After time seemingly expired, officials added an additional second to the clock after replay review.Which Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood used to his advantage.
While his first attempt sailed out of the back of the end zone, the second try fell perfectly to wide receiver JJ Buchanan for the walk-off winner.It was Underwood's best play of the game, not too surprising considering it was a game-winning Hail Mary.But what was surprising was just how bad he looked for the previous 60 minutes.
Really, really bad.For someone whose recruitment turned into a bidding war, with well-heeled donors pushing him to Ann Arbor.CLOCK CONTROVERSY ALLOWS MICHIGAN WOLVERINES TO AVOID MASSIVE UPSET AGAINST WESTERN MICHIGANBryce Underwood #19 of the Michigan Wolverines looks for running room during a first half run against the Western Michigan Broncos at Michigan Stadium on September 05, 2026 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)Excluding the Hail Mary, Underwood completed just 11 passes on 21 attempts for 127 yards.He had much more success in the running game, with nine rushes for 47 yards and a touchdown.
But he frequently looked indecisive as a passer, overthrowing or underthrowing receivers and frequently looking confused in a new offense.After the game and his performance, Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham wasn't exactly effusive with praise.Whittingham said Underwood was the starter "right now," but heavily implied that his role would be reevaluated, perhaps sooner rather than later.SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY OUTKICK NEWSLETTER"He's our QB right now.
It's not something that's infinite," Whittingham told reporters on 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 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....