Michigan benching Bryce Underwood for Tommy Carr in $12 million QB shakeup

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

Battifarano, A. (2026, October 21). Michigan benching Bryce Underwood for Tommy Carr in $12 million QB shakeup. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/20/sports/michigan-benching-qb-bryce-underwood-for-tommy-carr/

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

New York Post · collected 2026-10-21 · by Andrew Battifarano

Quick Summary

Michigan has decided to replace starting quarterback Bryce Underwood with Tommy Carr, a move reported by ON3 on Tuesday that comes after Carr's performance against Penn State. This shift is significant as it marks Carr’s first career start; he will now be the primary player for the upcoming game against Indiana. The decision was influenced by Underwood’s recent turnover issues and his 58.1% pass completion rate, which includes five touchdowns and six interceptions in Michigan's current 4-2 season record.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-21, 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

Bryce Underwood, Michigan's highly touted sophomore quarterback, was benched during Saturday's game against Penn State and replaced by Tommy Carr, who led Michigan to a crucial 21-18 victory. This move came after Underwood had struggled with turnovers and inconsistent performance throughout the season. Underwood completed just 5 of 11 passes for 43 yards, threw two interceptions, and was scoreless in the first half. In contrast, Carr provided an immediate spark upon entering the game in the third quarter, completing 5 of 7 passes for 47 yards and rushing for 36 yards with a touchdown.

Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham decided to replace Underwood at halftime after his team's dismal performance and low turnover margin. The decision paid off as Carr helped Michigan score two touchdowns in the third quarter, turning around what had been a sluggish offensive effort. With their first Big Ten win of the season secured, Whittingham stated that the coaching staff would decide by Monday whether Carr or Underwood would start against Indiana next week.

Carr's performance was notable not only for his on-field contributions but also due to his family legacy: he is the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and brother of Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr. This move underscores a pivotal shift in Michigan’s quarterback situation, with Tommy Carr now set to start against Indiana after ON3 reported that he would take over from Underwood, who will be relegated to backup status for the upcoming game.

Written for “Michigan Benches Bryce Underwood” on 2026-10-21, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Michigan Benches Bryce Underwood
Sports · 5 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood benched and replaced by Tommy Carr in win over Penn State same event · 95%
Toronto Star · 0.90 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 15 📰 publisher trust 63
“Both articles describe Michigan benching Bryce Underwood and replacing him with Tommy Carr during a game against Penn State on October 17, 2026.”
Michigan finally benches $12M QB Bryce Underwood for program legend’s grandson — and it pays off immediately same event · 95%
New York Post · 0.86 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 20 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles describe Michigan benching Bryce Underwood and substituting Tommy Carr as quarterback during the same game against Penn State on Saturday.”
Michigan refuses to reveal QB plan for Indiana after benching $12M Bryce Underwood different event · 75%
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 14 📰 publisher trust 66
“While both articles discuss Michigan's quarterback change from Bryce Underwood to Tommy Carr during a game against Penn State, they describe different aspects of the incident. Article A focuses on the coach's refusal to reveal his plan before the Indiana game, while Article B confirms that Carr will start against Indiana after taking over mid-game against Penn State.”
Tommy Carr replaces benched Bryce Underwood, leads Michigan to 21-18 win over Penn State different event · 50%
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 2 of 23 📰 publisher trust 63
“Article A describes Tommy Carr's performance and the game result against Penn State, while Article B discusses the decision to bench Bryce Underwood in favor of Carr before the game.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
5
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 12301 article(s) · 33 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 33 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Andrew Battifarano
36 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 One day after the Wolverines remained cagey over who would start at quarterback against Indiana this weekend, ON3 reported Tuesday that Tommy Carr will get the nod and Bryce Underwood — the incumbent — will be the backup.
2026-10-21 · assertive framing · Michigan benching Bryce Underwood for Tommy Carr in $12 million QB shakeup
🔮 “Everybody was taking turns, it would be easy for me to say ‘Hey, Arch was the problem today,'” Sarkisian said.
2026-10-17 · assertive framing · Steve Sarkisian gets cagey about Arch Manning’s starting job after another ugly Texas loss
🔮 Indiana learned that in maybe the most heartbreaking fashion possible on Saturday afternoon.
2026-10-17 · assertive framing · Indiana’s 22-game win streak gets snapped by inches in most heartbreaking fashion
🔮 The Broncos might’ve come away with a thrilling win on Thursday, but that didn’t mean their quarterback was beyond reproach.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Ryan Fitzpatrick brutally shreds ‘almost disrespectful’ Bo Nix after another woeful night
🔮 James Cook might be third in the league in rushing, but that doesn’t mean he can abandon his main task for the Bills — holding on to the football.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Bills coach boldly threatens star James Cook of ‘consequences’ notice as fumble issue persists
🔮 Texas will host Florida, which suffered its own disastrous loss on Saturday to South Carolina, next Saturday.
2026-10-11 · assertive framing · Oklahoma stuns No. 1 Texas in final seconds after Arch Manning throws two fourth-quarter interceptions
🔮 North Carolina, now 3-2 and arguably with the signature win of Belichick’s season and a half at the college level, gave a more standard-fare answer about what the next steps for his football team would be.
2026-10-10 · assertive framing · Bill Belichick is all smiles — and even has jokes — after getting first win over ranked opponent
🔮 “I, of course, appreciated any chance we might have had there near the end,” Jones told reporters after the game.
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Jerry Jones, George Pickens go berserk after Cowboys suffer brutal home loss to Buccaneers
🔮 Marshall Manning might still be a few years away from his next steps in football, but that hasn’t slowed his college recruiting process.
2026-10-09 · mixed framing · Marshall Manning, 15-year-old son of Hall of Famer Peyton, already has multiple college offers on table
🔮 The Yankees again beat the Red Sox in the first round but could not get past a division champion foe in the next series.
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Yankees’ season ends in disappointment again as Rays sweep ALDS
Also by Andrew Battifarano
Steve Sarkisian gets cagey about Arch Manning’s starting job after another ugly Texas loss
2026-10-17 · New York Post
Indiana’s 22-game win streak gets snapped by inches in most heartbreaking fashion
2026-10-17 · New York Post
Ryan Fitzpatrick brutally shreds ‘almost disrespectful’ Bo Nix after another woeful night
2026-10-16 · New York Post
Bills coach boldly threatens star James Cook of ‘consequences’ notice as fumble issue persists
2026-10-14 · New York Post
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 36 articles by Andrew Battifarano →

Topics

Indiana Michigan ON3 UTEP Wolverines

Subjects

Carr PERSON · 3× Michigan ORG · 3× Indiana ORG · 2× Underwood PERSON · 2× Bryce Underwood PERSON · 1× ON3 ORG · 1× Penn State ORG · 1× Tommy Carr PERSON · 1× UTEP ORG · 1× Wolverines ORG · 1×

Narrative

“It was just one of those things: the turnover margin is such an important part of winning football games, and we’ve been on the wrong side of that early in the season, and we were on the wrong side of it in that first half,” Beck said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-21
🔮 One day after the Wolverines remained cagey over who would start at quarterback against Indiana this weekend, ON3 reported Tuesday that Tommy Carr will get the nod and Bryce Underwood — the incumbent — will be the backup.
2026-10-21 · New York Post
Michigan benching Bryce Underwood for Tommy Carr in $12 million QB shakeup · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 0 hedged)

Michigan is handing the keys over to Carr. asserted
Michigan → hand → Carr
One day after the Wolverines remained cagey over who would start at quarterback against Indiana this weekend, ON3 reported Tuesday that Tommy Carr will get the nod and Bryce Underwood — the incumbent — will be the backup. asserted
Underwood → remain → nod
Carr, who had made one brief appearance against UTEP in September, took over the reins from Underwood mid-game against Penn State on Saturday. asserted
who → make → Saturday
He went 5-for-7 passing for 47 yards while rushing four times for 36 yards and a touchdown in a 21-18 win over a Big Ten rival. asserted
He → go → rival
Head coach Kyle Whittingham, however, kept things close to the vest on Monday when discussing his signal caller plans for Saturday’s home game against No. 6 Indiana. asserted
Whittingham → keep → Indiana
“We know exactly what we’re doing and the plan going forward,” Whittingham said. asserted
Whittingham → know → what
“We’re not going to tip our hand to the opponent. asserted
We → go → opponent
But we have a good plan in place.” asserted
we → have → place
“Saw good stuff out of what Tommy did in that second half,” the coach added. asserted
coach → see → half
“He’s a real smooth guy, very efficient with his style.” asserted
He → ’ → style
Underwood, once recognized as the No. 1 overall recruit for the 2025 class on 247Sports, has not taken a leap forward in his second year in Ann Arbor. asserted
Underwood → recognize → Arbor
The $12 million QB completed 58.1 percent of his passes (as compared to 60.3 percent as a freshman) and has five touchdowns to six interceptions as Michigan holds a 4-2 record. asserted
Michigan → complete → record
He had completed 5 of 11 passes for just 43 yards with two interceptions before Carr relieved him against the Nittany Lions. asserted
Carr → complete → Lions
Jason Beck, during an appearance on “Inside Michigan Football,” explained why turnovers brought about the switch. asserted
turnovers → explain → switch
“It was just one of those things: the turnover margin is such an important part of winning football games, and we’ve been on the wrong side of that early in the season, and we were on the wrong side of it in that first half,” Beck said. asserted
Beck → win → half
“That’s what spurred the need to make a change for that second half. asserted
what → ’ → half
Fortunately, our D was able to get three takeaways, so we ended up coming out ahead on that turnover margin. asserted
we → get → margin
But you don’t want to be counting on getting three takeaways to come out plus-one. asserted
you → want → one
“We need to protect the football … to give our team the best chance to win.” asserted
We → protect → chance
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