The Michigan Wolverines secured a solid victory over the Wisconsin Badgers, but the true significance of the win was in the emergence of quarterback Bryce Underwood as a true pocket passer, fundamentally changing the ceiling of the team’s offense. This development transforms Michigan into a contender not just in the Big Ten, but nationally, both this year and in the future.
Heading into game against Wisconsin head coach Sherrone Moore had mentioned that they were planning on taking the training wheels off of Underwood, showcasing his full array of talents beyond just being an athletic, running quarterback. Underwood answered with a top-notch performance, throwing for 270 yards on 28 attempts with a long completion of 33 yards. Crucially, he achieved this production without relying on his running ability, logging 12 total rushing yards with a long rush of only seven.
This passing attack is the missing elite element that Michigan has needed. Last year’s offense struggled in the passing game. Even when the Wolverines won, they did it in spite of their passing attack. For example, they managed a combined 137 yards in their final two victories against Ohio State and Alabama. While good coaching, defense, and a running game can secure wins, they cannot consistently win championships. The insertion of J.J. McCarthy, who brought an elite passing element to the offense, elevated Michigan to a title team a few years ago. Underwood’s perfomance should bring forward those same kind of expectations with Sherrone Moore’s Michigan team.
Coach Moore delivered exactly what he promised, not by increasing the volume of throws, but by changing the type of passes Underwood was tasked with. Underwood was forced to execute advanced multi-read progressions and attempt more immediate throws. He showed maturity by relying on his passing skill over his natural athletic instinct to run. Most freshman fall into this common tendency (see Jalen Hurts, Jalen Milroe and even McCarthy himself) but Underwood has shown he is ahead of the curve.
It’s important to highlight that Underwood’s performance wasn’t just good in results, but good in style as well. It was a methodical, managed, and advanced passing performance. Sometimes QBs can get their stats inflated by play-action bombs or massive coverage busts. But that wasn’t the case with the young Michigan signal caller. His average depth of target was a conservative 7.0, and the team had only two completions longer than 30 yards. This kind of passing game is sustainable and can be carried into future matchups.
This new dimension makes the Michigan offense far more confusing for opposing defenses. When a quarterback can run the ball well and stay in the pocket to deliver accurate on-time passes, defenses can no longer dedicate resources to stopping just the run or just the quarterback scramble. With an outstanding defense, a good running game led by players like Justice Haynes, and a young quarterback now capable of executing an advanced, methodical passing attack, Michigan has all the necessary components for a deep postseason run.
Disclaimer: The content of this article was originally published as a YouTube video on the SMI College Football Show YouTube channel. With AI assistance, the publisher of the video created this article based on the content of that video.
