At first glance, Bryce Underwood had a really rough game for Michigan football against Western Michigan on Saturday night in a 13-12 win for the Wolverines.
After re-watching every throw Underwood made on Saturday night, as difficult as it was to watch, his performance didn't look any better.
Underwood was strong to start. The 6-foot-4 sophomore quarteback, who was ranked No. 1 in the 2025 class doesn't lack for arm talent. He showed that on the first drive with five consecutive completions, although some of those throws, like the screen to Andrew Marsh, were off target.
Underwood has a tough time with easy throws. He can rocket the ball down the field or across the middle. We saw that on the Hail Mary pass. Arm strength isn't the problem. Accuracy is. Savion Hiter would have gone for a huge play if Underwood got his feet under him and made a solid pass.
Instead, the ball was thrown at Hiter's feet, which led to a Michigan punt. Underwood also appeared to miss numerous zone reads. Maybe the reads were turned off, but after coaches talked all offseason about how Underwood was going to be activated in the run game, that would be curious.
The 228-pound quarterback was still the Wolverines leading rushing with 47 yards on 10 carries. Against Oklahoma, Underwood should carry the ball 20 times, in every was possible. He also needs to get hit in practice until he learns how to carry the football.
After those first five completions on scripted plays, Underwood was 7-for-17. One of those completions was a Hail Mary (thank you, JJ Buchanan). Six of the seven completions went to the 6-foot-4 wide receiver.
Buchanan made an incredible catch on the touchdown. He also beat multiple defenders for the reception that got the ball near midfield and caught the one-handed pass on the dropped snap in the first quarter.
If the Utah transfer wasn't the on the roster, Michigan football would be 0-1.
Grading Bryce Underwood's performance against Western Michigan
Underwood got a 38.5 grade from Pro Football Focus. That's terrible, but it holds up. We have to give Underwood an F for his performance.
The footwork was awful. Every bad habit that Underwood had last season came back. People revert to bad habits, so there is still a lot of work to do.
At this point, Michigan needs to throw caution to the wind and invest in Underwood as a runner. Who cares how it looks? The Wolverines need to move the ball. They ran for 106 yards on Saturday night, and if Underwood can't manage a consistent passing attack, running the ball with him frequently seems to be the only course of action.
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