Michigan's Kyle Whittingham backs QB Bryce Underwood as starter, for now

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham is sticking with quarterback Bryce Underwood as his starter, but admitted Monday that improvement needs to come soon. During his weekly news conference, Whittingham called Underwood — whose performance in Saturday's narrow win over Western Michigan mirrored that of his freshman year — 'our quarterback right now,' but called the honor of being the starter 'not something that's infinite.' 'At some point we've got to turn a corner and we've got to see improvement,' Whittingham said. 'As we do with a bunch of stuff.' Whittingham enters the week with a long to-do list. His Wolverines turned in a jarring performance against the Mid-American Conference Broncos, mustering just one a touchdown on their first drive of the game while needing a 47-yard Hail Mary as time expired to avoid an embarrassing upset loss. The team was plagued by penalties and miscues, including an interception and fumble by Underwood, who caught a break when a second interception was called back because the opponent stepped out of bounds. After watching the film, the sophomore quarterback left a few more plays out there, Whittingham said. Underwood finished the game a meager 12 of 22 for 170 yards and a touchdown, rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown and committed two turnovers. 'In the run game, the QB run-read aspect of it, we weren't quite as sharp as we need to be,' Whittingham said. 'And we did have some things in the throw game that could have had more production. That's an ongoing process.' Underwood's underwhelming freshman season spilling into 2026 is problematic. There was hope internally that he had turned a corner, evidence by his work ethic and dedication to improving his basic fundamentals. The quarterback spent the summer seeking help from quarterback coaches, and the results appeared to pay dividends in training camp. Both Whittingham and his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck, praised Underwood for his elevated play during the month of August. Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) drops back as Michigan faces Western Michigan at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 5 2026. Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com Still, contact on the quarterback was prohibited, leaving an air of mystery of what Underwood would really look like in real games. 'That is unfortunate and disappointing,' Whittingham said of Underwood's inability to translate his play in practice to the game. 'Because we see him every day and he's been very sharp all through fall camp. I don't have a great explanation right now, other than we hope to see improvement between game one and game two in live action.' Whittingham said the Michigan coaching staff 'learned a lot' in Saturday's opener about building an offensive game plan around Underwood, a former five-star prospect and the No. 1-ranked player in the 2025 recruiting class. 'There's nobody — as I've said many times — that wants to be great more so than Bryce,' Whittingham said. 'We've just got to keep going down that road and hope for improvement. And we've got to do things coaching-wise to be more successful.' Life won't get any easier this weekend for Underwood and the Wolverines, who are set to host No. 10 Oklahoma on Saturday (noon ET, FOX). The Michigan quarterback struggled mightily last year against the Brent Venables-led Sooners, completing just 9 of his 24 pass attempts for 142 yards. And if Underwood struggles again this Saturday, could a change be on the table? 'I don't want to put a timeline on it — but we've got to see progress,' Whittingham said. 'And we've got to see a level of play that is conducive to winning games. Bryce is still just a true sophomore in year two now. So, he is still early in his development.' Meanwhile, Whittingham made sure to praise Underwood for his game-winning heave on Saturday night, a throw that actually traveled more than 60 yards when you consider how far he dropped back. The arm is there. The athleticism remains a tantalizing part of his game. 'Don't want to panic, don't want to get ahead of ourselves,' Whittingham said. 'We're just going to stay the course right now. But again, there does come a time — for everybody, at some point — where you got to look at maybe an alternative if you're not getting what you need.'