6,002-YD Reality Hits Bryce Underwood That Also Triggered Panic Across 15 College Football Teams

Starting as a true freshman and grabbing the game by the scruff of its neck is a trait of elite QBs. We witnessed it last year when DJ Lagway saved Billy Napier’s season, and we are seeing the same this year with Bryce Underwood. In the New Mexico game, Underwood completed 21 of the 31 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown, showing elite talent. Moreover, his 39-yard bullet to Channing Goodwin was the longest pass since the Natty final in 2023 for a Michigan QB, signaling better things for the Wolverines. However, against Oklahoma in Week 2, there are some concerns regarding Underwood.

“Bryce Underwood had an Average time to throw of 2.24 seconds in week 1. What that tells me is he’s seeing the game well and trusting what he sees. That’s especially important as Sooners HC Brett Venables will bring pressure,” wrote Big 10 Network’s color analyst Jake Butt on X. Moreover, he also called for a reduction in the average throw time, to cope with the difficulty in “communication” that playing on the road brings. But unlike Underwood, another QB has overcome this challenge already.

That QB is none other than LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier. Former ESPN analyst David Pollack, in a recent podcast episode, discussed how “Nussmeier doesn’t run the football much.” Still, against Clemson, we saw him overcoming that by delivering “ball coming out fast” to his wide receivers. The LSU QB threw those accurate passes within 2.09 seconds, the fastest release time in CFB right now. Even Klubnik was a second higher than Garrett Nussmeier, and this is something Bryce Underwood also needs to work on.

Despite not showing much dual-threat ability on the stat sheet, some plays were still notable in that aspect. For instance, we saw the guy scrambling to complement his passing and even blocking, like he did for Justice Haynes for a 5-yard touchdown in the red zone. “He’s not afraid to get out there and mix it up,” said Sherrone Moore about Bryce Underwood’s block. Underwood, despite his $12 million tag and being a generational prodigy, is still a true freshman. And that will show somewhat in his plays. But he has a powerful message for himself!

Bryce Underwood treading on Garrett Nussmeier’s path

Garrett Nussmeier, who has accumulated 6,002 passing yards in his collegiate career, is much more experienced than Bryce and has learned a lot from his mistakes. For instance, last year, despite accumulating 4,000+ yards, we saw the QB’s inconsistency under pressure that led to turnovers (12 interceptions). Moreover, the QB also showed a lack of mobility that led to additional pressure on the O-line. But this year against Clemson, we saw the guy moving out of the pocket for throws and also avoiding interceptions. Bryce Underwood, too, is looking to improve himself like Nussmeier did.

“A C-plus today,” said Bryce Underwood, grading his New Mexico performance. The QB also said that improvements are coming. “There are a lot of things I need to work on, and also as a team as well. We’re going to go back to the drawing board and come back better next week,” declared the true freshman QB. Of course, the Oklahoma challenge won’t be easy by any means.

For now, though, despite Underwood grading his own performance as a C+, he still had a decent game where everything mostly clicked. The receiver drops, and O-line issues (2 sacks) can be cut out from the offense by Sherrone Moore. Moreover, the New Mexico defense was ranked 130th in SP+, and it made things easy for young Bryce. Now, it remains to be seen how the QB performs against Brent Venables’ Oklahoma, led by their new QB, John Mateer.