During the opening drive of the Michigan Wolverines‘ 2026 college football season, Bryce Underwood was electrifying, completing five straight passes to four different targets for 61 passing yards. He capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to get the Big House rocking.
It was tough sledding for the next three-plus quarters. However, the sophomore QB saved his best for last, finding Utah transfer J.J. Buchanan in the end zone with a Hail Mary heave as time expired to steal a 13-12 win from Western Michigan.
Underwood showed much of the same inconsistency that plagued him at times as a freshman, completing just 12 of 22 pass attempts for 170 yards, one touchdown and an interception, and rushing for 47 yards on nine attempts with a TD. He also fumbled the ball on a scamper as Michigan was driving with just under two minutes remaining.
In the end, though, the Wolverines bounced back in the game’s waning moments after they were awarded an extra second of game time and one last endzone shot following a controversial ruling on the previous play.
Buchanan’s game-winning reception was previewed during the first quarter, when Underwood scooped a bad snap and found the receiver for a stunning, one-handed grab. The star wideout finished with 6 receptions, 126 yards and a TD.
Beyond that and the game-winning drive, though, the Detroit product’s performance and offensive coordinator Jason Beck’s new-look offense left a lot to be desired.
Michigan Struggles in Multiple Phases of the Game in First Action Under New Coach Kyle Whittingham
In the end, a win is a win, and the Wolverines are 1-0 to begin the 2026 campaign. However, the team struggled in multiple phases of the game. Line play on both sides of the ball was rough, but it was doubly so on the offensive side, where Michigan largely operated on its own side of the field. Beck’s squad managed a paltry 276 yards of total offense, and converted just 3 of 10 third downs.
Over the years, head coach Kyle Whittingham’s teams have cultivated a reputation for disciplined play, but Michigan was flagged nine times for 80 yards against WMU.
Defensively, the Wolverines held together much better on the whole, conceding just 221 yards of offense to WMU. However, their inability to get off the field in the second half — during which WMU had success running the ball — limited Underwood’s chances as the game wore on.
Despite being heavy underdogs coming into the game, WMU also dominated possession, holding the ball for more than 40 minutes. Again, though, the result was what mattered in this one.
Wolverine Fans Were Shredding Underwood Before His Game-Winning Bomb
As one might expect, the Wolverine faithful weren’t exactly kind to their team before Underwood came through in the clutch. And the QB was taking all the hits on social media.
“At what point does Michigan pull the plug on the Bryce Underwood Experiment?” one fan asked, via X.
Other fans, meanwhile, called out Underwood’s hefty NIL share. Wrote one such commenter: “Bryce Underwood is essentially our Deshaun Watson. He’s terrible at the position but they have to play him because of the money he makes.”
Fan chatter will always veer toward the hyperbolic, of course. And Western Michigan, which finished 10-4 last season and won the 2025 MAC title in the process, wasn’t your typical non-conference cupcake. However, Whittingham, Underwood and Co. clearly have some things to figure out before Week 2 versus the No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners.
Michigan QB Bryce Underwood Orchestrates Stunning Week 1 Result