One of the biggest storylines of the first full weekend of the college football season took place in Ann Arbor — and we’re not talking about Michigan’s Hail Mary mulligan. It’s the complicated situation surrounding Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood, the former No. 1 recruit in his class to whom Michigan committed money in the low eight figures to land.
AP Top 25: Michigan plummets out of rankings after Week 1
Ralph D. Russo
Last year, Underwood had a very up-and-down debut. It felt like it was more down than up, but considering it was his first season of college football and the program around him was in disarray, that shouldn’t have been shocking. Underwood threw 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions, completing 60 percent of his passes for 2,428 yards and running for 392 yards and six more touchdowns. Those were respectable numbers given the circumstances. But after throwing seven touchdowns against only two picks in Michigan’s first eight games, he fizzled down the stretch, with a 4-to-7 TD-to-INT ratio over the last five games and a dip in his yards per attempt.
Against Western Michigan in the opener last week, Underwood looked very uncomfortable playing in a new system.
He finished 12 of 22 for 170 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Pro Football Focus graded Underwood’s passing at 31.4, the second-worst mark among Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks in Week 1, and dinged him for making five “turnover-worthy plays” in the game. He also was just 1-for-6 on throws of 20 yards or longer downfield, with that one completion being the dime he delivered to JJ Buchanan on the second Hail Mary attempt to deliver the Wolverines a controversial win.
“He’s accurate on the move,” said a defensive backs coach who has faced Underwood, who spoke on condition of anonymity, like the other coaches in our report, in exchange for honest assessment. “He can throw it a mile. If it ever clicks, he’s got all the ability. … But right now, it’s his decision-making that’s the problem, and him identifying things, being comfortable in the scheme. If you can’t read the defense, you’re not comfortable with the offense.”
Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham was asked about Underwood’s security in the starting job earlier this week and hardly offered up a ringing endorsement. “He’s our QB right now, and it’s not something that’s infinite,” Whittingham said. “At some point, we’ve got to turn a corner.”
That means if Underwood doesn’t get better fast, expect to see freshman Tommy Carr soon. Another big problem for Michigan — and Underwood — is that the defense the Wolverines are facing Saturday at the Big House is not a unit that is kind to quarterbacks looking for clarity. In fact, it often goes the opposite way. Last year, one of Underwood’s worst games came against Oklahoma. He finished 9 of 24 for 124 yards in a 24-9 Sooners win.
“Oklahoma put a lot of stuff on tape (to defend Underwood) for the playbook last year,” said a Big Ten defensive coach, whose team faced Underwood in 2025. “(Sooners coach Brent) Venables exposed him. Underwood struggles with all that variance that Venables loves to do. They have so much volume of stuff, and guys are getting calls in late. It’s almost like OU can be too exotic with all they’re doing, but even if they cut (a Michigan receiver) loose, I don’t know if Underwood could find him. It looks like he’s seeing ghosts. This is not a great matchup for him.”
The coach didn’t think that Michigan has been catering to Underwood’s skill set enough to help him get more confident and comfortable, but he also pointed out Underwood has plenty of talent.
“You see him during warmups and he is so twitched up,” the coach said. “He’s got some arm talent. The ball really jumps out of his hand. It’s crazy. He can throw it over a post safety. He can really rip tight throws between guys, but he really struggles with throws inside the hashes. They should be moving the pocket more to cater to him, get him out on the perimeter. And if he gets loose downfield, he’s a hard guy to get down.”
A third defensive coach whose team also has faced Underwood watched the game Saturday night and described the young QB’s play as “all out of sorts.”
“Is he pressing? I’m sure he is,” the coach continued. “He doesn’t play quarterback, if that makes sense. The kid doesn’t have a feel for things —maybe that’s because this is his second system, and at least for now, that’s put him in a deeper hole, where he looks like he doesn’t really know what he’s doing. Like he’s rattled and like he’s lost. He stares down receivers, and you see a lot of bad decision-making.”
“I think (Whittingham’s staff) is gonna run him a lot more now,” said the first DB coach. You’ll see QB power, QB counter, more downhill runs — all the plays they did at Utah last year.”
• The other former five-star everyone will be watching this weekend is Texas’ Arch Manning. Last year, in his first big game as the Longhorns’ starter, he underwhelmed in a 14-7 loss at Ohio State, finishing 17 of 30 for 130 yards with one touchdown and one interception and averaging just 5.7 yards per attempt. It should be noted that he was facing the most talented defense in the country: The Buckeyes had three defenders drafted in the first 11 picks of the NFL Draft and five in the first 62.
Manning got better as the season went on. He threw 26 touchdowns and seven picks in 2025 and ran for 10 touchdowns. Two other big pluses for Manning in the rematch with these Buckeyes: The game is in Austin, and the Longhorns are much better offensively. Their O-line is more experienced; they added a difference-maker in big wideout Cam Coleman (formerly of Auburn); and they brought in two dynamic running backs in Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown to jolt a mediocre position group. Texas was No. 11 in the SEC last season in runs of 20-plus yards with 12 — and Manning had six of them.
When asked about what he sees as the biggest difference on film between Manning now and Manning this time last year, one defensive coach told The Athletic this week, “He’s fixed his throwing mechanics.”
A Texas source echoed that: “He’s cleaner — and he’s way more confident now. There’s more talent around him. He was the team’s best running threat last year.”
An Ohio State source said he is definitely concerned about Manning giving the Buckeyes fits with that skill set: “His legs will kill you if you let him out.”
One other area to keep an eye on this weekend against the Buckeyes will be how accurate Manning is on his intermediate throws. Last weekend, he lit up Texas State, especially on the deep balls, where he was 4-for-4 for 130 yards. However, he was 2-for-5 with an interception on intermediate-range throws.
• An interesting comp we heard from one defensive assistant we chatted with this week: Notre Dame’s CJ Carr reminds him of former Purdue great and Pro Football Hall of Famer Drew Brees. “He’s got a very quick release, really good composures and processes so well,” the coach said. “He’s always on time and accurate.”
• Penn State has experienced something of a wide receiver drought the past few years. Parker Washington, a sixth-round pick in 2023, was the last Nittany Lion wideout to get drafted; the program has had 21 other players picked since then. It’s only one game, but watch out for Koby Howard, a 5-11, 203-pound second-year player from South Florida. He lit Marshall up for six catches for 161 yards and a touchdown last week. That’s more receiving yards than he had all of last year, when he had seven catches for 133 yards.
“He’s legit,” Thundering Herd coach Tony Gibson told us. “He’s strong, can run good routes and can really go.”
Another young Penn State name to know is Max Granville, a 6-3, 252-pound third-year edge who missed all of last year with an injury. Granville, who came in second in the state in both the shot put and the 110 hurdles as a high schooler in Texas, didn’t show up in the official box score against Marshall other than posting one pass breakup, but he made a big impression on Gibson, a former defensive coordinator. “That guy is a freak,” he said. “He’s so explosive and very physical. We played Georgia last year, and they didn’t have anyone like him.”