Bryce Underwood running out of real estate at Michigan

On Michigan's next offensive play, Underwood failed to account for an unblocked defender, and the ensuing hit impacted the trajectory of his pass, leading to another interception.

Later in the quarter, Michigan drove inside Minnesota territory at the 39-yard line. On 3rd-and-9, Underwood panicked when his first read was covered. He hesitated while trying to figure out where he wanted to go in the pocket and was sacked, removing any consideration for attempting a fourth-down conversion or long field goal in an effort to trim the deficit in half.

The Wolverines had one final opportunity to win the game after the two-minute warning, but that only added to the growing suspicion that Underwood isn't cut out for the starting job. On a 4th-and-5 from midfield, Underwood brutally overthrew his intended target, failing to give wideout JJ Buchanan any chance of coming down with the football.

Through five games, Michigan's offense has been awful with Underwood leading the charge. The Wolverines have been held under 20 points four times; their highest-scoring game, a 52-point outburst, came against the UTEP Miners (1-3), who rank No. 134 out of 138 FBS programs in scoring defense.

In three starts against power conference opponents, Underwood is 36-of-66 (54.5 percent) for 488 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Last month, head coach Kyle Whittingham put Underwood on the clock, telling reporters that the highly-touted recruit was simply "our QB right now... At some point, we've got to turn a corner." (h/t ESPN)

If he's going move on from Michigan's $12M man, this would be the time to do it. 

Michigan is entering a bye and finishes the season with four of its final seven games against Associated Press top 25 teams. True freshman Tommy Carr, the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, and redshirt senior transfer Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi are the likely top options if a change occurs, and each will need as many first-team reps as possible to save the Wolverines' season.

While Underwood is still young, one would think he'd be much further along in his development more than a year into his collegiate career. He might simply be slower to develop, but that highlights the downside of the NIL era. The more money, the fewer excuses people want to hear.

Underwood doesn't have the luxury of time to turn thing around at Michigan. If he can't do the job (which increasingly appears to be the case), the Wolverines need to find someone who will.