Grading the Jason Beck and Bryce Underwood Marriage Through Five Weeks

This was supposed to be the marriage that fixed all of the problems that ailed the Michigan Wolverines’ offense of the recent past.

Michigan’s offense was supposed to take a leap forward in 2025 when Bryce Underwood stepped onto the field as a five-star phenom that Michigan flipped from LSU to join the Wolverines.

For a multitude of reasons, that did not come to fruition. Underwood struggled. He was left to his own devices as a true freshman. The coaching staff around him was dysfunctional, and the whole infrastructure around him crumbled.

Kyle Whittingham was hired to maximize Underwood, and had one man in mind to be the offensive coordinator when he took the job.

Jason Beck was Utah’s offensive coordinator under Whittingham, and had one of the most prolific offenses in college football with less talent than what the Wolverines currently employ.

Through five games, however, things have not gone according to plan. Flashes of good have been met with piles of bad.

But just how bad has this pairing been through five weeks?

Sink to the Bottom

Michigan’s offense does not traditionally resemble that of Ohio State, Oregon, or some of the other national powers who light up the scoreboards across the country. Typically, Michigan’s best teams have had a very specific identity centered around a power run game and a punishing defense.

Bryce Underwood answered a week of criticism by taking down a ranked Oklahoma team

111 PYDS, 87 RUYDS, 1 RUSH TD

pic.twitter.com/qmEBwknMWQ
— CFB Performances (@performancesCFB) September 14, 2026

Michigan has one of those in place this year. Their defense is ranked sixth in the country, and they’ve been suffocating for most of the year despite constantly being on the field due to the ineptitude of the offense.

On the other side of the ball, Michigan’s run game is virtually non-existent. The run game was supposed to be a given when Jason Beck took over the offense. Savion Hiter and Jordan Marshall were supposed to rumble for more than 1,000 yards, and Bryce Underwood would add to that with his legs as well.

That has not come to fruition. Michigan’s run game has been under fire dramatically through five weeks as a result.

They are ranked 100th in the country in rush yards per game. That’s unfathomable for a team who prides itself on moving people off the line of scrimmage.

Beck continues to try and fit a square peg into a round hole. Blake Frazier spoke earlier this week about wanting his team to get back to their roots of running the ball at people instead of trying to run around them.

"I would love that,” Frazier said about getting back to running downhill at defenses more often. “This is Michigan football. You think Michigan football, you think downhill runs. I would love to see that implemented a little bit more."

Getting back to power football will not be the only change needed to solve Michigan’s woes on offense, but it would be a good start.

They have one run of more than 20 yards this season. None have come from their highly touted backfield of Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter. There are no explosive gains to be found on the ground. For a team who struggles to throw as much as the Wolverines do, they have to be able to find more big plays out of their ground game.

The biggest issue, however…..

The Fun Stuff

Yes, the run game is where Michigan’s bread is going to be buttered. Bryce Underwood wasn’t recruited, however, to be a caretaker on offense. He was brought in to give the Wolverines a true star at quarterback to match up with those that consistently cycle through Ohio State, and other top programs across the country.

The Wolverines had an answer to those quarterbacks when JJ McCarthy was under center. Other than him, however, it’s been a struggle probably since Chad Henne was the team’s signal caller in the mid 2000s.

Beck was brought in along with Koy Detmer Jr. to get the most out of Bryce Underwood the passer.

They rebuilt the receiving corps around him, adding Salesi Moa, Jaime Ffrench, and the dynamic JJ Buchanan in the transfer portal.

TD MICHIGAN ! 〽️

QB Bryce Underwood trouve WR JJ Buchanan et les Wolverines repassent devant Iowa ! 19-14. pic.twitter.com/ziW1fDs3sh
— TBP College Football (@thebluepennant) September 26, 2026

Buchanan has been as advertised. The other two have disappointed thus far in their first seasons with the program.

Underwood has had some moments where the passing game looks good. Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan have both been able to make plays in the passing game.

Other times, Underwood looks a lot like the freshman quarterback who had bad habits, shoddy footwork, and panicked at the first sign of pressure.

As a result, some fans are clamoring for Underwood to sit on the bench in favor of Tommy Carr. We won’t go that far, but Michigan absolutely needs to figure out how to be able to consistently move the ball through the air.

The Wolverines are ranked 111th in the country in pass yards per game. They finished 104th a season ago, which was what had fans calling for Chip Lindsey to be one and done as the offensive coordinator.

Ultimately, he was, but for different reasons.

There are some adjustments that could be made on offense. Keeping more speed on the field could help. Spreading things out more might need to be an answer as well.

Michigan’s tight ends were in some hot water this week due to leaked messages that prompted an apology from Zack Marshall. The truth of the matter is, that position has been a wasteland through this point of the season.

They are not good enough blockers and offer little in the passing game as a result.

There are too many formations where Buchanan and Marsh are on the same side of the field, with no threats on the other side of the field.

That’s too easy to defend for an opposing defense. That sets Underwood and the whole offense up to fail.

On Underwood, he has to start playing better. He’s turned the ball over at least once in every game except for a 17-10 win over Oklahoma. He was fortunate in that game as well as he fumbled twice, but the Wolverines were able to recover both.

The reality is, when there are credible voices calling for the quarterback to be benched, or the coordinator to get fired, nothing is going right.

When nothing is going right, the grades are going to reflect that.

Grade: D-Minus

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