The Michigan Wolverines didn’t waste any time regarding which quarterback will start Saturday when they host the Indiana Hoosiers on Big Noon Kickoff (noon ET, FOX) in Ann Arbor.
Although the Wolverines beat Penn State 21-18 last week, quarterback Bryce Underwood was benched after throwing two interceptions and completing only 5 of 11 pass attempts for 43 yards.
In a relief effort, Tommy Carr replaced Underwood. Although Carr, a freshman quarterback who had previously appeared in a 52-17 win against UTEP, threw only two passes, the limited sample size was enough for the Wolverines to make a change with a little over a month left in the regular season.
According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Carr will get his first career start. It’s unclear whether this move will remain permanent, but given coach Kyle Whittingham’s previous uncertainty surrounding Underwood, it’s apparent that the move was going to happen sooner rather than later.
“Well, he only had about 70 yards or thereabouts in the first half, and no points, and we just needed to get something done and create a spark, as we said,” Whittingham said after the win when asked about Underwood.
The plan seemed to work, as the Wolverines took control in the second half to snap their two-game losing streak.
“He’s always prepared. I walk by the quarterback room 12 times, 15 times a day,” Whittingham said of Carr’s dedication. “He’s in there pretty much every second he doesn’t have class, he’s in there watching film. So, he’s very prepared when his number was called. Like I said, he responded very well. Going forward, we’ll take a good, hard look at the tape and see why things bogged down in the first half and why we were a little better in the second half, because there really wasn’t a lot of scheme change.”
During his Monday presser, Whittingham wasn’t prepared to name Carr as the Week 8 quarterback.
Now that it’s reportedly official, it raises more questions about where the Wolverines’ season goes from here.
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Regardless of who the quarterback is, however, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said Whittingham could be on thin ice when it comes to his job security should he be unable to fix the current struggles Michigan is facing.
“And I know by doing that, if it doesn’t work out, you know, you probably get fired, Herbstreit said on the “Nonstop” podcast.
So, in a nutshell, transitioning to Carr may be a last-ditch effort to save the Wolverines’ season.
The question remains, however: will it?
As Saturday approaches, we’ll have our answer soon.
