Bryce Underwood

#19 · QB · Michigan6′4″ · 230 lb · Detroit, MI · Belleville

ZPR5350th of 119 QBsLast gameW 28–21at Rutgers · Oct 31
Nextvs Michigan StateSat Nov 7 · 7:30 pm ET

Carried once, no pass attempts vs No. 6 Indiana. Did not play at Rutgers.

Tommy Carr started Michigan’s last game, W 28-21 at Rutgers, Oct 31.

Michigan’s next game: vs Michigan State, Sat Nov 7, 7:30 p.m. ET

Michigan is 4-2 in the six games played. A run-first quarterback who throws deeper than most.

Weakest: completes 57% of throws by play-by-play, 25th lowest of 158 starters.

Passing yards

924

72 of 124, 58%

TD–INT

5–6

7.5 per throw

NCAA rating

124.3

95th of 119

ZPR

53

50th of 119

How ZPR works

Graded Rough at Minnesota, the last full game; solid or better in 4 of 5 graded games.

  • 1-1 against ranked teams, 194 passing yards a game.

Best by our grade: Iowa. Lowest: at Minnesota, with 2 interceptions and sacked 3 times. Biggest game: Oklahoma, No. 11. Best play: Completion for 47 yards, touchdown, against Western Michigan, Q4 0:00. Win chance 36% to 100%. Costliest play: Fumble, against Western Michigan, Q4 1:50. Win chance 69% to 32%.

Tap a game for its plays

Q1Q2Q3Q4

Indiana

L 6–13·Ranked #6

No throws

Carried once, no pass attempts

at Rutgers

W 28–21·Unranked

Did not play

I've been a little bit of an Underwood defender, but feels like Carr is making the case for himself as the unambiguous QB1. Has Underwood ever played this well?

Michigan fan

Season

Fades after halftime

How to read this

Each column is a quarter. Blue and up is a good stretch for the quarterback, red and down a bad one, hatched means the game was already decided. A red cross is a turnover and a black dot a touchdown. The word on the right grades the whole game; on games with a lot of running it grades the passing only. A gold line means the r/CFB game thread kept naming the quarterback. Dashed outlines on the Season row are last season’s average. Tap a game to open its plays: each bar is one of the quarterback’s plays, up helped the team’s chance of winning and down hurt it, and the grey line is that chance.

The word grades the game against every FBS quarterback start, from Rough to Great, using the same throws as the season Zeitgeist Passer Rating and adjusting for the defense faced. Bars are points added per throw in that quarter. The Season row leaves out quarters after a game was decided.

Style of play

Run-first

Also: deep thrower

Why this word
Runs8.3 a gameRarelyA lot
Throws10.9 yards past the lineShortDeep
Completes57% by play-by-playFewerMore
Takes sacks6% of dropbacksRarelyOften

The dot is this quarterback, among this season’s starters; the tick is the middle.

Throws deeper than most and runs a lot. 8.3 carries a game. Closest matches: Vasko ’25, Griffis, Curtis, Hughes.

Where the throws go

Behind the line11%typical 17%
Short43%typical 47%
Middle29%typical 22%
Deep18%typical 14%

Runs 8.3 times a game; 89% of starters run less.

Closest in style

Vasko ’25GriffisCurtisHughesThis QB

Nearer the middle means more alike.

  • Vasko ’25 Liberty 2025 · Gunslinger
    1,961 yards, 10 TD, 12 INT. Both miss more and throw interceptions.
  • Griffis East Carolina · Gunslinger
    753 yards, 4 TD, 5 INT so far. Both score less and are less efficient.
  • Curtis Vanderbilt · Mobile passer
    1,489 yards, 8 TD, 8 INT so far. Both throw interceptions.
  • Hughes Wyoming · Run-first
    1,131 yards, 5 TD, 7 INT so far. Both score less and are less efficient.

Compared with the 158 FBS starters this season for throws and running, and with 219 quarterbacks across 2 seasons for the matches, on how they play and how they have done.

This week

  • RecordMichigan is 5-3.
  • Fans after Rutgers

    Underwood is going to last a while in the NFL as a backup and vibes QB

    Michigan fan

What’s being said

6 stories this week, from 2 outlets.

Oct 29: 3Oct 30: 1Oct 31: 1Nov 2: 1W 28-21 at RutgersWOct 29Nov 4Most in a day: 3
Oct 29: 3Oct 30: 1Oct 31: 1Nov 2: 1W 28-21 at RutgersWOct 29Nov 4Most in a day: 3
Stories per day. W and L: the team’s results.

Michigan's Kyle Whittingham Makes Bryce Underwood Decision Amid Wolverines Season

Yahoo Sports Nov 2

All 446 stories this season

His most important play this season

  1. Q4, 0:00 · Michigan down 5, takes the leadBryce Underwood finds JJ Buchanan for a 47-yard touchdownWestern Michigan at Michigan, week 1Q4, 0:00 · Michigan 13, Western Michigan 120:00Go-ahead touchdown for Michigan with 0:00 left0:00Go-ahead touchdown for Michigan with 0:00 leftGo-ahead touchdown for Michigan with 0:00 leftJJ Buchanan 47 yd pass from Bryce UnderwoodWatch from this playBig Ten Football

All 7 of his plays on video

The story

As of

Few recruits have ever arrived with this much weight: the No. 1 overall prospect in 2025, a headline flip from LSU to Michigan, and a true freshman who started all thirteen games. The season was a freshman season — 2,428 passing yards, 11 touchdowns against nine interceptions, plus 392 rushing yards and six scores from a 6-4, 228 frame.

Read the rest of the story

The arc is the tell: a sharp debut and an early Offensive Rookie of the Year nod, then a fade down the stretch, with seven of his nine interceptions coming in the final five games and three in a bowl loss to Texas. Now, with a retooled coaching staff and a year of starts behind him, the forward stakes are consolidation — cutting the late-season turnovers while keeping the dual-threat upside. For the most hyped quarterback recruit of his era, 2026 is where the talent is supposed to become production. In Michigan's 20-14 loss at Minnesota on Oct 3, Underwood completed 10 of 21 passes for 101 yards and two interceptions, with no touchdowns, and ran 10 times for 20 yards. Against Penn State on Oct 17 he was 5 of 11 for 43 yards with two interceptions in the first half; Tommy Carr played the second half of the 21-18 win and started against No. 6 Indiana on Oct 24, a 13-6 overtime loss in which Underwood carried once and did not throw. On Oct 26 a headline asked, "Tommy Carr or Bryce Underwood? Kyle Whittingham Talks Michigan's QB vs. Rutgers".

Sources