Bryce Underwood Benching Addressed by Michigan HC Whittingham After Hail Mary Avoids Upset vs. WMU

Bryce Underwood is Michigan's starting quarterback, but his grasp on that role is perhaps slipping somewhat after he struggled during Michigan's 13-12 win over Western Michigan that required a controversial Hail Mary to survive.

"He's our QB right now. It's not something that's infinite," head coach Kyle Whittingham told reporters Monday. "At some point, we've got to turn a corner and we've got to see improvement. As we do with a bunch of stuff, we've got to see improvement out of the coaches. It's not just on Bryce. It's not just Bryce's job that is not absolutely set in concrete. Nobody's is. You've got to perform week in and week out. Become somebody that we feel is playing at a level that we can win with. "That goes far beyond Bryce. It goes throughout the whole team. What you've done lately is very important in football."

Whittingham did express belief in Underwood's talent.

"Don't want to panic. Don't want to get ahead of ourselves. He's a big-time talent with his arm talent and his ability to run, and we're just going to stay the course for right now," he added . "But again, there does come a time for everybody at some point where you've got to look at maybe an alternative if you're not getting what you need."

Underwood finished the win with 170 yards, a touchdown and an interception through the air, though 47 of those yards and the score came on the game's final play (which arguably should have never occurred in the first place).

Underwood also rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown, though his performance wasn't at the level Michigan was expecting.

"It's unfortunate, disappointing, because we see him every day and he's been very sharp all through fall camp," Whittingham said. "So, I don't have a great explanation right now, other than we hope to see improvement between Game 1 and Game 2 in the live action. There's nobody who wants to be great more so than Bryce."

Expectations have always been high for Underwood, the No. 1 overall prospect in the Class of 2025. He underwent the expected highs and lows as a freshman true starter last season (2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns, nine interceptions, 392 rushing yards, six rushing scores) but a big jump was expected heading into his sophomore campaign.

That didn't materialize against Western Michigan, an opponent the Wolverines were expected to pulverize. Underwood remains the starter, but his hold over the position is slipping.