Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood isn’t pretending the Western Michigan game went the way he wanted. After a Week 1 performance that put him squarely in the spotlight, the second-year QB spent Wednesday talking through the mistakes, the film and the chance to bounce back against Oklahoma.
Against the Broncos, Underwood finished 12-for-22 with a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for 47 yards and a score, but he lost a fumble on a scramble as well. Michigan still escaped with a win after Underwood delivered a perfect Hail Mary under pressure, but the overall night left plenty of questions.
“My performance wasn't the best. I've got a lot of stuff to work on coming out this week.”
That was the bluntest version of the message. Underwood said the coaching emphasis after WMU has been simple: “Just play football, play the game that I know how to best play.”
He also pointed to the tape, saying there were “Six major plays that changed the entire game, but I'm back this week working as hard as I can to fix those mistakes.”
The scrutiny around him has only grown, especially after coach Kyle Whittingham said this week, "He's our QB right now. It's not something that's infinite. At some point, we've got to turn a corner and we've got to see improvement," Underwood didn’t bite on the noise.
"That's cool. I didn't see that. It's cool."
Underwood said he’s stayed away from social media since fall camp, which has helped him keep the focus on football rather than the outside chatter. And he’s not changing his approach heading into Oklahoma.
"I'm motivated no matter what. Win, lose or draw, I'm ready to go for the next week. We're 1-0, so that's a blessing to have, so just ready to roll for the next week."
He added that the goal is straightforward: “Just being able to do what I do best, play my game, and move forward from there.”
That confidence hasn’t wavered, even after the uneven opener.
"I believe in myself and I'm confident in myself no matter what it is. I'm willing to go in there in the game -any game - with that mindset."
There were also specific moments from the WMU game that stuck with him. On the sideline reaction after Jalen Hoffman took a big hit, Underwood said the answer was about execution, not emotion.
“Just a better pass. Get the area and a better throw.
I'm always smiling when I'm playing football, no matter win, lose, or draw. So that's what it is.
I play the game with passion, so you'll always see a smile on my face.”
On the Hail Mary sequence, he said his mindset was to give his teammates another shot.
“My mindset was giving my guys another opportunity to make a play. And those guys worked very hard this fall came to show me that they deserve the opportunity, any opportunity. They made the play for me.”
Underwood also said his connection with JJ Buchanan has continued to grow since Week 1.
“After week one we talked about it. We left the game behind. We're all just ready to move forward building a bond with everybody on my team for us to go forward.”
He said he trusted Buchanan and the rest of that group on the contested-ball moment because the work had already been done in practice.
“I was confident in that entire area. My guys, we trained that moment probably for the past five to six weeks.
And that moment came true against Western Michigan. I was very excited and very trustworthy of my guys”
As for his own development, Underwood said the biggest growth area in fall camp has been mental toughness.
“Being mentally strong no matter what the situation is. Moving forward and finishing off everything I do.”
He also admitted there were some old habits that surfaced against Western Michigan, even if he felt he was cleaner than he was a year ago.
“I did better than last year, just got a little I'll say back-to-last-year habits when it came to a certain points and times, but we're going to move forward this week.”
Michigan’s team meeting after Rod Moore called the performance “soft” also left a mark.
“That meeting was big for us to see how we were gonna move forward. It's gonna either make or break us.
The goal when we came out of that was, 'Do more.' Not much more to say honestly.
Show everything on the field.”
Now comes Oklahoma, and Underwood knows the challenge waiting on the other sideline.
“Got a great coach, Brent Venables. He's a great guy. Been doing this for a long time now, so just waiting for this opportunity for our team to face these guys.”
He said he’s already revisited the 2025 Oklahoma game a few times this week, but his mindset hasn’t changed.
“Of course, I watched the game a few times this week. Honestly, just playing my game is my biggest thing for me. Just ready to do that.”
The transition to a new offense, he said, wasn’t the issue against Western Michigan.
“It wasn't tough. Just came with a lot of studying and off the field work with that.
But the comfortability was there, just didn't perform. That was it.”
And with a matchup between two blue-blood programs on deck, Underwood sounded ready for the stage.
“Definitely, it's gonna be a big game. I'm excited for it. I'm excited for this opportunity for me and my team to go move forward and be the best we can be.”
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