Michigan Wolverines HC Kyle Whittingham finally draws a line in the sand when it comes to QB Bryce Underwood
The Michigan Wolverines trailed Penn State 3-0 at halftime, and head coach Kyle Whittingham finally benched QB Bryce Underwood.
The Michigan Wolverines have been one of the storylines of this crazy college football season. But not for the reasons the fan base would have liked. It started with the first game of the year against Western Michigan. And since then, it’s been Kyle Whittingham’s refusal to bench QB Bryce Underwood.
On Saturday, he finally did it. Fans and media alike have been asking when it would happen. Underwood hasn’t been good, but Michigan’s offense hasn’t been either. On Saturday, Michigan found itself down 3-0 at the half against Penn State. He was benched, as he should have been.
Of course, Underwood started the game at QB. When the team took the field to start the second half, No. 19 wasn’t the one taking the snap. Tommy Carr was QB, and the team later scored on that possession.
Underwood was 5/11 for 43 passing yards with two interceptions when he was benched. Now, Carr wasn’t the sole reason Michigan went on to score, making it 7-3. He’s only 2/3 for 14 passing yards as of this writing. But the offense looked better against Penn State regardless.
Why Michigan may have been hesitant to bench Bryce Underwood
I’m not part of that team, or even close to it like others may be. But you can’t help but feel like there was pressure on Whittingham not to bench Underwood because of how much he’s being paid in NIL.
Some donors are likely paying Underwood a healthy chunk of change to be the QB. We do know he made a lot of money as a true freshman last season.
Maybe that’s a reason? You can also assume that benching a bright and talented young QB like Underwood could hurt his confidence. This guy has a lot of talent. There’s likely some hesitancy there because Whittingham is also at Michigan in his first season.
There are a few reasons, and you could probably keep going. The main point here is that he finally pulled the trigger.
