Michigan is about to step into a new era, the Tommy Carr era, as the freshman prepares to make his first start of his career at the school where his last name carries a lot of weight. After leading the Wolverines to victory against Penn State, everyone has a lot to say about the quarterback change, including former coach Biff Poggi.
Unlike most, Poggi's opinion actually defends Bryce Underwood. After being benched for Carr, Underwood has taken a lot of hits on social media, but Poggi believes none of it is his fault.
Instead, Poggi is putting blame on the Michigan coaching staff.
"Part of what's happened is the scheme doesn't fit the personnel," Poggi said on The Jim Rome Show. "Not only Bryce, but the offensive line, the tight end room, and the running backs."
"The scheme doesn't fit the personnel, not only Bryce but the offensive line, the tight end room and running backs."@BiffPoggi on Bryce Underwood and Michigan's offensive struggles this season. pic.twitter.com/nLhzZQjOS2
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) October 22, 2026
Sorry, Biff, but looking at the numbers, all three of those positions played exponentially better when Carr came into the game against Penn State. In fact, Carr's longest pass against the Nittany Lions was to tight end Hogan Hansen. So, respectfully, Mr. Poggi, maybe don't blame the coaching staff when it's clearly a player problem.
Bryce Underwood has never been the answer at Michigan, even in Biff Poggi's era
Poggi tried to talk about how good Underwood looked when he was at Michigan, especially in the three games he was the interim head coach. Michigan faced Central Michigan, Nebraska and Texas in those games. Here were Underwood's numbers over that stretch:
- vs. Central Michigan: 16-for-25 for 235 yards, 1TD, 1 Int. and 9 carries for 114 yards and 2 TDs
- vs. Nebraska: 12-for-22 for 105 yards, and 8 carries for 61 yards and 1 TD
- vs. Texas: 23-for-42 for 199 yards, 2 TDs, 3 Int. and 14 carries for 69 yards and 1 TD
The Wolverines went 2-1 in those games, which is a good record without their head coach, but Underwood's numbers don't scream "amazing" to me. He threw just as many interceptions in those games as touchdowns, and sure, his rushing numbers look great, but no one has ever criticized his running ability.
Have Kyle Whittingham and his staff, especially the offensive staff, been perfect this season? Absolutely not, but show me a coaching staff that has been. There have been questions about the offensive scheme and whether or not it fits, but if Carr comes out against Indiana and dominates, or simply looks marginally better than Underwood, that could answer those questions.
Either way, Underwood is benched, and Carr will get his first career start against Indiana, and Poggi can think it's the coaching staff, but his opinion doesn't really matter in Ann Arbor anymore.
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