- Position
- WR
- Number
- #6
- Pieces here
- 19
On the record
Called Shots →True freshman receiver Travis Johnson (No. 13) catches at least 1 pass in the September 5 opener against Western Michigan.
Andrew Marsh finishes with more receiving yards than JJ Buchanan in Michigan's September 12 game against Oklahoma.
Bryce Underwood's passing yards per attempt across Michigan's nine 2026 Big Ten regular-season games is 7.52 or lower, which is his figure across Michigan's nine 2025 Big Ten regular-season games (1,601 yards on 213 attempts). Scored off Michigan's official box scores: his passing yards divided by his pass attempts, each summed over the games against Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State, Indiana, Rutgers, Michigan State, Oregon, UCLA and Ohio State, rounded to two decimals. A game he does not play adds nothing to either total; if he attempts no pass in those nine games the call is void.
Written about him
Michigan's defense scored as many touchdowns as the offense, and Michigan lost
Minnesota beat Michigan 20-14 at Huntington Bank Stadium, its first win over Michigan since 2014 and its first in Minneapolis since 1977. Michigan led 14-7 at halftime on Jordan Marshall's 5-yard run and Nathaniel Staehling's 79-yard interception return, then turned the ball over on a muffed punt and two Bryce Underwood interceptions in a span of 7:31. Minnesota scored 13 points off those turnovers on drives of 4, 34 and 35 yards. Michigan's offense gained 180 yards, its fewest of the season, held the ball for 41 seconds of the third quarter, and ran eight plays for no net yards between its touchdown and the fourth quarter. Underwood was 10 of 21 for 101 yards and was sacked three times. The running backs carried 18 times for 59 yards. Michigan's defense forced two turnovers, allowed one scoring drive longer than 35 yards and had no sacks. Michigan's last drive ended with two timeouts unused. JJ Buchanan, Nathan Efobi and Chase Taylor each went down during the game, and Kyle Whittingham said a couple of players could not finish without naming them. Michigan is 3-2 and 0-2 in the Big Ten.
Underwood cleared both bars against Iowa. He did it five times last year.
Bryce Underwood cleared both of the bars his 2025 Big Ten season set for him in Michigan's 20-19 loss to Iowa: 9.9 yards an attempt (17 of 28 for 276) against 7.5, and a 48.3 percent success rate (14 of 29 dropbacks) against 44.1. By yards per attempt and by CollegeFootballData's expected points per dropback (+0.56), it was the best of his 13 college games against Power 4 defenses, against an Iowa defense that had allowed 4.4 yards an attempt in its first three games. It does not settle whether he has improved, because his 2025 Big Ten line was an average of two kinds of game: he cleared both marks in five of nine (Wisconsin, USC, Washington, Northwestern, Maryland) and missed both in the other four (Nebraska, Michigan State, Purdue, Ohio State), with none in between. By success rate Iowa ranks above only the USC game among those five. His two Power 4 games this season are one of each: Oklahoma at 6.5 and 31.6 percent, Iowa at 9.9 and 48.3. Pooled, that is 41.7 percent on 48 dropbacks and 8.6 yards an attempt on 45. The yards came from the deep ball: three of six deep-tagged throws were caught for 101 yards after one of 11 in the first three games, and on his 26 attempts other than the 49- and 32-yard throws to JJ Buchanan he averaged 7.5. All four of Andrew Marsh's incompletions were broken up, three by Jaylen Watson in the first half. Underwood was sacked once in 29 dropbacks. His second-half success rate fell again, 5 of 12 after 9 of 17 before halftime. Four straight Big Ten games above both marks, starting with Iowa, would be a streak he never had in 2025.
Western Michigan Ran 67 Plays And Never Reached The End Zone
Michigan beat Western Michigan 13-12 at Michigan Stadium on a play that exists because a replay review put one second back on the clock, a decision the Big Ten defended in a statement and NBC's rules analyst questioned on air. The Broncos ran 67 plays from scrimmage, held the ball for 40:08, converted 8 of 18 third downs and scored on four Dieter Kelly field goals without once reaching the end zone. Michigan's offense produced two touchdown drives, its first and its last, and six punts, an interception and a lost fumble in between. Dom Nichols and Troy Bowles set career highs in their first career starts. JJ Buchanan caught six passes for 126 of Michigan's 170 passing yards.
Michigan's 4 Captains Are February's 4 Captains. The 12 Names Underneath Them Are Not
Michigan announced 4 captains and a 12-man leadership council on Monday night, and its February release had already announced 4 spring captains and an 11-man spring council with a note that the real vote would come in fall camp. The captains are identical. The council moved by 5 names: linebacker Troy Bowles, receiver JJ Buchanan and defensive end John Henry Daley came on, safety Mason Curtis and tight end Zack Marshall came off. With 18 days to Western Michigan, the tight ends went from 1 name to 0 of 8, the linebackers went from 0 to 1 of 14, and the 10 specialists have now been passed over twice.