Michigan's Kyle Whittingham sticks with Bryce Underwood, Jason Beck ahead of Penn State

Michigan is making no change at quarterback or at play-caller. Coach Kyle Whittingham said again that Bryce Underwood is the Wolverines' starter, and offensive coordinator Jason Beck will keep calling plays when Michigan hosts Penn State on Saturday, Yahoo Sports reported Monday.

"Bryce is our guy," Whittingham said, according to Yahoo Sports. He also said true freshman Tommy Carr, who won the backup job behind Underwood, took a lot of snaps during last week's bye. Whittingham described that as normal off-week work for the second team across the roster, not a sign that the depth chart is changing.

The question had come up again because of what Whittingham said after Michigan lost to Minnesota two weeks ago. He told reporters then that the staff might have to make some tough decisions. It was the second time this season he had raised doubts in public. After the Wolverines barely held off Western Michigan in the opener, a game decided on a final play, he called Underwood the quarterback "right now" and said the job was not guaranteed forever. He later backed off those remarks and committed to Underwood, and Michigan went on to beat Oklahoma, then ranked No. 11.

The offense has not stayed steady since then. Michigan lost to Iowa, then ranked No. 17, and then to an unranked Minnesota team, and those two defeats leave the Wolverines at 3-2. Yahoo Sports reports that Underwood has thrown for 881 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions through five games. Last season he played in 13 games for a 9-4 Michigan team and threw for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has drawn heavy attention since he flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan, a move that came with a reported $12 million NIL deal.

By keeping both Underwood and Beck in place, Whittingham is betting that two weeks of preparation fix more than a shake-up would. Penn State visits Ann Arbor at 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday on CBS. The Nittany Lions are 3-3, so whichever team loses will have a hard time staying in Big Ten contention by mid-October.

The market has Michigan as a clear favorite. On Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, the Wolverines are favored at -217. The spread is Michigan -6.5 and the total is 42.5. Among sportsbooks, the best price on Michigan is -240 at Hard Rock Bet. That total suggests a low-scoring game is expected, which puts more weight on whether Underwood can avoid the mistakes that have hurt Michigan's offense this season. Full numbers are on the Penn State at Michigan odds page.

If Underwood plays well against Penn State, the questions about the quarterback job should die down for a while. If he struggles again, expect more attention on Carr's bye-week practice reps.