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

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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 by AI on 2026-10-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

From the articles provided, several key points about Tommy Carr's performance for Michigan against No. 6 Indiana can be highlighted:

In summary, while Tommy Carr showed promise during a critical moment by coming off the bench earlier, his overall performance against Indiana was less impactful due to turnovers and defensive pressures, contributing significantly to Michigan's loss.

Written for “Michigan Benches Bryce Underwood” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Michigan Benches Bryce Underwood
Sports · 9 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.
Fox News
Hedges 3 of 24 claims Outlet record 69/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 2 of 23 claims Outlet record 64/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A reports on the game against Penn State where Tommy Carr replaced Bryce Underwood, while Article B discusses Michigan's strategy for an upcoming game against Indiana and mentions the previous game with Penn State briefly.”
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
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
9
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 · 11094 article(s) · 28 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 28 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Larry Lage
18 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Jared Goff threw a go-ahead, 7-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams with 4:35 left and the Lions made plays on both sides of the ball in a key NFC North matchup.
🔮 If their low-scoring offense doesn’t get in gear in the Motor City on Sunday, it might be tough for the NFC North leaders to keep up with the high-octane Detroit Lions.
🔮 If Kerby is not activated within the next three weeks, he will not be eligible to play this season.
🔮 “I thought we would get it, No. 1,” Campbell said.
🔮 Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham declined to say who he would start Saturday at his news conference earlier in the week, but Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti said he assumed Carr would start.
🔮 This Saturday, the Hoosiers (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) are favored by seven points against Michigan (4-2, 1-2) in the Big House and are expected to win two straight in the series for the first time since 1958-59. “They’ll be feeling pretty good about themselves after that,” he said.
🔮 Maybe not, but the nine-time All-Star was impressive and earned a spot in rarified air, The NBA scoring record for a debut was set by Kyrie Irving in 2019, when he had 50 with the Brooklyn Nets.
🔮 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.
🔮 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.
🔮 While TV replays appeared to show he was not offside, Fitzgerald could not challenge the call.
Also by Larry Lage
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 18 articles by Larry Lage →

Topics

ANN ARBOR Mich. Michigan Penn State Wolverines

Subjects

Underwood PERSON · 6× Michigan GPE · 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.

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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