Michigan football coach Kyle Whittingham didn’t mince words.
“We gotta get something going,” he told CBS sideline reporter Jenny Dell at halftime on Saturday, Oct. 17.
That something was the long-moribund run game, which got a boost, improbably enough, after a change at quarterback. True freshman Tommy Carr took over for Bryce Underwood to open the second half and, in his second drive, the Wolverines finally found a downhillattack as third-string running back Bryson Kuzdzal broke off a 43-yard TD.
Finally off and running, U-M (4-2, (1-2 Big Ten) wrapped up Penn State, 21-18, to snap a two-game skid and avoid the program’s first three-game losing streak to open conference play since 1967.
Carr finished
5-for-7 passing for 47 yards and added 36 yards on four runs, including a 12-yard option TD to ice the win with 3:02 remaining. At the time of the change, Underwood was 5-for-11 for 43 yards with two interceptions, with 11 additional yards on three carries.
The Wolverines also benefitted from a ball-hawking defense which picked off Rocco Becht on back-to-back drives in the second half. Carr led TD drives after both turnovers, with the second highlighted by a 22-yard Carr draw up the middle to set up a 1-yard Jordan Marshall run for a 14-3 lead.
Tommy Carr gets his chance
Carr, a true freshman from Saline wearing No. 14, entered to start the third quarter with the Wolverines trailing 3-0.
The Michigan Stadium crowd cheered as Carr came onto the field after Michigan received the second-half kickoff. Carr's first play was a pass to JJ Buchanan for a first down, but Michigan stalled and punted soon after. Carr, the younger brother of Notre Dame starting quarterback CJ Carr, has been the No. 2 on the Michigan depth chart since spring ball, but had only seen the field in mop-up time against UTEP in Week 3.
Up in the Big House stands, another U-M No. 14 – Brian Griese – watched Carr next to his grandfather: longtime coach Lloyd Carr, who led Michigan to a 1997 national championship with Griese as his QB.
A flat first quarter
It wasn’t quite on the level of Michigan’s epic nearly three dozen straight run plays against Penn State three years ago, but Penn State (3-4, 0-4) set the tone early at the Big House with a 15-play, 69-yard drive that ate 9:02 off the clock in the first quarter. The Nittany Lions only got three points on the drive, however, as the Wolverines defense stood strong after facing first-and-goal on the 6.
U-M answered with a 5:22 drive, but covered less than half the territory – just 32 yards on nine plays after starting on Penn State’s 41 – before punting. That started a run of 10 straight drives without points – eight punts (including four by PSU) and two freak interceptions thrown by Underwood.
Next up for the Wolverines: Hoosier daddy?
It won’t get any easier for U-M, as No. 4 Indiana comes to Ann Arbor for a “Big Noon Saturday” game on Fox on Oct. 24. The Hoosiers will likely be out for blood after seeing their 22-game win streak snapped Saturday by No. 5 Ohio State in Bloomington. Indiana appeared to have pulled off a miraculous comeback with a minute left in the fourth, as QB Josh Hoover lofted a fourth-down bomb to River Rouge alumnus Nick Marsh as he entered the end zone … only for Marsh to step out of bounds before getting a foot down for the score.
Indiana eked out a 20-15 win in Bloomington last season – just its second win over Michigan in 29 seasons; the Hoosiers haven’t beaten the Wolverines in back-to-back seasons since 1958-59.
Michigan football schedule
After the visit from the Hoosiers, the Wolverines head to Piscataway, New Jersey, for a Halloween date with Rutgers, then come back home to host Michigan State on Nov. 7.
- Week 1: W, 13-12 vs Western Michigan.
- Week 2: W, 17-10 vs Oklahoma.
- Week 3: W, 52-17 vs UTEP.
- Week 4: L, 20-19 vs. Iowa.
- Week 5: L, 20-14 at Minnesota.
- Week 6: Bye week.
- Week 7: W, 21-11 vs Penn State.
- Week 8: vs Indiana, Saturday, Oct. 24 (noon, Fox).
- Week 9: at Rutgers, Saturday, Oct. 31 (time and TV TBA).
- Week 10: vs Michigan State, Saturday, Nov. 7 (time and TV TBA).
- Week 11: at Oregon, Saturday, Nov. 14 (time and TV TBA).
- Week 12: vs UCLA, Saturday, Nov. 21 (time and TV TBA).
- Week 13: at Ohio State, Saturday, Nov. 28 (Noon ET, Fox).
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Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tommy Carr ignites Michigan football offense in rally over Penn State
