Michigan is sticking with Bryce Underwood as its starting quarterback following Saturday's 13-12 win over Western Michigan, a result that revealed ugly warts offensively for the Wolverines.
First-year Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham stopped short this week of saying the job belonged to Underwood for the rest of the season, however.
"He's our quarterback right now. It's not something that's infinite," Whittingham said Monday. "We need to see improvement with a bunch of stuff… it's not just Bryce's job that's set in concrete. Nobody's job is."
Underwood struggled during Saturday's opener and finished with a 52.9 QBR, near the bottom of Big Ten starters in Week 1. He completed 12-of-22 passes (54.5%) for 170 yards and an interception, his lone touchdown coming on a Hail Mary completion after another second was added to the game clock at the end of the fourth quarter.
There were a couple overthrows and timing deficiencies, including a third-down try in the first half that fell short of his intended target on a screen pass. The Wolverines are breaking in a new offensive scheme this season under former Utah play-caller Jason Beck, who tabbed Underwood as his starter over Tommy Carr in fall camp.
Carr, a freshman, showed mastery of Michigan's playbook during the final spring scrimmage, but did not take any first-team reps last month in camp.
Whittingham and Michigan's new offensive staff was glowingly confident in Underwood during fall camp, this coming after a pedestrian performance in the spring game was chalked up a vanilla plan and two-high coverages throughout.
During Saturday's game, Whittingham at one point squeezed his eyes after a failed third-down attempt following another Underwood incompletion. It was a frustrating performance across the board for the Wolveirnes, who were heavy favorites in the contest and never found a rhythm in the run game or through the air.
"I don't have a great explanation on that other than I hope we see improvement Week 1 to Week 2," Whittingham said on Underwood's lack of execution against Western Michigan.
Underwood is a former No. 1 recruit from the 2025 recruiting class who signed a contract out of high school that pays him around $3.2 million this season as a sophomore.
Underwood's frightening Week 2 assignment
It may get worse before it improves offensively for the Wolverines and their sophomore quarterback with Oklahoma rolling into Ann Arbor this week. The Sooners blanked UTEP and subdued Underwood with ease during last season's win in Norman over the Wolverines, stacking the box and daring Michigan to throw with its then wet-behind-the-ears freshman starter.
Beck's offensive scheme at Michigan relies on quick decisions and accuracy with the football, two areas Underwood needs to clean up. The Sooners gave up just 198 total yards in their opening victory, forced a pair of turnovers and limited UTEP to a paltry 2-of-13 effort on third down.
Michigan mustered just 12 first downs and 276 yards against Western Michigan, turning it over three times and getting doubled up in time of possession. If Underwood and this offensive starts slow next time out, we might be seeing Carr -- a former four-star signee -- come into the game to try and spark production early this fall.
