The bye week was gut-check time for Michigan football.
That should have come after the loss against Iowa. However, the Wolverines, at least on offense, never had a sense of urgency against Minnesota.
It was as poor an offensive performance as I can remember seeing as a Michigan football fan. After turnovers on back-to-back possessions in the second half, the Wolverines had less than 200 yards of total offense and Bryce Underwood played his worst game.
Underwood got rattled. Minnesota pressured him, which Michigan didn't handle well, and the quarterback didn't handle well. The running game disappeared and Jason Beck looked like he has no clue how to call an offense.
You have to hope this is one of those things where Michigan doesn't look as bad it seems. With Underwood, it feels like that's true.
Bryce Underwood will bounce back against Penn State
Things can be really bad at times. They can also be really good. Just look at the Iowa game. That was a clear step forward. The Minnesota game was a step back.
Quarterback development is not linear. Look at Arch Manning or Dante Moore. Yes, Underwood was terrible against Minnesota. If he keeps playing that way, Tommy Carr will have to play at some point.
That being said, the Michigan coaching staff needs to do a much better job of putting Underwood in a position to succeed. Get back to a traditional run game that works with the offensive line. Michigan rushed for 210 yards last season, without really using Underwood as a runner.
With the QB run game added, Michigan should easily rush for over 200 yards a game. If Jason Beck can't figure that out over the next six games, he needs a pink slip. He took a good thing and screwed it up.
Beck hasn't made life easy on Underwood. The constant use of the Rhino package, with no clear counter, has allowed safeties to tee off on the running game. And when things have gotten bad for Underwood, there seems to be no adjustment from the coaching staff.
That all has to change.
Underwood has to be better. He will be against Penn State. One thing that's true about Bryce is that he's much better at home than on the road. At home, he completes 63 percent of his passes, averages 8.1 yards per attempt, and has 10 touchdown passes compared to five interceptions.
On the road, Underwood is a 55 percent passer with an average yards per attempt of 6.9. He's got four touchdowns and five interceptions. Two of those were last week.
Underwood is a young quarterback. Not only is he a sophomore, he's young for his age. He's started 18 games and won 12. It hasn't been perfect. Far from it. But there have been signs this season, like the games against Oklahoma, Iowa, and UTEP.
After sluggish games on the road last season against Nebraska, USC, and Oklahoma, Underwood responded by throwing for an average of 245 yards in the three home games after those road games.
The Penn State defense is vulnerable. It gave up over 300 passing yards to USC and over 400 rushing yards to Northwestern.
Beck should have a game plan that allows Underwood to attack the Nittany Lions with his arm and his legs. To me, it feels like a bounce-back game is coming, even though plenty of people are calling for Tommy Carr.
That will cease after this weekend, for one Saturday at least, as Underwood accounts for over 300 total yards against Penn State in a double-digit win by Michigan football.
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