1 Fact, 1 Fiction: Michigan Football vs Minnesota

A lot of things were looking good for the Michigan Wolverines against Iowa this past weekend…until suddenly it all fell apart. The nation will tell you this was well deserved and reveals who Michigan really is, but that seems like a whole lot of noise to me. That being said, losing this one was tough, knowing what games still lie ahead.

However, before we even get to the upper echelon of the Big Ten, the Wolverines must get through the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are coming off a solid win at Washington. Narratives are swirling right now, as is always the case following a defeat, but Michigan must focus on what it knows is true, as one loss can easily turn into two.

Fact: The Bryce Underwood panic has always been overblown

Progress is rarely linear in sports, and nearly everyone recognized that Bryce Underwood was going to have some ups and downs after a less-than-ideal rookie season. It was a little surprising, then, to see so many people out on him after a tough Week 1 and a modest Week 2. Since then, the sophomore has thrown for 233 yards against UTEP and 276 yards against Iowa, connecting on four touchdown passes as well.

Is Underwood fixed? Certainly this is not his ceiling, but I would also argue he was never broken beyond repair. The quarterback and his coaching staff alike clearly need time to get him into the right position, and while there are still frustrating moments over the course of a game, the Tommy Carr chatter has rightfully quieted down in a significant way.

Saturday will be another chance for Underwood to show his progress. Both Kamario Taylor and Demond Williams threw for over 200 yards against this defense, and the Gophers’ secondary is below average in Power Four games when it comes to yards per attempt and passing touchdowns allowed. Underwood is not playing at the level of someone like Taylor right now, but a solid outing against the Gophers will give him even more breathing room amongst his critics.

Fiction: The season is over!

I will admit that my first reaction when the game ended at the Big House was that this might just have to be a rebuilding year — and apparently I was not alone in that. It felt so disappointing to let that game slip away and really worrying knowing that games against Indiana, Oregon, and Ohio State still exist, putting chances at a playoff berth in a terrible position.

After letting the result breathe for a little bit, I am able to see things a little more reasonably. Yes, losing this sort of contest is always going to sting, but on a performance level, Michigan should actually feel overall positive about how Saturday looked. There were some (self-inflicted) mistakes, but there was also some bad luck as well, and these sorts of bumps are just a part of college football.

All that matters now is how the Wolverines respond. Continue building upon outings like these, and those tough upcoming games could absolutely end up in wins. Allow frustration to take over, though, and suddenly a trip to Minnesota really could effectively end the season. One would hope a veteran coaching staff would not allow that mentality to take over; this weekend will be a great test of that hypothesis.