Michigan Shouldn’t Have Needed an Extra Second vs. Western Michigan in Uninspiring Kyle Whittingham Debut

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Sometimes in life, a second chance can be rewarding, it can be life-changing. Sometimes, it’s deserved. Sometimes, it isn’t.

On Saturday night, Michigan football, in one of the most improbable endings of any college football game—never mind a season-opening game—received a second chance in the form of an extra second on the game clock,Lost in all the hullabaloo about the hot-button ending is the fact that for 59 minutes and 59 seconds of game time,to the hard-nosed, disciplined Utah teams that had taken on Kyle Whittingham’s rugged personality during his 22 years in Salt Lake City Whittingham’s Michigan debut started with a bang, as oft-maligned, dual-threat quarterback Bryce Underwood took the Wolverines 75 yards downfield in a methodical, touchdown-scoring drive. Michigan started off with three straight pass plays, picking up 10-plus yards on each.

Underwood looked like the much-improved quarterback the Wolverines coaching staff was touting all spring and summer long. When they made their way to the red zone, Michigan offensive coordinator Jason Beck went smashmouth, turning to the running game. On a 4th-and-goal, the Wolverines offensive line pushed forward and Underwood went up and over the top for the score. It was the kind of punch-first play that perfectly jived with Whittingham’s style.

It was a statement opening drive. Strike up Hail to the Victors! By halftime, one could almost hear the band's music cartoonishly fizzling out, and Michigan fans were probably wondering what happened to that team from the opening drive. The Wolverines offense proceeded to go punt, punt, punt, punt, interception, punt, punt, fumble before the Hail Mary heard ‘round the world.

They were just 3 of 10 on third downs. Even more concerning, Underwood, Michigan’s $2.625 million quarterback, slipped back into some bad habits. His pocket presence was shaky. He too often telegraphed where he was going with the football, such as on this interception right before the end of the first half.

Trailing 9-7 with the ball and under two minutes to go, Underwood, on a 2nd-and-14, took off and scrambled for the first down. But instead of falling forward at the first-down marker, Underwood seemingly fought for a few extra yards while failing to protect the football, giving Western Michigan defensive back Joshua Franklin a chance to punch the ball loose. For much of the game, Underwood resembled last year’s turnover-prone, inconsistent QB. But the more shocking issue?

Whittingham’s Wolverines were sloppy—they committed nine penalties, including holding calls on both center Jake Guarnera and Underwood himself—and, most damning of all, they were pushed around in the trenches. The lone bright spot? The defense. Before it seemed to wear down in the fourth quarter due to the weight of the offense’s ineffectiveness, the unit held Western Michigan to field goals after Michigan turnovers gifted them short fields.

Otherwise, the Wolverines were thoroughly outplayed, and they’ll need to fix what ails them quickly with No. 10 Oklahoma on the docket next week. Give a ton of credit to Broncos coach Lance Taylor, who despite returning just 33% of his production from a 2024 team, went 10-4 last year and led the program to its first bowl game win since 2021.

The Broncos punched above their weight class on Saturday night, and Taylor might be moving on up to a Power 4 job if he has Western Michigan playing like this. But make no mistake. Michigan, favored by 27 1/2 points, was incredibly fortunate to Houdini their way out of what seemed like an unconscionable loss.

“We were flirting with disaster,” Whittingham said. “That would have been an epic loss. They’ll talk about this game for years, I’m sure. ”And then, moments later, Michigan football got a second chance.

They didn’t deserve it. Tim Capurso is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated, primarily covering MLB, college football and college basketball. Before joining SI in November 2023, Capurso worked at RotoBaller and ClutchPoints and is a graduate of Assumption University. When he's not working, he can be found at the gym, reading a book or enjoying a good hike.

A resident of New York, Capurso openly wonders if the Giants will ever be a winning football team again.

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