Kyle Whittingham said on Monday that Michigan has a plan at quarterback. It’s a super-secret plan, by the way: “We're not going to tip our hand” to this week’s opponent, No. 6 Indiana, Whittingham said. “But we have a good plan in place.”
Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers
must be petrified. That the plan would in some way qualify as good seems to fly in the face of everything we’ve seen over the first six games of the season.About the only good idea would be to permanently bench sophomore Bryce Underwood, who tossed a pair of interceptions in Saturday’s 21-18 win against Penn State — the only other Big Ten blueblood more miserable than Michigan at this moment — and was replaced by freshman Tommy Carr.
Whittingham’s QB decision isn’t over
Seeing his first extended action, Carr accumulated 83 yards of total offense and ran for a touchdown to provide “a spark for the offense,” Whittingham said.
The Wolverines know what they have in Underwood. It’s not pretty. It’s time to pull the plug.
He’s made no growth since last season and has played with zero confidence, leaving the former five-star recruit as the only primary Big Ten quarterback with more interceptions than touchdowns. The only starter in the conference with a worse efficiency rating is Maryland’s Malik Washington.
Maybe Carr has the skill set to better fit what Whittingham and offensive coordinator Jason Beck need in their scheme. Maybe the spark he brought on Saturday carries over to the second half of the year, and we look back at this reboot under center as a key turning point for the Whittingham era.
At the very least, Carr is an unknown commodity while Underwood is a proven drag on this offense.
Not that who Michigan starts against the Hoosiers will even matter. Indiana is a touchdown favorite in Ann Arbor because of a defense that might be the best in the Big Ten and will be too much for the Wolverines to handle.
The Hoosiers rank fourth in the FBS in scoring at 12.9 points per game, fourth nationally in rush defense at 75.4 yards per game and seventh nationally in allowing 4.3 yards per play. Unless the Wolverines make some sort of magical week-to-week improvement, Indiana’s defense will dominate.
But that’s an even better reason to put Carr into the starting lineup. This year is cooked: Michigan is not a contender in the Big Ten or nationally, and should be thinking more about what can be done over the second half of the year to get better in 2027.
That will be done by evaluating every piece of the offense, starting at quarterback. Michigan has to improve at the position to challenge the best of the best in the conference. We know Underwood isn’t that guy.
Carr might be. Even if he’s not, that’s valuable information for Whittingham to have heading into a crucial transfer-portal season. Staying the course and hoping for the best is not the answer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan football knows what Bryce Underwood is. It’s time to move on
