Tag: Bryce Underwood

Michigan 13, Western Michigan 12

A win is a win. This is a common refrain around here, but this one still goes in the record books as a victory. As Herm Edwards famously said, “You play to win the game.”

I have lots of issues with the offense. This was not a well organized or executed game plan, and I’ll say that from top to bottom. Kyle Whittingham, Jason Beck, Bryce Underwood, the offensive line, etc., they’re all accountable. I’ve seen a lot of heat thrown in Underwood’s direction. He’s not a difference maker right now, true, but other people – who are more experienced – need to be better. So he’s not even my #1 problem.

Jason Beck. I think this game might have been a wake-up call for Beck. This is not to say that I don’t think he’s up for the challenge, but Beck got a live look at what can happen in Michigan Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday night, when a solid MAC team takes its best shot at a big-time program. I think Beck (and some of the players) thought they would walk into the stadium, steamroll a lesser opponent, and then try to walk into the Oklahoma game after having a warmup. That’s not what happened. There are two things I’m most surprised about:

1. Beck said he had a specific number of touches he wanted for his skill guys. Jordan Marshall should get more than 11 carries, and Andrew Marsh should get more than 2 catches. You can’t go a whole game and only find a way to get Marsh the ball twice. It’s not like he’s an outside X receiver who can be taken away if you double him. He’s capable of catching screens, deep balls, in-breaking routes, getting an occasional reverse/end around, etc.
2. The passing concepts were vanilla and/or poorly executed. Now maybe the vanilla aspect has to do with the quarterback, but guys often weren’t getting open for Underwood. People get mad at the quarterback when he sits back there and doesn’t throw the ball, but there has to be a place for him to go more consistently. (Yes, Underwood missed some open players/plays at times, which I’ll address below.)

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Michigan 24, Northwestern 22

I was almost half right. My score prediction was 24-13 in favor of Michigan in my game preview, which I never posted because I only finished half of it. So I got Michigan’s score correct, but Northwestern was able to put a few more points on the board than I expected.

It helps to get 5 turnovers. Michigan is apparently the first FBS team ever – ever!!! – to win a football game while giving up 5 turnovers and creating 0 turnovers. The offense was actually pretty productive on a down-to-down basis, but Bryce Underwood threw 2 interceptions, there was a fumbled exchange with the backup to the backup running back Bryson Kudzdal, and there was just a bad play on an end around exchange with Andrew Marsh. Three of those turnovers were bad plays by Underwood, who played pretty darn well otherwise. It was a bit of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde game for him, because he completed 21/32 passes for 280 yards and ran 9 times for 30 yards and 1 touchdown. Those are season/career highs in attempts and yards, and it ties a career high in completions. The most inexcusable turnover was the handoff to Kudzdal, on which Underwood put the ball up at chest level, so Kudzdal never had a chance. That’s just a basic play for a quarterback that really shouldn’t ever happen. (That being said, the offensive line got its butt kicked on that play, and Kudzdal probably would have been stopped for a loss to end the drive, anyway.)

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Michigan 31, Michigan State 20

Hail to the Victors! A win is a win, especially in a rivalry like Michigan vs. Michigan State. The better team usually wins, but I don’t really get caught up in whether a win or loss is a close one when it comes to Michigan State and Ohio State. Michigan has continued bragging rights, and the streak is at four straight games. There was an absolutely blowout win in there, and this was a relatively comfortable two-score victory. Do I think Michigan is good enough to have won by more? Yes. Do I care? No.

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Michigan 24, Washington 7

NOTE: Again, I apologize for the inconsistent posting schedule lately. Too many things going on right now. I’ve started preview posts the past two weeks and just haven’t been able to finish.

Bryce Underwood is a dude. The talent of Bryce Underwood is off the charts. Michigan has never seen anything like him on their roster. The closest is Drew Henson or Devin Gardner, but Underwood is a twitchier athlete than Henson and a better thrower than Gardner. Underwood completed 21/27 passes for 230 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions, and he looked to be in control the entire game. There were a few drops, but I don’t love taking away the drops and making pronouncements about what his completion percentage should be, because then you’re not comparing apples to apples when it comes to other quarterbacks or general expectations. It’s sufficient enough to describe his accuracy by saying he completed 21/27 passes.

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Michigan 63, Central Michigan 3

Michigan is really good. No disrespect to CMU, but that was an a** kicking. Michigan dominated them physically, and that happened minus the two starting offensive guards and a potential starting left tackle in Andrew Babalola. Michigan averaged 7.7 yards per play, including 6.9 yards per rushing attempt and 9.4 yards per passing attempt. Michigan had seven players with a rush of 10+ yards, including two wide receivers in Andrew Marsh and Anthony Simpson.

Or Central Michigan isn’t good. One thing I have noticed over the years is that the weaker opponents usually have at least one guy who’s dangerous, whether it’s a tough running back who’s difficult to bring down or a speedy slot receiver or maybe a quick quarterback. That’s not the case with Central Michigan. I didn’t see anyone who made me nervous, and they couldn’t threaten the Wolverines. Defensively, they might play with enough discipline to get some wins this season, but they don’t have playmakers on offense.

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