What does Whittingham need to do to make Michigan a Big Ten title contender again?

Yeah, that's another fair question.

I think it starts on offense.

I think he's going to have to take a close look at his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck.

And, you know, I'm not a coach, so I can't sit here and say, well, you need to do this or you need to do that.

We can give our opinions, Bill, but we're really not the experts that we think we are, probably, right, with the exception of maybe you.

But the guys that we talk to, the coaches, and the people who know offense inside and out say, you know, this offense just isn't built.

that if Michigan has that Iowa and Minnesota game back in their W's, that game tomorrow may have been a path to the Big Ten championship game.

What does Whittingham need to do to make Michigan a Big Ten title contender again?

Yeah, that's another fair question.

I think it starts on offense, and I think he's going to have to take a close look at his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck.

And, you know, I'm not a coach, so I can't sit here and say, well, you need to do this or you need to do that.

We can give our opinions, Bill, but we're really not the experts that we think we are, probably, right, with the exception of maybe you.

But the guys that we talk to, the coaches, and the people who know offense inside and out say, you know, this offense just isn't built – A, for this team, this offensive line needs to be going north and south, not east and west.

And number two, when you bring in the extra linemen like they do all the time, it really bunches the offense and makes it easier to defend.

that if Michigan has that Iowa and Minnesota game back in their W's, that game tomorrow may have been a path to the Big Ten championship game.

What does Whittingham need to do to make Michigan a Big Ten title contender again?

Yeah, that's another fair question.

I think it starts on offense, and I think he's going to have to take a close look at his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck.

And, you know, I'm not a coach, so I can't sit here and say, well, he needs to do this or he needs to do that.

We can give our opinions, Bill, but we're really not the experts that we think we are, probably, right, with the exception of maybe you.

But the guys that we talk to, the coaches, and the people who know offense inside and out say, you know, this offense just isn't built – A, for this team, this offensive line needs to be going north and south, not east and west.

And number two, when you bring in the extra linemen like they do all the time, it really bunches the offense and makes it easier to defend.

that if Michigan has that Iowa and Minnesota game back in their Ws, that game tomorrow may have been a path to the Big Ten championship game.

I'm just

saying.

Yeah, I don't know what choice you have at this point, right? I mean, there was actually life on the team, and we know what he's going to do.

Let's be honest.

It's funny.

We went back and looked at some comments from when he was at Utah in, I think, 2021, and he was getting ready to make a quarterback change, and it was the exact same comments.

Well, we're going to keep it quiet, and yeah, if this happens, so on and so forth.

Yes.

All of a sudden, look, there goes Michigan running backs and Carr running all around, right?

100%.

And they had to respect the threat of a pass anyway.

It's unbelievable how these teams prepared for Bryce Underwood by basically saying, beat us with your arm, and he couldn't do it.

The exception of Iowa, when he played pretty well, that was a different defense and one that they don't usually get out of their base stuff.

And give Bryce Underwood credit.

He played well in that game.

All of a sudden, look, there goes Michigan running backs and Carr running all around, right?

All of a sudden, look, there goes Michigan running backs and Carr running all around, right?

100%.

They had to respect the threat of a pass anyway.

It's unbelievable how these teams prepared for Bryce Underwood by basically saying, beat us with your arm, and he couldn't do it.

The exception of Iowa, when he played pretty well, that was a different defense and one that They don't usually get out of their base stuff, and give Bryce Underwood credit.

He played well in that game.

But when you have to respect a quarterback who you think can throw anyway, and we saw a couple nice throws from Tommy Carr, even though they didn't ask him to do much because they didn't have to, then it changes the entire game plan.

That would be my guess.

All of a sudden, look, there goes Michigan running backs and Carr running all around, right?

100%.

They had to respect the threat of a pass anyway.

It's unbelievable how these teams prepared for Bryce Underwood by basically saying, beat us with your arm, and he couldn't do it.

The exception of Iowa, when he played pretty well, that was a different defense and one that They don't usually get out of their base stuff, and give Bryce Underwood credit.

He played well in that game.

But when you have to respect a quarterback who you think can throw anyway, and we saw a couple nice throws from Tommy Carr, even though they didn't ask him to do much because they didn't have to, then it changes the entire game plan.

That would be my guess.

All of a sudden, look, there goes Michigan running backs and Carr running all around, right?

100%.

And they had to respect the threat of a pass anyway.

It's unbelievable how these teams prepared for Bryce Underwood by basically saying, beat us with your arm, and he couldn't do it.

The exception of Iowa, when he played pretty well, that was a different defense and one that they don't usually get out of their base stuff.

And give Bryce Underwood credit.

He played well in that game.

That would be my guess.

I, I just, I, I don't know, is Whittingham, did he check out? Is he, is that why Utah wanted him out? I'm, I'm trying to figure out how things can be this bad when I know Michigan has talent on that offensive side of the ball.

Yeah, they've got some talent, there's no question about it.

And, uh, I don't know if it's, you know, the coach speak thing.

W- that's all we ever got from Jim Harbaugh.

That's all we ever w- well, uh, w- ever- that's all we ever got from any football coach at Michigan.

So that doesn't bother me.

What bothers me is when you see him, and it doesn't look like he has the same passion that he had 10 years ago, and everybody's saying, "Well, you know, you get older, and you wanna spend more time with your grandkids and stuff like that." And he said he had a lot left in the tank, and I'm not sure that we're seeing that on, on Saturdays.

Is that why Utah wanted him out? I'm, I'm trying to figure out how things can be this bad when I know Michigan has talent on that offensive side of the ball.

I mean, really in, in that order, I think.

100%.

Yeah, absolutely.

And, uh, and, uh, if you make that change to Tommy Carr because Underwood's not performing, do you lose the team? Have you already lost part of the team because they don't believe in what you're doing? And I think part of all of that is true.

So it's not exactly the smooth transition that people envisioned bringing Kyle Whittingham over here and, and it's a, a, a lot of reasons for it.

I think they're trying to fit square pegs into round holes when it comes to the offense.

I don't think the offensive line is really any good.

Is that why Utah wanted him out? I'm, I'm trying to figure out how things can be this bad when I know Michigan has talent on that offensive side of the ball.

I mean, really in, in that order, I think.

100%.

Yeah, absolutely.

And, uh, and, uh, if you make that change to Tommy Carr because Underwood's not performing, do you lose the team? Have you already lost part of the team because they don't believe in what you're doing? And I think part of all of that is true.

So it's not exactly the smooth transition that people envisioned bringing Kyle Whittingham over here, and, and it's a, a, a lot of reasons for it.

I think they're trying to fit square pegs into round holes when it comes to the offense.

I don't think the offensive line is really any good.

I, I just, I, I don't know, is Whittingham, did he check out? Is he, is that why Utah wanted him out? I'm, I'm trying to figure out how things can be this bad when I know Michigan has talent on that offensive side of the ball.

I mean, really in, in that order, I think.

100%.

Yeah, absolutely.

And, uh, and, uh, if you make that change to Tommy Carr because Underwood's not performing, do you lose the team? Have you already lost part of the team because they don't believe in what you're doing? And I think part of all of that is true.

So it's not exactly the smooth transition that people envisioned bringing Kyle Whittingham over here and, and it's a, a, a lot of reasons for it.

I think they're trying to fit square pegs into round holes when it comes to the offense.

I don't think the offensive line is really any good.

Is that why Utah wanted him out? I'm, I'm trying to figure out how things can be this bad when I know Michigan has talent on that offensive side of the ball.

... how many series does he get before Whittingham, if he ever would do it, would turn to Carr?

Yeah, I think if there's an early turnover, I think it's gonna be sooner than later.

If they stall on three consecutive drives or whatever, then I think you're gonna see Tommy Carr.

I really do.

And one of the things that Kyle Whittingham said at his Monday presser, Bill, was, "The turnovers are what's killing us." And everybody took that to mean, well, he thinks that's the biggest problem.

Well, it's the biggest problem when it comes to Bryce Underwood.

At least it's one of them.

if he struggles, people would say, "Okay, it has to be the O-line and what Beck is doing."

But if he struggles early, how many series does he get before Whittingham, if he ever would do it, would turn the car?

Yeah, I think if there's an early turnover, I think it's going to be sooner than later.

If they stall on three consecutive drives or whatever, then I think you're going to see Tommy Carr.

I really do.

And one of the things that Kyle Whittingham said at his Monday presser, Bill, was the turnovers are what's killing us.

And everybody took that to mean, well, he thinks that's the biggest problem.

Well, it's the biggest problem when it comes to Bryce Underwood.

Yeah, because if it happens on Saturday against Penn State and we see Carr and he does well with that offense, everybody will say, why did you stick with Underwood so long if this guy didn't make your scheme and the rest of the offense look bad? Or on the flip side, if he struggles, people would say, OK, it has to be the O-line and what Beck is doing.

... how many series does he get before Whittingham, if he ever would do it, would turn to Carr?

Yeah, I think if there's an early turnover, I think it's gonna be sooner than later.

If they stall on three consecutive drives or whatever, then I think you're gonna see Tommy Carr.

I really do.

And one of the things that Kyle Whittingham said at his Monday presser, Bill, was, "The turnovers are what's killing us." And everybody took that to mean, well, he thinks that's the biggest problem.

Well, it's the biggest problem when it comes to Bryce Underwood.

At least, it's one of them.

if he struggles, people would say, "Okay, it has to be the O line and what Beck is doing."

That's not – I mean – I guess my whole thing is if you're not going to be brute strength and you're not going after people, I mean, what are they going to do? You know?

Yeah, and it's not the line strength either.

When you've got these guys pulling, these are not the most athletic linemen Michigan has ever had.

So you're asking them to do things that they're not very good at.

And we saw that against Minnesota.

Unbelievable, right, that Purdue ran for like 300-and-something yards on them.

And I understand that transitive property doesn't always work in football.

I mean, I know that he likes to be calm and in the storm of it all, but look, sometimes you got to be the storm yourself.

They're all ahead, and those teams are not gonna have any mercy when Michigan is on the field.

I think we're gonna know a lot more after the Penn State game.

Probably at the beginning of the Penn State game.

How are they gonna come out? Are they gonna come out with a fire in their bellies? Are they gonna come out and play with passion? Or once the first thing goes wrong, are they gonna mail it in? And if that's the case, then this is gonna be a six and six football team, maybe seven and five.

But if they come out and play with pa- passion, and Bryce Underwood plays well- Even if he doesn't, and they replaced him with Tommy Carr, and they move the offense a little bit, and at least they show that they're still invested, then I'll feel a lot better about it.

But I'm not confident that's going to happen.

And especially when you see those tweets and DMs about players on the team, leaders, supposed leaders on the team, throwing coaches under the bus and everything else, that in- indicates to me that there's some fracturing that's gone on that they are going to have to fix.

... 'cause head coaches aren't with everybody, every group, every second of every day.

They're all ahead, and those teams are not gonna have any mercy when Michigan is on the field.

I think we're gonna know a lot more after the Penn State game.

Probably at the beginning of the Penn State game, how are they gonna come out? Are they gonna come out with a fire in their bellies? Are they gonna come out and play with passion? Or when the first thing goes wrong, are they gonna mail it in? And if that's the case, then this is gonna be a six and six football team, maybe seven and five.

But if they come out and play with pa- passion, and Bryce Underwood plays well, even if he doesn't and they replaced him with Tommy Carr and they move the offense a little bit, and at least they show that they're still invested, then I'll feel a lot better about it.

But I'm not confident that's going to happen.

And especially when you see those tweets and DMs about players on the team, leaders, supposed leaders on the team throwing coaches under the bus and everything else.

That in- indicates to me that there's some fracturing that's gone on that they are going to have to fix.

... 'cause head coaches aren't with everybody, every group, every second of every day.

Yep.

And so-[sighs] There's, there's been a lot of false expectations that came in with this player who ha- came in with all the fanfare we were talking about today.

Uh, it, the $12 million and the hype that came in with Bryce Underwood, I think we were, we made some assumptions as fans as to what that meant.

And boy, this just, this just must be a can't miss.

And then we heard the positivity coming out of fall camp this year.

We know what last year was.

We know what the stats are, and none of them were all that great.

And that's, that's where I think we're getting this feeling of, not panic, but grave concern from the Michigan fan, Doug, that you know the Indianas and the Oregons and the Ohio States.

... we'll get to that later.

[laughs] It's, it's...

I can understand the emotion, you know, considering the age bracket of these guys, having been there myself.

When something's not going right, they're all searching for answers, and it's easy to sit around in the, in the apartment or the dorm or wherever these guys are hanging around and talk about this, 'cause it's not going well for them.

And so you're searching for answers, and if there's any fair criticism, maybe the, the, the two tight end or the, you know, the, the Rhino formation where we've got two extra offensive linemen in there.

Again, you're telegraphing to everybody watching, those guys aren't passing threats.

We've just added up and we're gonna go basically short yardage and goal line offense, so that one's kinda easy to defend.

From what you hear about relationships, friction, uh, anything that would make this team look this bad offensively under Beck, who's had great success, uh, prior to this Michigan stop.

From what you hear about relationships, friction, uh, anything that would make this team look this bad offensively under Beck, who's had great success, uh, prior to this Michigan stop.

Great success in a way.

He, he's done, uh, most of it with the same great quarterback, if you look at his history, right? Uh, Devin Dampier has been really good, was good for him at New Mexico.

Brought him over to Utah, and they're running their Rhino stuff, and it's funny, wide receiver JJ Buchanan was asked about the Rhino last night, and what he said was, uh, about the Rhino, he didn't think that they were doing too much of it.

He said, "I think Coach Beck has done this thing for a long time.

He knows what he's doing." Uh, he was just talking, and it's our most productive personnel, uh, Rhino and three wide outs.

So do what you want with that information.

We're gonna dart them through the A, B, and C gap, and we're not gonna, we're not going to, uh, uh, just let you just sit there."

Because it's a more conventional offense

... and that it's a small sa- right.

But it's a more s- it's a smaller sample size.

But I see a kid who can maneuver in the pocket, who has much, a much better presence, who can see, read defenses, who can see the field.

And, uh, you know, th- n- I'm not to say, not to say that Bryce Underwood will never get there, but it seems innate with Tommy Carr.

And I am not anointing this kid in any way, shape, or form.

There is not enough, other than we can go back to the practice reports that everybody gets so mad about when I g- when everybody tells you the same thing.

He's pretty good.

it, it doesn't sound like a guy that's saying, you know, when he took over, "Hey, our goal is college football playoff," right?

Right.

One thing he did say was, uh, w- "We're gonna fix it.

I've done this for 40 years.

This is my biggest challenge, and we will fix this." But you didn't see it in the body language and in, in the demons- none of, none of the demonstrative stuff that indicates that, okay, I feel really confident that this guy is gonna do that.

And my question to him after the...

Uh, the first question, in, in fact, at the p- post-game press conference at Minnesota was, "This is clearly not working.

... by the Penn State game? What do you think?

They lose two of those three, are, are they going to a bowl game? I, I will say I, I won't count them out in any game 'cause I believe the Michigan defense is that good.

Right.

And you hope that it'll click on offense, and there have been times that we've seen it over the years.

I'll go back to 2004 with Ohio State when they went to Troy Smith, and they weren't doing anything on offense under Jim Tressel.

They go to Troy Smith, they revamp their offense, they score 30-something points, and they beat Michigan in Columbus.

So it's...

I'm not saying it's not a possibility.

How would you grade Kyle Whittingham as a first-year head coach? Through five games

What do you think?

Yeah, and, and speaking to coaches, first of all, you gotta spread the offense.

Do more power spread stuff rather than the bunch stuff with the Rhino.

Everybody says there's a reason that college teams don't do this.

Nobody's copying Jason Beck's offense with that extra offensive lineman out there who played 60% of the snaps last week.

It worked for him at Syracuse, I guess, and pretty much saved his job there, and he was able to do it when he had two NFL tackles against less competition.

But you know what? This is...

Underwood is.