Michigan Football’s first outing in the Kyle Whittingham era was far from forgettable, but despite claiming a win in the season opener, it’s impossible to dispute that the bad far outweighed the good.
Even in the moments immediately following the Wolverines’ much-ballyhooed 13-12 walk-off win over Western Michigan, the head coach shared in the postgame interview that he knew his team’s performance didn’t meet the expectations they intended to live up to.
“We got in the end zone on the first drive of the game and the last play of the game. Not much in between. Not much good happening,” Whittingham said of his team’s offense, adding, “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
On The Offensive
That might be the PG way to spin what fans saw last Saturday, but a more blunt summation could be that outside of a very promising Ann Arbor debut from receiver JJ Buchanan, Michigan’s offense – which historically has never been a juggernaut- hasn’t looked worse in this decade than it did against the Broncos. Despite the now-infamous ‘one second remaining’ 47-yard hail mary from Bryce Underwood to Buchanan to seal the victory, it is the first time the Wolverines’ offense has produced less than 6 yards per play against a Group of Six opponent in a one-score game since their 24-21 win over Army in double-overtime back in 2019.
The underwhelming performance paints a rocky picture for what could lie ahead for Whittingham’s first year at Michigan, and while the veteran head coach continues to say the right things about getting his ship in order and each individual in the program being held to task for their performance on Saturdays, no one in Coach Whit’s orbit is more susceptible to media hysteria than his starting quarterback. To that point, it might not be a stretch to say that Whittingham is either naive to or completely unbothered by the noise that can emanate from his comments about QB1.
At Monday’s press conference leading into their matchup against Oklahoma, he didn’t mince words about his views on accountability.
“He’s our QB right now – it’s not something that’s infinite,” Whittingham responded when asked about Underwood’s status as the starting quarterback. “At some point you’ve got to turn a corner. We’ve got to see improvement. We’ve got to see improvement out of the coaches. It’s not just on Bryce, and it’s not just Bryce’s job that is not absolutely set in concrete. Nobody’s is.”
In a vacuum, these are unfathomable comments for the head coach of Michigan to make after their first game with the program – especially in a winning performance. But after narrowly grabbing triumph from the jaws of defeat against the champions of the Mid-American Conference, Whittingham knows he needs to start lighting fires under everyone’s backsides now. That approach starkly contrasts with the ardent defense of the guys in the locker room that defined his predecessor’s posture, and only time will tell whether it’s the right gambit for long term success inside Schembechler Hall.
Bryce Under Duress
The $12 million elephant in the room, Bryce Underwood emerges from the Western Michigan matchup with even more scrutinous eyes on his play than there were heading into the opener. The word ‘regression’ is already being thrown around about a quarterback who came into college football as the top prospect in the country just a year ago. During the offseason, talking heads from coast to coast hypothesized about whether the Underwood project in Ann Arbor could come to an abrupt end in the wake of the Sherrone Moore debacle. Would a high-profile coach in transit like Lane Kiffin approach the QB with an offer he couldn’t refuse?
As we now know, those theories of Bryce becoming a Maize & Blue expat didn’t come to fruition before the Whittingham era began, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t take shape in the future. At the end of last season, Michigan signed Tommy Carr, grandson of famed Wolverines head coach Lloyd Carr. Ahead of the season, it was announced that the freshman quarterback had been named QB2, making him Underwood’s backup.
Before his game-winning TD throw last week, Underwood was 11-for-21 with 123 yards through the air against the Broncos, which would be on par with the showing he put up against Oklahoma in their meeting last season. The only problem is that Western Michigan does not have a front seven that is widely regarded as the best in college football, nor do they have a proven performer under center like Sooners quarterback John Mateer. If Bryce and new OC Jason Beck want to right the ship after a turbulent maiden voyage, they’ll need to come to terms on a game plan that gets the ball in the hands of the Wolverines biggest playmakers early and often.
Sooner or Later
For the second year in a row, Michigan will face Oklahoma in Week 2 of their season. Ranked No. 11 in the country, the Sooners are aiming to improve on a 10-2 season that saw them suffer an early exit in the College Football Playoff against Alabama. For Michigan, a win against Brent Venables’ squad would all but wash away any bad taste from last week’s performance – but even a competent, competitive showing would go a long way to getting the program back on track before their Big Ten schedule begins.
A player who will be looking to bounce back from last week is wide receiver Andrew Marsh. The Sophomore pass catcher muffed a punt in the first quarter against WMU and recorded a meager two catches for 15 yards on the evening. With Buchanan emerging as the lead receiver in Michigan’s offense, Marsh will need to take advantage of any favorable matchups against the Sooners – hopefully aided by a revitalized Wolverine rushing attack playing with a chip on their shoulder.
As for the defense, a secondary led by veterans like Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill will need to improve after a lackluster night in which they allowed the Broncos to dink and dime them for multiple lengthy drives. Defensive back Rod Moore Jr. characterized the unit’s performance as beneath their standards and shared the mantra they’ve rallied behind heading into Saturday’s game against Oklahoma.
“We’ve gotta stop being soft. That was a soft game. We just had to come back this week and work, and just do more.”
Michigan (unranked) hosts #11 Oklahoma — kickoff at 12:14 pm this Saturday.
