With legs beneath him, Bryce Underwood offers Michigan a glimpse of the goods

Ann Arbor — Bryce Underwood had no equals on the Michigan Stadium turf on Saturday afternoon. 

No linebackers with the combination of size, strength and speed to corral him. No defensive backs baited him into a mistake — he did make one, almost entirely of his own volition. And no quarterback on the opposite sideline who could match his production, with his arm and legs.

“Boy, he's gifted,” acting head coach Biff Poggi said postgame. “You all saw that, but he is so gifted. I'm glad we got him.”

Underwood sizzled on Saturday, looking the part of a No. 1 overall recruit as the true freshman flambéed the Central Michigan defense for 349 total yards and three touchdowns as the Wolverines rolled to a 63-3 win. And following two games to start the season in which Underwood looked good and then underwhelming, respectively, Saturday’s performance is a glimmer of the immense potential for Michigan with the jewel of the 2025 signing class under center.

“I mean, I have a Labrador retriever that could coach that guy. He's unbelievable,” Poggi said.

Things nearly went awry immediately, as Underwood challenged the Central Michigan defense on the first play, rifling a post down the middle that safety Caleb Spann almost reeled in. 

First play bullet dodged, Underwood marched the Wolverines up and down the field the rest of the day, starting with a 10 play drive covering 75 yards to take a 7-0 lead on the first possession.

On that first drive, Underwood went 4-of-6 passing and completed passes for 7, 10, 11 and 16 yards, and also ran for a 16 yard gain to get Michigan inside the 10 yard line of Central Michigan. He nearly could’ve made it five, as tight end Marlin Klein came open on a crosser-turned-wheel route that Underwood overthrew. Two plays later, Justice Haynes crashed through the line for a game-opening score. 

The next drive was all Underwood, too.

He completed a 21 yard strike to Semaj Morgan to convert a 3rd and 10, effortlessly lasering a ball up the sideline while rolling out, giving Morgan and no one else a chance. The next play, he punished a Central Michigan defensive mistake on a busted coverage, lofting an easy touchdown to Morgan in the corner of the end zone for the second score from 32 yards out. 

Underwood’s legs showed up, too, from the jump. He had the 16 yard dash on the first drive and kept the offense moving with timely runs. 

And the fourth series for Michigan, leading 14-0 early in the second quarter, showed the heights of Underwood’s ability, running and throwing.

After a run for 1 yard to open the drive, Underwood’s arm and legs moved the offense 76 yards in three plays. First he connected with Andrew Marsh for 36 yards to move into CMU territory, following that up with a driven ball down the left sideline to tight end Hogan Hansen, who high pointed the ball over a helpless defender.

Hansen was knocked out at the 20, and the Michigan coaching staff dialed up a keeper for Underwood the next play, which he took the distance for his first rushing touchdown of the game. 

“I think it was critical,” Poggi said of Underwood’s running. “Because what he does is he does not — when a quarterback can extend a play, you're a defense, you play two plays really well and you think you're getting off the field and this kid extends the play with his legs, it is, those things are heartbreaking for defenses. It takes a lot out of you and it breaks your spirit a little bit.”

Underwood getting activated in the run game comes a week after plenty of people questioned why the coaching staff hadn’t run him more against Oklahoma on the road in Week 2. 

It seems such a conundrum might not be as likely in the future. 

“We thought at Oklahoma we would take the air out of the ball because they're an air raid offense,” Poggi said. “We're not taking the air out of the ball ever again. Not with this guy."

Underwood’s lone blemish of the day came in the second quarter and led to Central Michigan’s only points on a drive before halftime. 

Rolling to his right on a 1st and 10, Underwood appeared to lock on to throwing the deep post to Goodwin, similar to the play he was nearly intercepted on for the first snap of the game. Although this time Underwood was rolling out and his throw into what became double coverage came up short and fell right to defensive back Brandon Deasfernandes. 

One throw he would surely like back, aside, Underwood’s ability left an impression on everyone in the Big House on Saturday. 

“The cool thing about him, watching him play in person is he's not just a talented thrower,” Central Michigan head coach Matt Drinkall said. “He's a very, very good quarterback as far as how he operates the whole system. Just little details that you notice even in person that you don't really notice as well on tape. All of his little ball handling mechanics and how well he flashes it and holds the fakes. When he comes out of the pocket he moves for a ton of width so he can get downhill fast. He's just a very polished — you can tell he's as smart as he is talented and he's incredibly talented.”

The competition gets stiffer from here, with a road trip to Nebraska next Saturday to open a competitive Big Ten slate. 

But if the quarterback Michigan had on Saturday keeps showing up, the Wolverines can start going toe-to-toe with anyone in the country.