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Michigan Bench Underwood, Wins 21–18 vs Penn State

By Drooid · Oct 18, 2026, 2:09 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Kyle Whittingham bench-ed quarterback Bryce Underwood at halftime against Penn State.
Underwood was 5-of-11 for 43 yards, rushed 30 yards and threw two interceptions before halftime.
Freshman Tommy Carr replaced Underwood in the third quarter and ran a 12-yard touchdown.
Carr’s play sparked two additional third-quarter scores.
Michigan won 21-18, moving to 4-2 and avoiding a 0-3 Big Ten start since 1967.

History

Historical Context

In 2008 Rich Rodriguez introduced a spread offense at Michigan, giving freshman Denard Robinson a chance; his first collegiate snap in 2009 yielded a 12-yard rushing TD. The move anticipated a trend of using quarterbacks to shift momentum, echoed when Utah’s Kyle Whittingham swapped Bryce Underwood for Tommy Carr, also sparking a 12-yard TD. Robinson set the FBS quarterback rushing record with 1,702 yards in 2010.

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Story summary

Kyle Whittingham bench-ed quarterback Bryce Underwood at halftime against Penn State.
Underwood was 5-of-11 for 43 yards, rushed 30 yards and threw two interceptions before halftime.
Freshman Tommy Carr replaced Underwood in the third quarter and ran a 12-yard touchdown.
Carr’s play sparked two additional third-quarter scores.
Michigan won 21-18, moving to 4-2 and avoiding a 0-3 Big Ten start since 1967.

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