Narrator's voice: “He was careless with the football.”
To be fair, Underwood was only directly responsible for three of the five Michigan turnovers. At 5:22 in the second quarter, the first turnover was a drive-killing trick play that should never see the light of day again. The way the offense was humming, this was going to be a TD. At 9:29 in the third quarter, Semaj Morgan lost, then recovered the ball, but the refs saw it differently.
Interception #1: Throw the out, he’s open
The first interception came at 12:19 in the fourth quarter, on a crucial third and nine, when Northwestern rushed six men. Underwood’s first read was wide receiver Donaven McCulley running a wide-open out. But before he got to his break to the sideline, Underwood moved to his second read, tight end Deakon Tonielli. Nickel Braden Turner stepped in front of Tonielli and returned it seven yards away from their end zone.
Underwood did everything wrong in this play. He had his primary receiver with an eight-yard cushion at the snap and the safety coming up. The corner was in his backpedal and had opened his hips to the inside, meaning the out was going to be an easy pitch and catch. There are several possible reasons why Underwood eschewed the best receiver on his team for a stationary target sandwiched between two defenders, but none of them are good ones. Instead, he threw off his back foot into a tight and closing window, where a defender he didn’t see gathered it in to set up the go-ahead touchdown.
Interception #2: It’s dead, Bryce
The second came at 9:09, second and four on the 26-yard line, the Michigan possession right after Northwestern’s go-ahead touchdown. The play was a run-pass option (RPO), the corners were tight to the receivers, and the nickel ran with the motion man. Safety Robert Fitzgerald, who had been aggressive all day, was stepping down towards the line of scrimmage. At the snap, Underwood looked right at Fitzgerald, who saw that Underwood kept it and stared at McCulley, he stopped, adjusted, and caught the strong throw. Another drive killed.
The Northwestern defense won this play. They had the right defense called, which included a tackle-end twist that had pressure in Underwood’s face, hurrying him up and forcing the mistake. His safe options were to throw the ball to the ivy-covered walls or take the sack. It was second down, after all, and Michigan was within field goal range, which would’ve regained the lead.
There are two vital pieces of context that should be added to what happened: the interception on the previous drive and the running back Jordan Marshall’s injury. They may have played into Underwood’s actions, particularly when you consider his makeup. He is a leader and may have been pushing himself to atone for his mistake as well as pick up the playmaking responsibility. The seasoned QB would’ve chosen the “live to fight again” option rather than “players make plays” one, but seasoned Underwood is not.
Fumble: “Ball security. Important”
Play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson said these prescient words two plays before the ball became un-secure. Fourth quarter, 4:20, head coach Sherrone Moore decides against a go-ahead field goal attempt for a fourth-and-one read option run play from a pistol formation. This play was a feast served on a silver platter for second guessers. Field goal by your All-American kicker? Sneak by your 6’4” 228 lbs. QB? I-formation with your QB under center, the all-world fullback leading the way, and a 5’11” 210 lbs. bowling ball with both arms wrapped around the football? Fake the hand off and have your uber-athletic uber athlete beat whoever wasn’t selling out to push the pile of humanity backwards to the corner and lots of green Wrigley grass. Nah.
Klatt has the valedictory on this play: “The play was dead before it ever got started. Never got the handle… The ball’s too high. It needs to be down into the chest. In ‘the pocket.’ Underwood’s trying to read the defensive end. Too many miscues. Too many mistakes.”
All the glory and all the blame
I read an article once whose author was “bot” and had summed up QBing thusly, “Quarterbacks attract disproportionate glory because their role concentrates measurable decision-making, accountability, and visible outcomes in ways that map cleanly to narratives, statistics, and fan perception.” Thus, the belief that Michigan’s season has been lackluster and Underwood is a disappointment. Last season was a disaster that was redeemed by beating OSU. This season may become the opposite, if the final game’s result isn’t a win.
Coming off their second and final bye week, Michigan showed their ceiling and floor for the homestretch of three games. The evidence is in the numbers. Ceiling: total offense: Michigan 496 yards with 216 rushing/280 passing (net) versus Northwestern: 245 61/184 (net). Floor: five turnovers and a final score of 24-22. Ceiling: the offense against a very good defense grinded out yards and had explosive plays. Floor: two avoidable interceptions, a ballhandling mistake that was avoidable, and two missed field goals, one of which was 60 yards. It’s all there to play for. But the question remains, can Bryce Underwood stay patient?