Michigan football interim head coach Biff Poggi admitted what many fans saw last week against Oklahoma. The Wolverines tried to take the air out of the ball.
"We thought at Oklahoma we would take the air out of the ball, because they are an air raid offense. And we’re not taking the air out of the ball ever again. Not with this guy taking snaps," Poggi said after the 63-3 Michigan football win via Clayton Sayfie of The Wolverine.
That's exactly what every Michigan fan wants to hear, especially after watching Bryce Underwood torch Central Michigan to the tune of 349 total yards (235 passing, 114 rushing). We have heard all offseason about how Bryce could be the next Cam Newton.
Well in two games, the Wolverines gave him just one designed one, if memory serves correctly. Either way, it wasn't part of the offense. This week, that changed. Poggi said Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore wanted to "open up" the offense, and boy did it open up against Central Michigan.
"Sherrone wanted to open things up with him. ... Chip Lindsey took that mandate and I think did a great job. It was a plan to get him using his legs a little more," Poggi said.
According to Poggi, that will be the plan moving forward. It's clear the Bryce can handle it. The 18-year old is 6-foot-4, 228 pounds. He doesn't need to run the ball 19 times like John Mateer did last week. But 5-10 strategic runs per game will be lethal in this offense, especially because of what it will open up for everyone else.
Michigan football finished with over 600 yards of total offense for the first time since 2016. It was the first time a quarterback had run for over 100 yards since Devin Gardner in 2013. This is what Bryce Underwood is -- a superstar or Batman in the words of Poggi.
Biff Poggi on Bryce Underwood: “He might actually be batman. We need to do a DNA test on him” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/yLGaC7jKOS
— uofmcoverage (@uofmcoverage) September 13, 2025
However, Poggi, the right-hand man of Sherrone Moore, and formerly of Jim Harbaugh, didn't want to take any credit for Underwood's performance.
“I have a Labrador retriever who could coach that guy,” Poggi said. “He’s unbelievable.”