Michigan is sticking with Tommy Carr at quarterback, and that keeps one of college football’s quirkiest family stories rolling right along.
That means Lloyd Carr’s grandsons are both running Power 4 offenses at the same time: CJ Carr at Notre Dame and Tommy Carr for the Wolverines. It’s an unusual setup, and this week it gets even stranger, with Notre Dame and Michigan playing in the same game window.
On3’s Pete Nakos reported Wednesday that Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham will continue with Carr as the starter for Saturday’s game against Rutgers. The decision keeps Bryce Underwood on the sideline after a rough stretch that has seen him throw for 924 yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions. His impact on the ground has dipped, too, with 222 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 3.6 yards per carry.
Carr already got his first career start last week against Indiana, and the results were mixed but encouraging enough for Michigan to ride with him again. The Wolverines pushed the defending national champions to overtime before falling 13-6, with Carr handling the full workload while Underwood only appeared on packaged plays.
Carr finished 20-of-32 for 167 yards and an interception. He also lost a fumbled pitch that, as the source put it, looked like something you would expect from a true freshman.
There was already a sense that this quarterback battle could sharpen both players. Before the Indiana game, former Alabama coach and broadcaster Nick Saban said the competition would help.
“I think competition is good,” Saban said on The Pat McAfee Show. “I think that complacency is actually bad, and when somebody thinks they’re not responsible [to] perform well, that’s probably not good for you as an individual, and it’s probably not good for your teammates who are looking at you to play a little better and do a little more for your team.”
Michigan also made a quarterback switch during its Week 7 game against Penn State. Underwood did not play after halftime, and Carr took over to help finish off the win. In that game, Carr completed 5 of 7 passes for 47 yards and ran for 36 yards and a touchdown, which turned out to be the game-winner.
CJ Carr even watched from afar during Notre Dame’s bye week as his brother made his first start. The whole thing might have carried even more weight in the old days, when Notre Dame and Michigan met every year. Even now, though, it’s rare enough to have two brothers starting at the same time for Power 4 teams.
In Other News...
Michigan Enters Rutgers With Two Availability Questions Fans Will Watch
Michigan heads into Rutgers with a few notable availability questions still hanging over the lineup, most of them on the defensive side and up front. Starting right tackle Blake Frazier is questionable after sitting out the previous game, while safety Rod Moore is in the same category along with Jordan Young and Enow Etta. On the brighter side, linebacker Troy Bowles and center Jake Guarnera are both listed as probable, which gives Michigan at least some stability as it prepares for a road test.
The matchup also comes with its own set of injury concerns on the other sideline, since Rutgers will be without starting quarterback Dylan Lonergan and leading receiver KJ Duff. For Michigan, the bigger issue is still how much it can count on its own depth, especially if Frazier remains unavailable and the secondary keeps shifting around. Those final availability calls could shape how the Wolverines manage the game plan once kickoff arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Heads To Rutgers With Its Identity Under Real Pressure
Michigan heads to Rutgers still searching for a cleaner version of itself after the overtime loss to Indiana, and the questions around this team go well beyond one rough afternoon. The quarterback situation remains unsettled, the rushing game has not looked like the reliable anchor Michigan usually leans on, and the offense is still trying to sort out what changes fit best under the new coordinator. Even the line, long a point of pride in Ann Arbor, has become part of the conversation as the Wolverines try to turn more drives into something more sustainable.
Rutgers offers a chance to reset a few of those storylines, at least on paper. The Scarlet Knights have been one of the countrys weaker run defenses, which should give Michigan a path to simplify things and play to its strengths if it can finally do so consistently. The bigger question is whether the Wolverines can carry that opportunity into a steadier performance after a stretch of close losses that has started to test the teams confidence as much as its execution. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Has A Troubling Availability Question Ahead Of Rutgers
Michigan heads into its meeting with Rutgers with a few important moving parts on the availability report, and the most notable ones sit right in the middle of the roster. Safety Rod Moore is among the players listed as questionable, while left tackle Andrew Sprague has already been ruled out, leaving the Wolverines to sort through some real uncertainty on both sides of the ball as the week unfolds.
There is at least a little balance to the injury picture, since Rutgers is dealing with its own issues, including a missing starting quarterback and a doubtful top receiver. Still, Michigans focus is on who it can count on, and safeties coach Tyler Stocktons recent comments on Moores status only added to the sense that this is a situation worth watching right up until kickoff. [Read more 🡒]