Kyle Whittingham actually did it. Despite a $3 million-a-year contract to play for Michigan, Whittingham benched former 5-star No. 1 overall prospect Bryce Underwood in favor of freshman Tommy Carr to start the second half against Penn State.
After an absolutely atrocious first half against a Nittany Lions team that has struggled more than the Wolverines this season, Whittingham made the change fans have been waiting for, as heard from the cheers when Carr trotted onto the field for Michigan's first drive.
Michigan makes a change -- Tommy Carr is in at QB. pic.twitter.com/NRsToZrRtp
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 17, 2026
Carr's first play was a great little slant route pass to leading receiver JJ Buchanan for a first down, and it truly was like a breath of fresh air. Granted, Michigan ended up punting just a few plays later, but you gotta give Carr some time to get comfortable in the game.
Bryce Underwood gave Kyle Whittingham no choice when it came to being benched
Whittingham spoke to sideline reporter Jenny Dell before heading into the locker room for halftime, and it was clear he truly had no answers for how Michigan looked in the first half. On five drives, Underwood was 5-for-11 for 43 passing yards and two interceptions. Well, it's clear Whittingham found the answers at the half, and it was Carr replacing Underwood.
Michigan's run game was non-existent against a Penn State run defense that has allowed 220.6 rushing yards to opponents this season. In the first half, Michigan had just 37 rushing yards, with Marshall leading the way with 30.
Underwood's inability to take care of the football has to be the reason he was pulled. Coming out of the bye week and into this game, Whittingham expressed a need to take care of the football, and Underwood simply wasn't able to do that.
During the bye week, Carr got 50% of the snaps in practice, which felt like Carr's time on the field was coming sooner rather than later. Well, Whittingham finally made the change, and now it is Carr's opportunity to lead Michigan to a win when the Wolverines were down 3-0 at halftime.
It should be noted that in just two drives of Carr as the quarterback, Michigan was able to put seven points on the board. Granted, it came on a huge run from third-string running back Bryson Kuzdal, but Penn State had to respect the long ball after Carr took a shot at the end zone to Buchanan, opening up the run game a bit more for the Wolverines.
If Carr is able to pull off the win for the Wolverines, Underwood might want to get comfortable on the bench, as this offense could be turned over to the freshman permanently.
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