Michigan football fans were excited to see Bryce Underwood running with the ball last week. Underwood ran the ball for 114 yards and scored two touchdowns in a 63-3 win.
Most of the runs against Central Michigan were not designed. They came when Underwood saw a chance to escape from the pocket.
Against Oklahoma, it felt like that was sort of discouraged. Acting head coach Biff Poggi even said that Michigan "took the air out of the ball," which he said the Wolverines wouldn't do again after the 63-3 win over Central Michigan.
The QB run game changes the offense in a good way for Michigan football
Michigan football shouldn't run Underwood 20 times per game. You have to be careful with injuries, even if he is 6-foot-4, 228 pounds. Yet, 8-10 carries a game feels perfect, especially in 50/50 games like the one against Nebraska on Saturday.
Michigan can't afford to be conservative. It also can't afford not to use Bryce Underwood as a weapon. The running game is just too hard to stop when he's part of it, as former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, now an analyst for Fox Sports and the Big Ten Network, pointed out this week.
"This is the play that changes it all."@CoachUrbanMeyer explains how Bryce Underwood’s ground game vs. Central MI pressures every @bigten defense 👇 pic.twitter.com/bBmjp7JQvK
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 18, 2025
"This is the play that changes it all," Meyer said via the Big Ten Network. "It's called a quarterback direct run. Something, remember, he did not show this in the first few games. This is a quarterback counter. The offensive line is blocking for counter. Now, instead of handing to the tailback, he's the lead blocker. You are plus one in the box now. This is a big cat running the ball. This play to me, put every defensive coordinator, especially John Butler, the Nebraska defensive coordinator, you are now on call because you have a quarterback run in the offense."