The second year of Bryce Underwood's era at Michigan is flying into focus, and despite being set up for success with the Wolverines, many experts still doubt that he will be one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
Sure, Underwood's 2025 season didn't pan out exactly to plan, but he was a true freshman and still led the Michigan Wolverines to a 9-4 overall record and fourth-place finish in the Big Ten with 2,428 passing yards, 392 rushing yards, and 17 total touchdowns.
Yet, when FanDuel Sportsbook released its initial Heisman Trophy odds for next season, Underwood had to scroll fairly far down the list to find his own name.
Bryce Underwood has a chance to prove doubters wrong in 2026
With quarterbacks like Notre Dame's CJ Carr (+800), Texas's Arch Manning (+850), and Ohio State's Julian Sayin (+1,100) leading the way, Underwood found himself at 15th on the list of likely winners, with +3,000 odds to bring the trophy back to Ann Arbor.
Non-quarterback candidates were even listed ahead of Underwood, including Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and Miami wideout Malachi Toney.
2026 HEISMAN ODDS ARE HERE 🚨
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) January 20, 2026
CJ Carr & Arch Manning lead the way 😤 pic.twitter.com/yNWFGeh9Uq
With head coach Kyle Whittingham running the show in Ann Arbor, not to mention the slew of talent that he brought in to help Underwood on the offensive side of the ball, things are looking extremely promising for the Wolverines' next season.
So, the complete lack of consideration for Underwood when it comes to the end-of-year award is disrespectful at best.
As his sophomore season continues to fly into focus, Underwood has the perfect opportunity to prove all of his doubters wrong and show that he was undeniably worthy of his five-star rating when he was coming out of high school.