Michigan football had plenty of problems against Western Michigan that go beyond quarterback Bryce Underwood.
Kyle Whittingham, the Michigan head coach, put his quarterback on notice on Monday, saying that while he is still the starting quarterback, it's not "infinite."
At some point, Underwood needs to take what he's doing in practice or fall camp and translate that to the field. The problem is that football, especially playing quarterback, is a lot different with a live pass rush than it is during fall camp.
Whittingham said Tommy Carr was getting 20 percent of the reps with the No. 1's, which isn't unusual. He played well in the spring, and despite not having the arm talent of Underwood, he seemed to know what to do with the football.
His grandfather was a national-championship-winning head coach. That might have something to do with it. Still, the 13-12 win over Western Michigan exposed plenty of warts beyond Underwood.
The offenisve line didn't play great. Michigan rushed for just 106 yards. Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter both found tough sledding because there were, at times, Western players meeting them in the backfield.
Andrew Babalola will be back this week. That will make the Rhino package easier to stomach, although Whittingham said using it as much as they did was a mistake.
The Oklahoma game might be make-or-break for Underwood in the sense that if he can barely complete a pass without turning the ball over, at some point, Michigan will have to try something else.
That won't be an easy decision. Hopefully, it doesn't come to that. Maybe the touchdown pass to win the game will instill some confidence, or maybe the whole game will serve as a wake-up call.
Michigan has more problems to fix than just Bryce Underwood
Regardless, Underwood, or Tommy Carr, is going to have a tough time this season if the offensive line isn't opening holes in the run game. That was supposed to be the bread and butter. Michigan being outrushed by the Broncos was just as disturbing as Underwood's regression.
The defensive line was solid. Dominic Nichols played a heck of a game. So did Trey Pierce. The long scoring drive was unacceptable, but the defense was on the field for 40 minutes.
Linebacker looked like an issue. That group will need to play better this week, both against the run and the pass. The offensive line will have to step up its game, too, in a major way, because the Sooners' D-line will be a class above Western Michigan's.
If the Wolverines can't run the ball, they will have zero chance of upsetting Oklahoma this week. Underwood needs to be night-and-day better. However, it's becoming clear that the Wolverines need to lean on the run heavily, which means running Underwood a lot more.
Underwood rushed for 47 yards against Western. He needs to have 100 yards if the Wolverines are going to beat the Sooners. He could have run for 100 yards last Saturday if he had made the correct reads.
But if the offensive line doesn't play better than it did against Western Michigan, it won't matter who is playing quarterback, the season will end in disappointment.
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