Michigan’s early-season slide has already turned the spotlight onto Bryce Underwood, but Urban Meyer thinks the problem in Ann Arbor runs deeper than one rough quarterback performance.
The Wolverines are sitting at 3-2, though the record comes with a caveat after the game against Western Michigan to open the season. Michigan was bailed out there with an extra second against Western, but the good fortune hasn’t held. A week 4 loss to Iowa came on a last-second touchdown grab, and then Minnesota handed Michigan another defeat in Week 5 on the road.
Underwood took the heat after the loss to Minnesota, and the numbers explain why. He completed 10 of 21 passes for 101 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
But Meyer, now a Fox college football analyst and still very much a voice Michigan fans don’t love hearing from, said the issue is bigger than the quarterback. On “The Triple Option” podcast, the former Ohio State head coach said he doesn’t see the kind of edge he expects from a team that wants to be taken seriously.
“I don’t see a fast solution at all because … have not said this yet, It’s a trainwreck right now,” Meyer said of Michigan (h/t On3). “….
This is not all on (Bryce Underwood). Unfortunately, he plays that position that is all on him.
You know, whenever they win, the quarterback gets too much glory, and when they lose, they get too much blame. But that sideline, I just didn’t feel the dudes anywhere."
Meyer doubled down on that assessment, saying the energy wasn’t there when Michigan needed it most.
“I was looking. I was staring.
You know, plays are going on, and I’m staring because I did that for so long. I’m saying, ‘where are the grown a-s men?’
And I didn’t feel it. I didn’t see it when there had to be a big stop.
I didn’t see the, you know, the energy, and you know, I just didn’t see it … Passion, energy, and toughness. I didn’t see it," Meyer said.
Meyer, who went 187-32 as a head coach and won championships at Florida and Ohio State, said he just didn’t see that competitive spark from Michigan.
And the schedule won’t offer much breathing room. The Wolverines still have No.
7 Indiana, No. 13 Oregon, No.
21 UCLA and No. 5 Ohio State left on the slate.
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