Michigan Reportedly Makes QB1 Decision vs. Rutgers amid Bryce Underwood, Tommy Carr Struggles

Michigan true freshman quarterback Tommy Carr may get another shot at starting despite struggling to produce in place of Bryce Underwood during last Saturday's 13-6 overtime loss to No. 6 Indiana.

On3's Pete Nakos reported Wednesday the Wolverines are expected to again turn to Carr on Saturday against Rutgers.

Underwood was initially benched in favor of Carr at halftime of an Oct. 17 win over visiting Penn State.

Carr made his first start against Indiana the following weekend, when he threw an interception and no touchdowns in Michigan's overtime loss.

Indiana Hoosiers - Michigan Wolverines Highlights

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Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham said Monday he didn't feel it was "fair" to place blame for the loss on Carr.

"He's not the one to shoulder the blame in this... we've got plenty of issues to go around, and again, it all starts with coaching," Whittingham said.

When asked what he felt Underwood had learned from not starting against the Hoosiers, Whittingham said that as of Monday he hadn't yet spoken to the 2025 five-star recruit.

Underwood has seen his passing accuracy decline since he led Michigan to a 9-4 record as a true freshman. He had completed 58.1 percent of his passes for 924 yards while running in two scores, but racked up more interceptions (six) than passing touchdowns (five) during Michigan's 4-2 start.

He threw two interceptions on 11 pass attempts against Penn State before he was pulled in favor of Carr.

Carr, the brother of Notre Dame's C.J. Carr and grandson of Michigan legends Lloyd Carr and Tom Curtis, went on to lead the Wolverines to a 21-18 victory.

Underwood's struggles in the early stretch of the season have raised questions about the Michigan futures for both himself and offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who was hired ahead of the 2026 season on what is reportedly one of the most lucrative assistant coaching contracts in college football.

Michigan has ranked second to last in the Big Ten in both yards per game (300.6) and points per game (20.3) in Beck's first season since leaving his previous job at Utah.

Underwood is playing on a four-year, $12 million deal with the Wolverines that The Athletic's Bruce Feldman reported includes an annual possibility of termination.

Michigan has five games remaining this season, with contests against Rutgers and Michigan State followed by a season-ending run at Oregon, against No. 7 UCLA and at No. 2 Ohio State.

Whether Underwood regains enough trust from the Michigan coaching staff to see more playing time down that stretch could impact whether he ultimately sticks around in Ann Arbor for his junior season.