Michigan’s bye week arrives at a moment when the season already feels like it has swerved off script.
A 3-2 record and an 0-2 mark in Big Ten play is a rough place to sit after the way things looked late in the Iowa game. With 30 seconds left, Michigan was on the verge of a second win over an AP Top 20 opponent and a 4-0 start.
The Wolverines were one play from the Top 15. Then Iowa scored a touchdown on literally the last play of the game and handed Michigan the loss.
The hangover showed up again at Minnesota, where Bryce Underwood turned in arguably his worst game as Michigan’s starting quarterback. Now the Wolverines head into the break with four of their final seven games against ranked teams, and the margin for error is thin.
The offense is the biggest problem by far. Michigan is outside the top 100 in rushing yards, pass offense, total offense, and scoring.
That’s a brutal combination for a team with this much talent on the roster. Underwood should be better than this, but after the progress he showed against Iowa and Oklahoma, the Minnesota game was a hard step backward.
That’s part of quarterback development, too. It doesn’t always move in a straight line.
So what happens next? Here are five bold calls for the rest of the season.
Michigan gets right against Penn State
This isn’t a prediction that Michigan merely sneaks past Penn State 13-10. It’s a call for a more convincing win, the kind that finally looks like the offense has a pulse.
The game will probably land on the Big Ten Network, which feels strange for a Michigan-Penn State matchup. Penn State is not as bad as it looked against Northwestern, but Michigan also isn’t as bad as it has looked all season. After all the talk from players and coaches about downhill running, this feels like the spot where it actually shows up.
The offense has to be simplified. The line sometimes doesn’t even know who to block, and that’s a problem that can’t be masked forever.
Give Underwood room to run. Let the backs do more.
Strip it down and play to what the group can actually do.
Michigan has not looked like Michigan in the run game at all, and that changes here. The offense still may not be pretty, but the ground game finally wakes up and the Wolverines win something like 31-10.
A winning record is still in play
If the bye week doesn’t produce real improvement, Michigan could be staring at a bowl-less finish. That’s not dramatic; it’s on the table.
But if the Wolverines can get the run game back to where it was last season, the defense and the play in the trenches should still be enough to get them to seven wins. That would mean a 7-5 finish, which is hardly satisfying, but it beats the alternative.
UCLA is ranked right now, though that could change after its trip to Oregon. Still, after a cross-country trip and with even a modest improvement on offense, Michigan should be able to win that one.
Bryce Underwood starts every game
Michigan’s offense has plenty of issues, and Underwood is part of that picture. But he is not the biggest problem.
That falls on Jason Beck and his system, which has not put Underwood in a position to succeed. It hasn’t just affected the quarterback, either. It has dragged down the entire offense, starting with the run game.
Moving to Tommy Carr would not fix the larger issues. It could do real damage to a quarterback who is still young and playing in his second offensive system in as many years.
Yes, it has been rough. No, that doesn’t mean Michigan should rip up the plan now.
There may be some rocky moments, and Carr could still see meaningful snaps in a game, but Underwood will start all 13 games, and he will still be a Wolverine in 2027.
Jason Beck never figures it out
If Beck keeps leaning on the Rhino package the way he has, then he can’t remain Michigan’s offensive coordinator moving forward. The gimmicks have to go.
This is the Big Ten. Offenses can’t be built around a wildcat-style wrinkle, and the Rhino as a base look is not the answer. It might pop once in a while, but it can’t be the foundation.
Beck is the only play-caller in the country trying to make that work. Either he gets back to basics or Michigan needs someone else calling the offense. The likeliest outcome is somewhere in the middle: Kyle Whittingham stays, and Beck ends up taking the heat.
Michigan loses big to Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana
Not every tough game is going to be decided by one score. These three could get away from Michigan in a hurry.
Curt Cignetti, in particular, is expected to have his way with this coaching staff. The Oregon game and the Indiana game both carry real blowout potential. The Ohio State matchup might be the only one of the three that has a chance to stay tight, and that’s only because Buckeye games tend to be close.
Michigan is not done with ugly losses this season.
In Other News...
Michigan Finally Has A Passing Game Bright Spot Fans Can Believe In
For a Michigan passing game that has spent plenty of time searching for a reliable spark, JJ Buchanan has given Bryce Underwood a clear place to go early and often. The sophomore wide receiver, a transfer from Utah, has quickly become the Wolverines most productive receiver, leading the team in receiving yards and touchdowns through the first five games while piling up a record-setting debut and multiple 100-yard outings.
That kind of start was enough to put Buchanan on the midseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to one of college footballs top receivers. For Michigan, the bigger takeaway is less about the award buzz and more about the fact that the offense finally has a pass-catcher who is shaping defenses and changing how the Wolverines can attack on a week-to-week basis. [Read more 🡒]
Jake Butt Just Said What Michigan Fans Fear About This Offense
Jake Butt did not hold back when he looked at Michigans offense on Big Ten Network, and his criticism landed because it hit on the same unease plenty of fans have been feeling. The former Wolverine and current analyst said the unit still lacks a real identity, pointing to confusion in the blocking schemes and a broader sense that the coaching staff has not settled on how it wants to use its players. He also praised former offensive coordinator Chip Lindseys approach from last season, a reminder that the current struggles are not just about execution but about direction.
The quarterback discussion is now part of the conversation, too, with Butt questioning Bryce Underwoods decision-making and suggesting Tommy Carr might be the better option. For a Michigan offense trying to find traction, that kind of public assessment only sharpens the pressure on the staff to define what this group is supposed to be. Butts bottom line was clear enough: if the Wolverines want to get moving, they need to lean back into their downhill running game and stop searching for answers in a system that has not yet given them one. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Bye Week Puts Kyle Whittingham's Toughest QB Call Front And Center
Michigan is at its bye week, which makes this a natural pause to take stock of the quarterback situation and the choices sitting in front of Kyle Whittingham. Bryce Underwood has been the starter and a team captain, but his play has come with the kind of uneven stretches that force a coaching staff to look hard at every option. Behind him, Tommy Carr has given the Wolverines a glimpse of promise in limited action, enough to keep the conversation alive without settling it.
For Whittingham, the hard part is not just evaluating performance, but weighing what a change would mean for the room, the offense and the stretch run ahead. Michigan has not announced any decision, and the bye week only adds to the scrutiny because there is time to think but no game to hide behind. The next move at quarterback is still open, and for a team trying to steady itself, that uncertainty hangs over everything. [Read more 🡒]