You can't say Michigan didn't give Bryce Underwood plenty of opportunity. Kyle Whittingham has been peppered with questions about whether Underwood was still his QB1 going back to the season-opening scare against Western Michigan; but no matter how ugly things got, and despite losses to Iowa and Minnesota that threatened to send the Wolverines' season sideways, he stuck by his former five-star.
Until Saturday, that is. After Underwood threw two picks with just 43 passing yards in an ugly first half against Penn State, Whittingham decided he'd seen enough, finally going to backup Tommy Carr after halftime. And based on the fact that Michigan promptly scored two touchdowns in Carr's first quarter under center, it's safe to say that this is anything but a temporary change.
All of which would seem to suggest that Underwood's days in Ann Arbor are numbered. It's a stunning fall considering the hype around his recruitment and just how much Michigan shelled out to pry him away from LSU. But it's hard to imagine him coming back from this, at least without a change of scenery. So, where might he wind up if he does in fact hit the portal?
Auburn Tigers
Underwood still has a long way to go as a passer to function at a power-conference level consistently. But if anyone would know how to make it work with a plus athlete with a sketchy arm, it's Alex Golesh, who's put up big numbers with Byrum Brown — first at USF and now at Auburn. Brown will be out of eligibility after the season, which should have Golesh looking in the portal for a new starting quarterback.
Will he probably set his sights higher than Underwood? Sure. But there's no guarantee that he'll land a sure thing — those are hard to come by in the portal — and Underwood's athleticism would at least make him an interesting fit in this system.
Colorado Buffaloes
It feels like Deion Sanders winds up on just about every one of these lists, and with good reason — few coaches hit the portal as hard and as regularly as Coach Prime. If former five-star JuJu Lewis no longer has a future in Boulder after being benched himself earlier this season, why not take a shot on Underwood? We know that Deion loves recruiting rankings, and he'd be at least an interesting fit in Shannon Dawson's go-go offense. Besides, it's not like too many other proven QBs are going to be thrilled about playing behind this offensive line.
Florida Gators
This one admittedly feels like a long shot, especially after Tramell Jones just led the Gators to a win over Texas on Saturday. But if Jon Sumrall is looking for an heir apparent to Aaron Philo — who might just have gotten Wally Pipp'd — then Underwood makes some sense. After all, OC Buster Faulkner is the man who built a powerful rushing attack behind Haynes King, and we know that Underwood is plenty capable as a rusher.
Florida State Seminoles
Let's assume for a moment that Mike Norvell somehow survives to see another year at Florida State. He loves a mobile quarterback — first Jordan Travis, and now Ashton Daniels. With Daniels moving on at season's end, Norvell will be riding the portal wave again, and Underwood at least should spark some interest. This is still the Gus Malzahn coaching tree, after all, and since when have the Noles really cared about your ability to throw the ball from the pocket?
Michigan State Spartans
Might as well throw the other in-state school into the mix, right? Granted, Underwood and Pat Fitzgerald don't exactly sound like peas in a pod, and Alessio Milivojevic has shown more as a Big Ten starter to date than his much more highly touted counterpart. Still, Sparty was in heavy on Underwood coming out of high school, and this program needs some sort of spark. I'm not sure that spark would come from taking the Wolverines' sloppy seconds, but hey, can it really hurt when your offense is this mediocre?
Northwestern Wildcats
Hear me out here. Aidan Chiles is out of eligibility after this season. Assuming the Wildcats can keep OC Chip Kelly around for at least one more year, who better to try and coax decent play out of Underwood than the mad scientist himself? After all, everybody was about ready to give up on Chiles, too, after he flamed out at Michigan State. But Kelly's diverse run game has made life much easier on him this season, and I'd bet he could do the same for Underwood if given the chance.
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