Michigan's Kyle Whittingham Says He's Facing 'Biggest Challenge' Of His Career After Minnesota Loss

Not even Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham quite understands the team he has on his hands after the Wolverines suffered a second straight loss on Saturday against Minnesota.

"I'm still trying to figure that out," he told reporters when asked if he knew what his team was. "I've been in this profession 40-some years, and this is the biggest challenge I've had. I promise you we're going to figure it out."

The Wolverines have been a roller-coaster ride this season.

There was the controversial 13-12 win over Western Michigan. The team rebounded with wins over then-ranked Oklahoma and UTEP. But consecutive losses to Iowa and Minnesota have restored angst to Ann Arbor.

"Everything's in play," Whittingham told reporters when asked if he would consider making changes with the coaching staff or the starting status of certain players. "We don't want to panic, but everything is being evaluated."

One move that may be coming is a change at quarterback.

Bryce Underwood came to Michigan as a much-hyped 5-star prospect but has yet to live up to the hype. He doubled his interceptions on the season Saturday and has just a 5-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio through five games. While he does add value as a runner (212 yards and two scores this season), the issues in the passing game are becoming very hard to ignore.

"We have to go back to square one and figure out what we can fix so we can be the best team we can be," Underwood told reporters after the loss.

Michigan will have a bye before a trip to Happy Valley to face another floundering team in Penn State. After that it's a matchup against Indiana, and the season will close in late November with a brutal stretch—Oregon, UCLA and Ohio State.

In other words, even becoming bowl-eligible is hardly a guarantee for these Wolverines if they don't figure things out, and soon.