Bryce Underwood Is Simply Not Getting It Done For Michigan

There is no easy way to sugarcoat what happened to Bryce Underwood on Saturday afternoon.

Michigan lost to Minnesota, 20-14, dropping the Wolverines to 3-2 after consecutive losses to Iowa and Minnesota. And while the Wolverines' offensive struggles certainly cannot be placed entirely on their quarterback, Underwood's performance was simply not good enough.

At this point, it's becoming increasingly difficult to make the argument that Michigan should continue handing him the keys without at least seriously considering true freshman Tommy Carr.

Underwood finished the game 10-of-21 passing for 101 yards with two interceptions, no touchdowns and a 34.4 QBR. That's a brutal stat line on its own, but the numbers don't fully capture how poorly he played.

The bigger issue was everything happening between the lines.

Underwood repeatedly missed opportunities in the passing game, including several throws that could have moved the offense down the field. He looked uncomfortable at times, struggled to consistently make the correct reads and missed receivers who were available.

Then there were the interceptions.

Underwood threw two passes that Minnesota turned into interceptions, and there was another throw that ended up in a defenders arms but luckily for Underwood, the play was blown dead just before the snap. When a quarterback is struggling to move the ball through the air, giving the opponent extra possessions is almost impossible to overcome.

And Michigan couldn't overcome it.

The Wolverines managed only 101 passing yards all afternoon, while the running game produced just 79 yards on 28 carries. Jordan Marshall was Michigan's most productive runner with 50 yards and a touchdown, but the Wolverines simply couldn't generate enough offense to keep pace.

Underwood wasn't much of a factor with his legs, either.

He carried the ball 10 times for just 20 yards, an average of 2.0 yards per attempt. More concerning was the decision-making on zone-read opportunities. There were multiple instances where Underwood appeared to make the wrong read, leaving yards on the field and preventing Michigan's running game from developing. Maybe it was the back clamping down on the ball too much, but either way, it wasn't working.

That's where the conversation about a quarterback change becomes unavoidable.

Nobody expected Underwood to walk into college football and immediately look like a finished product. He's young, and Michigan has been asking a lot of him. There have been flashes of the talent that made him one of the most highly regarded quarterbacks in the country as a recruit.

But flashes aren't enough anymore.

Michigan is 3-2. The Wolverines have lost consecutive games. The offense has been inconsistent. And Underwood's performance against Minnesota wasn't simply a case of making a couple bad throws. It was an all-around struggle that contributed directly to Michigan's inability to win a game that was there for the taking.

The timing of the bye week may actually help Michigan make a decision.

There is now an opportunity to step back, evaluate the entire quarterback situation and determine whether Underwood gives Michigan its best chance to win moving forward. The Wolverines don't play this weekend, giving the coaching staff additional time to evaluate what went wrong and what needs to change.

Then comes Penn State.

The Nittany Lions have been a disappointment themselves, which could make their trip to Ann Arbor particularly interesting. Michigan will host Penn State after the bye with an opportunity to stop the bleeding and get its season back on track.

But that game could also represent something bigger. A changing of the guard in a huge way should Kyle Whittingham choose to start Carr. If Underwood is still QB1 at that point, his play is going to have to improve in a major way. At some point, potential has to turn into production.

And right now, Bryce Underwood simply isn't producing enough.