Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood benched and replaced by Tommy Carr in win over Penn State

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗
Cite

Lage, L. (2026, October 17). Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood benched and replaced by Tommy Carr in win over Penn State. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/michigan-quarterback-bryce-underwood-benched-and-replaced-by-tommy-carr-against-penn-state/article_299b3934-f2a1-5434-b395-b198ae9ffcf3.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-17 · by Larry Lage

Quick Summary

In a surprising move during Saturday's game against Penn State, Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham benched starting quarterback Bryce Underwood and replaced him with Tommy Carr after Underwood threw two interceptions early in the second half. Carr helped the Wolverines score two touchdowns in the third quarter to secure their victory. The article highlights Underwood’s underwhelming performance since his arrival at Michigan last year, including a high interception rate of six this season compared to just 11 touchdowns, and notes his controversial financial package worth about $12 million from NIL deals and revenue sharing.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-18, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On October 15, 2026, Kyle Whittingham, in his first season as coach of college football’s winningest program at the University of Michigan, benched starting quarterback Bryce Underwood and replaced him with freshman Tommy Carr during a critical game against Penn State. This strategic move paid off when Carr led Michigan to a 21-18 victory, scoring the decisive touchdown in the third quarter. The win was essential for Michigan to avoid losing their first three conference games since 1967. Underwood had struggled earlier in the season and threw two interceptions against Penn State before being replaced. Carr’s performance not only sparked his team but also capitalized on a family legacy, as he is grandson of Lloyd Carr and great-grandson of Tom Curtis, both Michigan football legends.

Written for “Michigan Quarterback Change Leads Win” on 2026-10-18, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Michigan Quarterback Change Leads Win
Sports · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Freshman Tommy Carr's second-half magic leads Michigan to must-have win over Penn State same event · 100%
Fox News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 12% hedged 3 of 24 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe Tommy Carr replacing Bryce Underwood and leading Michigan to victory over Penn State in a single football game on October 17, 2026.”
Tommy Carr replaces benched Bryce Underwood, leads Michigan to 21-18 win over Penn State same event · 95%
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 2 of 23 📰 publisher trust 63
“Both articles describe Tommy Carr replacing Bryce Underwood as Michigan's quarterback, leading to their win over Penn State on the same day.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 7942 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Larry Lage
10 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 It might not have happened if first-year coach Kyle Whittingham didn’t agree to bench Bryce Underwood at halftime and to give Carr a chance to turn around a lackluster offense and perhaps fire up a listless team.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Tommy Carr replaces benched Bryce Underwood, leads Michigan to 21-18 win over Penn State
🔮 Underwood also predicted he would win “a couple Heismans and at least one natty,” in an interview on “The Rich Eisen Show,” shortly after signing with Michigan.
2026-10-17 · assertive framing · Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood benched and replaced by Tommy Carr in win over Penn State
🔮 While TV replays appeared to show he was not offside, Fitzgerald could not challenge the call.
2026-10-11 · assertive framing · Illinois makes a stop on Michigan State's 2-point conversion attempt in OT, holds on for 38-37 win
🔮 Pistons general manager Trajan Langdon said last May that the team wanted to sign the All-Star center to a contract extension, but the two sides had not reached an agreement ahead of media day on Monday afternoon.
2026-09-28 · assertive framing · Pistons start camp without All-Star center Jalen Duren on roster, failing to agree to long-term deal
🔮 Bryce Underwood threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to JJ Buchanan early in the fourth quarter — their second scoring connection of the game — but the Wolverines (3-1, 0-1) could not make enough plays on both sides of the ball to hold on for the win.
2026-09-26 · assertive framing · No. 17 Iowa drives for last-play TD to beat No. 18 Michigan 20-19
Also by Larry Lage
Tommy Carr replaces benched Bryce Underwood, leads Michigan to 21-18 win over Penn State
2026-10-17 · Toronto Star
Jack Hughes scores on a breakaway in OT, lifts Devils to a 5-4 win over Red Wings
2026-10-14 · Toronto Star
Illinois makes a stop on Michigan State's 2-point conversion attempt in OT, holds on for 38-37 win
2026-10-11 · Toronto Star
Pistons start camp without All-Star center Jalen Duren on roster, failing to agree to long-term deal
2026-09-28 · Toronto Star
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 10 articles by Larry Lage →

Topics

ANN ARBOR Mich. Michigan Penn State Wolverines

Subjects

Underwood PERSON · 6× Michigan ORG · 5× Penn State ORG · 2× Tommy Carr PERSON · 2× ANN ARBOR GPE · 1× Bryce Underwood PERSON · 1× Carr PERSON · 1× Kyle Whittingham PERSON · 1× Mich. GPE · 1× Wolverines ORG · 1×

Narrative

He did not approach the hype during his freshman year, throwing 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and didn’t do himself any favors in some interviews before the season started. “I feel like nobody’s seen a freshman like me,” Underwood said in an interview last year with the Big Ten Network.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 Underwood also predicted he would win “a couple Heismans and at least one natty,” in an interview on “The Rich Eisen Show,” shortly after signing with Michigan.
2026-10-18 · Toronto Star
Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood benched and replaced by Tommy Carr in win over Penn State · assertive framing

Claims (15 extracted, 0 hedged)

Bryce Underwood got benched and Tommy Carr was given a chance to lead Michigan’s lackluster offense. asserted
Carr → bench → offense
Kyle Whittingham, in his first season as coach of college football’s winningest program, made the move in the third quarter when the Wolverines were trailing Penn State 3-0 on Saturday. asserted
Wolverines → make → Saturday
Carr provided a spark, helping Michigan score two touchdowns in the third quarter. asserted
Michigan → provide → quarter
Tommy Carr’s brother is Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, grandson of 1997 national championship winning coach Lloyd Carr and College Football Hall of Fame defensive back Tom Curtis, a former Wolverine. asserted
brother → win → Fame
Tommy Carr is the son of Michigan graduates, including former walk-on quarterback Jason Carr. asserted
Carr → include → Carr
Underwood’s job has been in jeopardy since his shaky performance in the season-opening, controversial win over Western Michigan. asserted
job → open → Michigan
He threw two interceptions in the second quarter against Penn State. asserted
He → throw → State
On the first pick, receiver Andrew Marsh had his hands on a deep pass and lost control of a football that landed in defensive back Zion Tracy’s hands. asserted
that → have → hands
On the second interception, Underwood lofted a pass that cornerback Josiah Zayas snagged with one hand. asserted
Zayas → loft → hand
It was his fifth interception in three games and sixth this season, surpassing his total of five passing touchdowns. asserted
It → surpass → touchdowns
Underwood arrived on campus last year as the nation’s No. 1 recruit. asserted
Underwood → arrive → recruit
He flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan after Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Tom Brady became involved with the recruitment that included a financial package worth about $12 million over three years in revenue sharing and NIL deals. asserted
that → flip → sharing
He did not approach the hype during his freshman year, throwing 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and didn’t do himself any favors in some interviews before the season started. “I feel like nobody’s seen a freshman like me,” Underwood said in an interview last year with the Big Ten Network. asserted
Underwood → approach → Network
Underwood also predicted he would win “a couple Heismans and at least one natty,” in an interview on “The Rich Eisen Show,” shortly after signing with Michigan. asserted
he → predict → Michigan
Underwood even looked shaky in the spring game earlier this year and didn’t do enough to hold onto his job this season. ___ asserted
Underwood → look → job
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