Should all the blame be on Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood for the way things went this weekend? No, but there are some serious red flags with this Michigan offense. To be clear, I’m not going to sunshine pump for Bryce Underwood. He had a bad football game, and without that rushing attack, the offense looked really bad.

But we have to look at the broader picture here. The Michigan offensive line was outright not good, especially in the rushing attack. It felt like Western Michigan’s front seven was growing in strength over the course of the game, whereas the Wolverines’ offensive line got worse. I have to give a ton of credit to Western Michigan’s linebackers because they played incredible.

And we’ve come to realize something important: if you strip away the elite rushing attack we’ve become accustomed to with Michigan, the passing attack is just not good enough and Underwood is a big reason why.

Bryce Underwood honestly looks like he’s playing like a robot

I know a lot of you want to talk about Bryce Underwood specifically, so here it is. He didn’t have a good football game, and there are some serious red flags to put under the microscope moving forward.

The No. 1 thing I’ll point to is he’s playing like a robot. Whatever is being told in his ear is exactly what’s going to be executed. And you may say, Tegan, well, shouldn’t that be a good thing? You want your quarterback to execute what he’s being told. Yes and no.

If a good defensive coordinator picks up on the fact that by the time Underwood gets the snap and he’s looking to the right side of the field, he’s only going to throw to the right side of the field, those corners are going to know that over the course of the game. They’re going to break on the football much quicker than you’re comfortable with.

The interception is a great example. He immediately throws to the right side of the field. It’s a super difficult ball to put in the hands of the wide receiver. It’s a little bit short. The corner is able to break on it much sooner because he knows exactly where that football is going. That’s how the interception happened. And it happens time and time again.

When Underwood doesn’t throw exactly where he’s being told to, it turns into a scramble drill. He’s not getting to another progression. He’s going to try to create something with his legs, and Western Michigan was able to pick up on it throughout the game.

Oklahoma is going to pick up on those tells if something doesn’t change

This is where I get really worried about Underwood against that Oklahoma defense, a unit known for putting defenders in spots you’re not anticipating them to be in. He could throw 3+ interceptions this week, and I’m not saying that lightly.

I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom. He still has the talent. He had some incredible throws throughout this game, one of which got called back because of a penalty. The reason Michigan got to the midpoint of the field was because he threw an absolute seed and was able to put them in a position to throw that Hail Mary.

But even with that in mind, I can’t trust him to go down the field against a Brent Venables defense. I’m really worried about this offense. Upon further review, I’m not completely out on Underwood, but there’s reason to be really worried about Michigan’s offense heading into next week.