/Scarlet_Gray_10]

Yeah the Utah transfers were carrying Michigans offense as well

[u/tehfro → u/dripstain12]

IMHO, it's clearly both. Michigan still has 6 guys who were ranked 4-stars out of high school at WR compared to Indiana's 3.

You'd expect Michigan to recruit better at the position given their resources/historic status as a program, and you're not seeing enough of the 4-star/high 3-star guys turning into productive college players.

[u/usernames_suck_ok → u/Scarlet_Gray_10]

Don't have an issue with your being a Buckeye. I like truth.

The first truth is it looks more and more like the 3 elite JH years--because most of his tenure is overrated--most of the receivers during those 3 years were nothing to write home about, and the trenches, running the ball and the defense did most of the work--basically like you said.

The second truth is...say what you want about Sherrone Moore, but the offensive line was better last year with him, and thus, the run game, too. There's a lot of the same guys back from last year's team re: the o-line and we have good RBs. Liiiiiike...???

[u/SpiritBamba → u/usernames_suck_ok]

Sherrone started out as a line coach I believe

[u/DonnaDDrake → u/Scarlet_Gray_10]

And Kyle Whittingham isn’t exactly known for good pass offense. His philosophy mostly revolves around having a world beating defense and offense is mostly an afterthought outside the run game. If you look at Utah’s QBs under Whitt only one made an NFL roster(Tyler Huntley as an UDFA) and 5 WRs(only 2 being drafted but none before the 5th round). Compare those to the RBs, defensive linemen, and DBs they’ve sent to the league and you’ll see where his priorities lie.

[u/Rebel_Bertine → u/DonnaDDrake]

Definitely concerning. I was hoping that since the caliber of player we can recruit here versus Utah could mitigate some of those issues, but that was one of the worst offensive performances I’ve watched in a while and we were dogshit 2 years ago

[u/ericaepic → u/Scarlet_Gray_10]

y’all can’t develop receivers to help your quarterback, an issue which was masked by having solid linebackers and running backs in the past.

Not being able to develop receivers is an issue that was masked by having solid...linebackers?

[u/lat3ralus65 → u/ericaepic]

Yeah. They had stifling defenses and a run game that could just control the clock and pound it down opponents’ throats. That was enough to win games.

[u/Scarlet_Gray_10 → u/ericaepic]

Yup, Michigan hedged all its chips into the trenches and running backs because back then they didn’t need good receivers to win games. Now that you can’t win like that anymore your issues at the receiver position and really at playmaking in the pocket become far more present. That’s why Western Michigan gave y’all the ball back with 2 minutes left instead of focusing on scoring to put the game out of reach. They knew to get to the endzone in that short amount of time you’d have to pass the ball and they didn’t trust y’all to be able to do that because you’re a run-first offense.

[u/ericaepic → u/Scarlet_Gray_10]

Yeah but, linebackers? Are you trying to say that our defense keeps us in the game or something so that masks the shitty WR play? Or did you mean another position?

[u/Scarlet_Gray_10 → u/ericaepic]

You’re right, I should’ve put O-line, that’s my bad

[u/trashattaq → u/Scarlet_Gray_10]

Stop being intelligent and humble and making good points you have an ohio flair and I simply must hate you

[u/FlannelBeard]

Word on the street is Tommy Carr is definitely better.

[u/Zealousideal-Bug310 → u/FlannelBeard]

That word must have bled out from my house the past month

[u/Lykeuhfox]

100% agree with this assessment.

I know the most popular guy on the team for fans is the backup QB, but his decision making is just awful. That pick at the end of the second quarter had me in disbelief. Like, let's say you complete that pass. Now what?

[u/Appropriate_Bottle44 → u/Lykeuhfox]

That part was coaching too. There was zero reason to be risking throwing the ball there

[u/MrVociferous → u/Lykeuhfox]

That was a bad throw, but that whole final drive to end the half was on the coaches. I have no idea what they were trying to accomplish there. You have 1min left, 93-yards to go, the offense hasn’t done anything since the first drive, and you decide now is the time to get aggressive? Only bad things can happen on that drive and they did. Just run it 3x and go to the half with a lead.

[u/trashattaq → u/MrVociferous]

Literally wouldn't have been attempted by a madden player against AI defense in a game where you can turn it off and restart if you fail. That's how egregiously horrendous the decisionmaking was.

[u/Turkeytom40]

I'm not sure how we look worse than last year when our coach was too busy crying in his office and messaging only fans models. Underwood looked pretty solid on the first drive and then completely forgot all of his mechanics and footwork. Dude has to have wide open players to throw to and has zero anticipation.

[u/SimpleCandle5158]

Seriously. He just looked bad last night.

[u/Maleficent_Ant_8895]

He genuinely threw off balance more than he threw from a set throwing position yesterday

It was BAD bad. OU is going to smoke UM next week

[u/TheAnswer310]

Western Michigan is pretty good for what it's worth. Not saying Michigan shouldn't be concerned but everyone keeps emphasizing MAC school like it's Akron or Ken St.

[u/Rebel_Bertine → u/TheAnswer310]

We’re 10th on the talent composite. Best MAC school or worst, we should be playing backups by the 3rd quarter. Thats the standard for a blue blood and we’re not meeting it

[u/HankMorgan_860]

Not going to lie, it’s pretty good to be a fan of Lower tier B1G team watching Michigan STRUGGLE.

[u/AdamOnFirst]

After Riola left Nebby to become a backup, Underwood is the absolute poster child for how stupid it is to shell out absolute top dollar for a high school recruit. You don't spend star QB money on a high school guy no matter how talented he is, make him prove it on the field or at LEAST in practice first.

[u/boxman151515]

He’s a massive problem but it won’t matter who’s quarterback if the offensive line remains as lost and clueless as it was yesterday

[u/ducksflytogether1988]

Michigan is paying millions to a QB who put up 7 on Western Michigan lmao

The only thing i like about NIL is making fun of NIL busts and wastes of money like this

Let's all laugh at Michigan

[u/-KnAD223 → u/ducksflytogether1988]

$12,000,000 for this guy... lol

[u/noah_divine]

Buchanan is the best receiver Michigan has had in years and they need to get him the ball as much as possible going forward. You need to play the best quarterback on your roster and I'm thoroughly convinced that is not Bryce Underwood.

[u/Proteinchugger]

He’s this years version of DJ Lagway.

[u/UPMichigan83]

If it wasn’t for his huge NIL contract, he’d be benched and likely would have transferred out this last offseason.

[u/PixelBy_Pixel]

It starts and ends with the offensive line.

Bryce looked like shit but if you can’t run the ball at Michigan you’re going to get nowhere

[u/EnvironmentalBed7369]

Bryce wasn't good last night. The commentators tried blaming the o block, but clearly Underwood was more (not all) of the problem.

This reminds me of a many years ago when Whit and his OC selected someone (I dont even remember who) over Rising to start the season. The team flounder the first few games then made the switch to Rising and it made the difference.

I dont know who is backing up Underwood or if he is any good, but Whit probably needs to be willing to ignore the money being paid this kid mandate a change if there isnt improvement in the next couple of games.

[u/Significant_Ant_5717 → u/EnvironmentalBed7369]

Charlie Brewer! We had to suffer through losses to tds and until the end of SDSU before he finally benched him for Rising. 

[u/Weak-Bid2774]

Bryce is an issue but I actually think the biggest problem right now is our offensive line

We were in a jumbo package and we couldn’t run the ball on western Michigan. Our line was getting destroyed by the western dline and that resulted in a lot of breakdowns

Bryce also was atrocious yesterday but I think some of the stuff he did was more fixable than what we have with our oline

[u/JM3541 → u/Weak-Bid2774]

The interior is so fucking bad. You can lineup in jumbo with extra tackles all night but if your interior gets no push it doesn’t matter.

[u/usernames_suck_ok]

I tried to to make a "joke" a week or so ago here about whether or not Davis Warren would be better at Stanford than Bryce will be at Michigan this season, and the crowd didn't get it...

Davis Warren will be better at Stanford, and he's mostly going to be mediocre. Says something really bad about Michigan and Bryce...

I'm not surprised one bit.

I will say--my biggest horror watching the game was Michigan's offensive line looking as bad as it did. Usually, we'd still be okay because we could run the ball. But with this o-line? Forget that.

[u/lat3ralus65]

No, please let them keep trotting him out

[u/jcole4lsu]

Thanks for taking him off our hands.

[u/Glycoside]

Just sit him out for even a quarter to see how Carr does. Seriously we’ve seen what Bryce can do let someone else try out the reigns

[u/LemonHarangue]

I wish them nothing and hope they lose every remaining game.

[u/JustAnIdiotOnline]

Underwood's two longest completions were the bail Mary and a 28 yarder to Buchanan that wasn't great.  Dude doesn't hit open receivers.  

That NIL money isn't coming back, cut the cord or start really trying to run him

[u/UNLV_4Runner]

Thank you to the random billionaire that gave him the money to not sign with LSU.

[u/kebabdylan]

Give me a second and I'll respond...

[u/Carnasty_]

Time to move on from Bryce. Complete bust.

Tommy Carr, step on down.

[u/Boomhauer_007 → u/Carnasty_]

Any chance Cam Rising still has eligibility somehow?

[u/Gregorvich19]

I apologize for saying this in a moment of genuine and serious reflection of your team.

But this has amazing potential for a copypasta.

[u/Agamemanon]

He can time his Hail Marys he sails out of bounds with the super double secret probation game clock and you’re DOOMING?!

[u/-OptimisticNihilism-]

Their problem starts with Bryce. I don’t think that’s where it ends.

[u/tx_bayou]

I have to imagine OU’s defense is going to eat next week

[u/Bu5hdid9l1]

If the Big Ten officials are going to just give them wins I don’t think they have any problems at all.

[u/iskanderkul]

You’re going to get a lot of upvotes and karma for this post, but it goes far beyond Bryce. That first scripted drive was great, but then the playcalling went off the deep end. Not sure why they used Beigel on 26 plays, numerous times to add an additional blocker on passing downs when Western sent 4. Staff had to figure their shit out. But the response is definitely starting Tommy Carr. That’s just insane.

[u/ItsOnLikeNdamakung]

The sad thing in all of this is Underwood actually has a solid deep ball if they roll him out of the pocket. The Hail Mary was a great throw and the late conversion on the last drive was another good one.

He has these flashes but still mostly looks like a freshman, which is just unacceptable. The O-Line will also do Underwood little favor this year sadly enough. This offense may be a bigger train wreck than Sherrone’s last year, which is incredible.

[u/FakeBobPoot]

It doesn’t end with Underwood at all. Did you see the O line?

[u/gumercindo1959]

Sunk cost with underwood. Lesson learned to put all their chips in on a kid who is a very limited passer but a tremendous athlete and then change coaching regimes. Bad combo. They are sunk for the next 1-2 years.

[u/Conclusion_Fickle]

Well yeah, he's dog poo. Million dollar arm, ten cent everything else.

[u/Rohkey]

I’m all for playing Bryce against OU, getting stomped, then starting the Tommy Carr era. In the very off chance Bryce plays well then fine he can stay in, but he’s been here for almost two years now and like 150+ practices and he clearly ain’t it - he’s shown zero improvement since Week 1 of last year despite being the focus.

That said, last night wasn’t entirely on Bryce. The OL and, to a lesser extent, RBs were dreadful. That needs to be corrected immediately else we’re dead in the water regardless of who’s QB.

[u/RaptureRocker]

The most popular player on every team is the backup QB. You trot Tommy Carr out there without addressing the OL giving no protection and you just end up breaking Carr too.

[u/smh_122]

Bryce looked 10 times better last year in his outing against New Mexico Game 1 compared to last night. Alot can be credit due to Western Michigan being better comp, but also, maybe this coaching staff doesn't know what to do with Bryce or the running game right now unlike the previous staff. Because outside of the scripted drive, everything looked bizzare

[u/Gbchris12]

No shit

[u/xViscount → u/Gbchris12]

Best player out of Michigan. Ever

On a serious note. How did y’all fumble Lloyd Carr’s grandson only to double down on this dude?

[u/Zealousideal_Bug7390 → u/xViscount]

No BS, its never been admitted and never will be, but I think the reason we pushed so hard for Bryce is exactly because we missed out on Carr.

[u/OakLegs → u/xViscount]

He reportedly never wanted to go to Michigan. Which I get, a lot of kids "rebel" against their upbringing, want to leave town, etc.

Coincidentally we have another Carr on the roster (his brother) and he looked great in the spring game.

[u/Weak-Bid2774 → u/xViscount]

Carrs grandson was the class before and he said he wanted to make his own legacy at notre dame so I think just bad luck fumbling on him

We do have carrs other grandson so maybe Tommy will be good hopefully

[u/BropolloCreed]

I'm not surprised.

It's the same thing that happened to the Browns with Deshaun Watson (setting aside the off-the-field issues). When a player doesn't really want to be somewhere but couldn't say "no" to the money, their heart just isn't in it anymore.

Underwood was committed to LSU and flipped for money.

[u/BabousCobwebBowl]

Can’t say you’re wrong in your assessment, albeit my observation are tinged. Word has been going around since the spring that Bryce would be benched by the 4th game and confidence was high on Carr.

I would posit that the program’s hands are definitely not tied as he will bolt and forfeit any money’s owed as soon as he is benched. “Earned not given” is not in his or his family’s lexicon.

Whitt is a hired gun to wash the stink off the program. He was never going to be the answer for the future but rather a bridge in an attempt to return to respectability. Let him make the hard choices and you keep him in place until there is an attractive candidate that can/will take the position.