Everyone, it seems, is piling on Michigan football. Former players, former coaches, current analysts, fans, lots of lots of fans.
Current players.
Well, at least one, who implied the new regime is a clown show in a leaked text thread, apologized, and blamed his frustration on the latest loss. But then tight end Zack Marshall sees what everyone else is seeing; only he has a better view.
Insider, outsider, everyone has a reason the Wolverines opened Big Ten play with two losses for the first time in 12 years:
The quarterback. The coach. The offensive coordinator. The athletic director.
Karma.
Pick a topic, find a peanut gallery.
U-M's coach, Kyle Whittingham, isn’t helping himself by holding ASMR sessions during his press conferences, though kudos for
trying as ASMR is meant to soothe anxieties.
In football, especially at programs such as Michigan, folks want the opposite; ask Michigan State fans, who recently had their own version of an outsider who unintentionally downplayed rivalries and spoke quietly.
When Whittingham, who arrived after a mostly impressive 21-year run at Utah, said he didn’t have hate for Ohio State back in the summer, I’ll admit, I appreciated the broad view, and the implication that none of us should hate, even in the context of college football. I hoped he would prove the quote didn’t matter, that talent and scheme do.
Maybe he will. It's just not looking good at the moment.
Also, new coaches just can’t say things like that, because such quotes remain fodder forever. And when things go bad, as they are right now for Whittingham, the words resurface with 10 times the power.
He knows this, of course, and told reporters after losing to Minnesota that he faced the biggest challenge of his career.
He's right. He does. Whether he’s up for it is another matter.
Based on what we’ve seen, he isn’t. This can change, but it better change in a hurry.
Whittingham has pointed out that the rebuild will take time and the program lacks depth. Fair points. But hollow ones in the context of all the mental errors, moments of confusion and instances of lost focus. This can’t all be blamed on the players.
The player taking the most blame is Bryce Underwood. That’s how it goes with quarterbacks, especially former five-star recruits getting paid roughly $3 million per season. Underwood has struggled – and then some. Still, it’s too soon to pull the plug, and not because of the money.
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Bryce Underwood's last chance?
Give Underwood the bye week to take a breath and watch some extra film. Give his coaches the extra time to figure out how best to use him.
If they can.
And then give him Penn State.
If it looks like it did against Minnesota, then give someone else a try – Tommy Carr? Just be prepared to lose to No. 5 Indiana the following week, which was probably going to happen anyway.
More critically, be prepared to lose Underwood. Bench him and he isn’t likely to dive into the understudy role and hang around.
This is the risk, which is a bigger risk than many want to admit, especially considering what Underwood looked like against Iowa less than two weeks ago.
The Wolverines’ sophomore played the best game of his short collegiate career against the Hawkeyes, and it wasn’t just the numbers. He made good decisions, showed good touch, especially on out routes and on throws down the field, managed the pocket, the option, his running.
U-M lost at the last second, and Underwood threw an earlier interception that hurt, but he didn’t cost the Wolverines the game. In fact, he wasn’t allowed to try and win it after his best performance of his career.
Yes, he regressed a week later, looking in over his head against Minnesota. He missed several open receivers, threw two interceptions, was hesitant and anxious.
But then he wasn’t the only one.
'Train wreck'
Here is how former U-M tight end – and current Big Ten Network analyst – Jake Butt described the Wolverines’ performance against the Golden Gophers on X:
“Minnesota film is as disappointing as you’ll find. It’s a hodge podge of poor play calls, poor execution, mental errors, lack of effort, lack of awareness, poor communication and identification, players playing slow.. seemingly from not being aware/ confident of their assignment, then you see pressing. Just saying “screw it… let me try this” Just really bad football. Defense once again showing their talent and potential. Kept the game close. But really never had a chance with the play of the offense. The answer? I have no idea. Not an easy fix.”
Meanwhile Fox analyst Joel Klatt, who called the game, said this:
“I see massive problems ... I believe that there is a fit problem between the scheme and the players. And because there is a fit problem between the scheme and the players, that becomes a coach's problem. So the problem now for Michigan lies in all three categories.
"Because it's both scheme and players, it becomes a coach's problem. And the only way forward is to adjust either the scheme or the players."
And if that weren’t enough, there was this, from Urban Meyer, who said he didn’t see enough “dudes” on the offense, but also said he didn’t see enough passion:
“I don't see a fast solution at all because it's – I have not said this yet – it's a train wreck right now. I stood right there and watched it," Meyer said.
And Meyer is buds with Whittingham.
But then this is how it goes when things go awry at a blue blood. No one is anyone’s friend.
[ Michigan's coaches deserve a lot of blame for super rocky start ]
Not that Whittingham expects anyone to be. He knows the critics are right. Knows, too, that there have been too many penalties and that there is a disconnect between the system his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck, wants to run, and the system best suited to the roster. Whittingham even said as much this week.
It’s a mess. All of it. But the quarterback should get at least one more chance, and his teammates, especially the big fellas up front, deserve a chance to operate in a scheme tailored to their talents; however limited they might be.
Underwood may not be up to the job no matter the system. Or, he may need another school and a year to sit and watch at a place where he wouldn’t have to live with the expectation he does here. Right where he grew up.
In the meantime, Underwood could use a run game and a game plan that consistently gives him the best chance. If he still can’t produce, then yes, someone else should get the ball.
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Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kyle Whittingham's U-M is a mess and Bryce Underwood is in over his head
