ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham said Bryce Underwood has to improve to keep his job as starting quarterback.“He’s our QB right now,” Whittingham said Monday. “It’s not something that’s infinite. At some point, we’ve got to turn a corner and we’ve got to see improvement.”Whittingham said everyone in the program is held to the same standard.His decision — whether to stick with Underwood or make a change — will be closely watched in his first year with college football’s winningest program after being relatively under the national radar in Utah for three-plus decades.“Don’t want to panic,” he said.Whittingham, though, does not sound as if he will be patient for very long with the 16th-ranked Wolverines hosting No. 10 Oklahoma on Saturday.On Saturday night, Underwood started strong and threw a controversial game-winning touchdown pass on the final play in the season opener, a 13-12 win over Western Michigan. The 47-yard game-ending touchdown pass came after one second was added to the clock following a review on the previous play — also a Hail Mary — that fell incomplete as the clock appeared to hit zero.
In between the opening possession and that final play, the sophomore simply struggled. The poor footwork and decision-making that marred Underwood’s freshman season reappeared against Western Michigan, a Mid-American Conference team that was nearly a four-touchdown underdog.It won’t be easy for him to fix those problems this week and the Sooners may take advantage of that.
