ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- When Kyle Whittingham took the Michigan football job, he knew he'd be under the microscope, especially compared to coaching at Utah, where he was for 21 years. However, he probably didn't realize just how molecular the level would be.
After Week 1, he found out. Or, he didn't -- at least as he tells it.
"I don't read one thing in the media, so I can't tell you how we were treated," Whittingham said. "But if we were treated badly, we probably deserved to come in and play very well last week. So I don't have Twitter, I don't have an X. I don't have one thing, and I don't look at one thing. I don't want to offend you for not reading your stuff. I just don't have time for that, and it's not something that moves the needle winning-wise.
So I just work at leaving it at that."
Michigan didn't light the world on fire against Oklahoma in Week 2. But emerging with an unexpected victory certainly did some work at reversing some of the seemingly pounded-in-stone narratives that some tried to reach after one lousy game against Western Michigan.
Part of what made the Wolverines effective against the Sooners was running quarterback Bryce Underwood 18 times for 87 yards. He was the biggest part of the offense, especially with his legs taking some pressure off, having only thrown 17 times (with nine completions) for 111 yards.
Whittingham says that was the intention: to utilize his skillset to the fullest. And not only did it work, he believes it could have and should have worked more.
"Absolutely part of the game plan. Should have been a few more," Whittingham said. "We had some reads that were poor reads, but the young running back is clamping down on the ball, so Bryce couldn't get it out of there. But it was part of the plan. We still understand that we need to get the throw game into higher gear and get more production there. Coming out of this game, we've got plenty of work.
"We're not sitting here patting ourselves on the back saying we have all the answers. But we were certainly more efficient than last week. Certainly had much more energy and passion. Certainly had better execution. We did much better with most of the statistics. We still aren't making enough first downs and too many penalties. Extended drives when we're out on defense. Clips behind the chains on offense too many times. We've got to clear another 90 yards of penalties this week. We've got to get that reeled in.
"We won the turnover margin. Last week we lost it minus three. I think we were plus one or plus two."
Considering there are still extant issues, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, Whittingham anticipates that the Wolverines will need to continue leaning heavily on Jay Hill's defense while offensive coordinator Jason Beck works out the kinks. But he's also supremely confident that those kinks will get worked out, because he saw this exact same thing play out in Salt Lake City last year.
"Well, it's been the case the first couple weeks. Defense definitely kept us in the game last week and this week as well. And the offense, I saw this happen last year with Jason Beck in the offense," Whittingham said. "He just started getting more traction and more traction every week and becoming more productive and more prolific. And what's really good right now is the defense is holding down the fort while that maturation process takes place. And so I guess the answer is yes for the moment. The defense is keeping us in the games. But the offense was markedly better. Even the numbers weren't markedly better. I thought it was much more what it should look like this week than it was last week."
Michigan should have an easier go of things this upcoming week with UTEP coming to town. The Miners were decent against an FCS team this week, holding Texas Southern to just 211 yards. However, they allowed 401 yards to Oklahoma in Week 1, while also surrendering 51 points.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Kyle Whittingham switches gears with Bryce Underwood after Week 1
