CMU head coach praises Bryce Underwood's breakout performance

The Michigan Wolverines just dominated Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon, winning 63-3, and it was in large part due to their freshman quarterback, Bryce Underwood's, play.

Underwood was lights out against the Chippewas. He threw for 235 yards and a touchdown while adding another 114 yards and two scores on the ground, but it was so much more than that. He looked so confident in the pocket and was putting the football in the perfect spot for his receivers to turn upfield and gain yards after the catch or avoid a big hit on almost every throw.

After the game, Central Michigan Head Coach Matt Drinkall was very complimentary of Underwood's performance.

"You can tell he's as smart as he is talented and he's incredibly talented," said Drinkall. "He did a great job."

Central Michigan HC Matt Drinkall on if #Michigan QB Bryce Underwood lived up to the hype:

"Confirmed....You can tell he's as smart as he is talented and he's incredibly talented. He did a great job." pic.twitter.com/0NCiuqJFjQ
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) September 13, 2025

The most impressive part of Underwood's performance wasn't what he did with his arm, but with his legs. Chip Lindsey finally drew up some designed quarterback runs for Underwood, but he was also able to evade pressure and scramble for some key first downs. If he keeps using his legs like he did today, it will open a lot more things up for this Michigan offense.

Bryce Underwood looks like a video game character for Michigan against Central Michigan 💨

He scored an 18-yard touchdown run on fourth down to eclipse 100 rushing yards on the day

pic.twitter.com/gaq3hDqLT3
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 13, 2025

Underwood was pulled from the game at the end of the third quarter, but not before he totaled 349 yards and three touchdowns. Outside of one bad throw, which was picked off, Underwood played a near-flawless game. He made seemingly every throw, and when nothing was there, he didn't try to force it. He just escaped the pocket and made plays with his legs.

After a tough outing against the Oklahoma Sooners, where he completed just nine passes, Underwood really needed to have a good game against the Chippewas. With Big 10 play right around the corner, the Wolverines will need Underwood to play confident football, and with a performance like this under his belt, he should be feeling good heading into conference play.

Everyone knew Underwood had the talent, but after a couple of shaky starts, it was important to build his confidence up. If he can keep playing like this moving forward, Michigan's ceiling just got much higher.

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