ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After Michigan football's loss to Minnesota, head coach Kyle Whittingham said that it was time to start having the tough conversations and to reevaluate everything under the sun on the offensive side of the ball. Now that the Wolverines have had a week and change, since this past week was the bye week, Whittingham is moving forward with the status quo.
That means Jason Beck will continue as the offensive coordinator and playcaller on that side of the ball and Bryce Underwood will continue as the starting quarterback moving forward.
"Unless you want to call plays," Whittingham said. "Jason will call plays, and Bryce is our guy moving forward. Tommy did get a lot of good reps last week, which you would, typically, in a bye --
weekly anyways, you'd get a lot of good reps. So, he got a lot of good reps, because of anything but it was a great opportunity to get a second-team benchmark across the board."
Given Underwood's struggles -- whether it's in moving the offense or turning the ball over -- Whittingham says it's pretty cut and dry about why he's going to remain the starter.
Though fans have called for true freshman Tommy Carr, Whittingham insists that it's Underwood who continues to put the Wolverines in the most advantageous situation as it pertains to the offense.
"6-4, 230, runs like the wind," Whittingham said. "Cannon arm -- can make every throw and then some. Has a whole year of experience under his belt, last year and five games this year. So, that being the case, and looking at the room as a whole, at this point, we feel like he still gives us the best chance to win."
That said, why are the maize and blue struggling so much on that side of the ball? On the other side, the Wolverines have the No. 3 total defense and 20th-ranked scoring defense.
Whittingham notes that the turnovers have been the biggest issue thus far, and that if the team can solve giving opponents quick change and short fields, that it could bolster the team as a whole.
"We obviously took a step backwards on offense in this past game, a couple of weeks ago," Whittingham said. "And so, we're continuing to tailor the offense to try to put everybody, not just Bryce, in the best position to succeed. And the main thing, our big demise, is the turnover margin. I mean, if you look at it, we continue to lose the turnover margin, but that team is not (going to win that way), cut and dry. And so, we've got to get that fixed.
"Turned the ball over three times against Minnesota. Once it was on special teams, and it was a turnover on the last. So, it was three turnovers, and you just can't win against opponents that are very capable when you're doing that. So, that's the main takeaway, is that it doesn't take anybody's -- it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. But we have got to start turning the ball over less and taking it away more, plain and simple. And until that changes, we'll struggle."
Up next, the Wolverines host Penn State, which is another school that doesn't have a win in the Big Ten as of yet, and it's also another former Big 12 staff leading the charge. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. EDT at The Big House, and the game will be televised on CBS.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Kyle Whittingham settles Michigan QB, offensive coordinator questions
