Kyle Whittinghams stance on Bryce Underwoods status as Michigan QB1 comes with caveat

Whatever Kyle Whittingham wanted to see out of Bryce Underwood, it wasn’t what happened Saturday.Underwood and Whittingham’s Wolverines were the beneficiaries of what could end up being the biggest early controversy of the college season after the second-year quarterback’s second Hail Mary attempt connected for a walk-off 13-12 win against reigning Mid-Atlantic Conference champion Western Michigan.Though the win counts the same in the standings, Underwood struggled for most of the game and his performance left much to be desired for a team with national championship aspirations.The head coach said Tuesday that he’s not married to keeping Underwood in the starting lineup if those struggles continue when Michigan starts playing tougher competition.“He’s our QB right now,” Whittingham said.

“It’s not something that’s infinite.At some point, we’ve got to turn a corner, and we’ve got to see improvement, as we’ve got to do with a bunch of stuff.

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.”After opening the season with a touchdown drive, Michigan failed to score again until the clock read 0 — for the second time.Underwood threw up a Hail Mary that bounced out of bounds seemingly as time expired.

But Big Ten officials added one second back on the clock, and Underwood’s second 47-yard pass connected for a game-winning touchdown.It was a highlight in an otherwise dreary game for Underwood.The sophomore completed 12 of his 22 pass attempts and threw an interception.

Michigan failed to record a first down on five of its 10 possessions — and another only saw a first down because of a penalty.Though his numbers were in line with some of his not-so-great outings against Big Ten opponents during his freshman season, it was a far cry from the improvements he seemed to have made during training camp.“It’s unfortunate, disa...