U-M coach gives Underwood tepid backing as QB1

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  Adam RittenbergSep 7, 2026, 10:54 AM ET

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  College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.

Michigan will continue to start Bryce Underwood at quarterback despite struggles in the season opener, although coach Kyle Whittingham added Monday, "At some point, we've got to turn a corner."

Underwood, the former national No. 1 overall recruit, began his second season as Michigan's starter and first under Whittingham by completing 12 of 20 passes Saturday against Western Michigan, including a 47-yard Hail Mary touchdown to JJ Buchanan as time expired to secure a 13-12 win. Big Ten replay officials ruled one second remained for Underwood's final heave after a previous Hail Mary attempt sailed beyond the end zone, which appeared to end the game as the clock on the NBC television broadcast showed zeroes.

After engineering an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the game, Underwood and the Wolverines did not score again until the final play. Underwood started throughout 2025 as a true freshman, passing for 2,428 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and was a top priority for Whittingham to retain after Michigan hired him as coach in December.

"He's our QB right now," Whittingham said. "It's not something that's infinite. At some point, we've got to turn a corner, and we've got to see improvement, as we've got to do with a bunch of stuff. We've got to see improvement out of the coaches. It's not just on Bryce, and it's not just Bryce's job that is not absolutely set in concrete. Nobody's is."

Underwood drew strong reviews from Whittingham and Michigan's offensive assistants during training camp, showing clear improvement in their eyes following a shakier spring. But his strides didn't translate to the WMU game.

"It's unfortunate, disappointing, because we see him every day and he's been very sharp all through fall camp," Whittingham said. "So, I don't have a great explanation right now, other than we hope to see improvement between Game 1 and Game 2 in the live action. There's nobody who wants to be great more so than Bryce."

This week, Michigan hosts No. 10 Oklahoma, which limited Underwood to 9-of-24 passing for 142 yards in a 24-13 Sooners win last year in Norman. Michigan has named freshman Tommy Carr, the grandson of former Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr and younger brother of Notre Dame starting quarterback CJ Carr, as its backup quarterback.

Whittingham said Tommy Carr has taken a few practice reps with the starting offense.