The Greener Grass

Patrick Barron / MGOBLOG

The story of a hometown unicorn who spurned his childhood favorite team to commit to LSU and a piece of child-killing human garbage, only to be lured back by Larry Ellison’s girlfriend and publicly advertised bags of cash, isn’t exactly the kind of story people rally behind.

And when that unicorn shows up without a horn and performs more like a horse with misfit blinders, the story gets worse.

And it compounds. And the pressure mounts. And he can’t figure it out. And the play calling isn’t helping.

And then, coming off a game where he went 10-of-21 for 101 yards and two interceptions and left the Jug in Minneapolis, he starts the first half against Penn State on ice that’s getting thinner by the minute. Five-of-11 for 42 yards and two more interceptions, the second essentially closing out the half. And quite possibly his tenure as Michigan’s starting quarterback. At least for now.

Then there’s another story.

The story of the grandson of a legendary Michigan coach. The son of a former Michigan quarterback. The brother of Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr. And the brother of Chad, whose courageous battle with childhood cancer and tragic passing united a fanbase around a cause much bigger than football.

The story of a kid who committed to Michigan despite the unicorn firmly planted ahead of him. Who outshined that unicorn in the spring game, won the eye test at seemingly every opportunity, and waited patiently for a chance that, given the money and expectations involved, might never come.

And finally, the story of that kid getting his shot. An opportunity to spark, inspire, and bring a steady hand to an anemic offense that desperately needed all three.

That’s the story. That’s the movie.

Michigan scored all 21 of its points in the second half with Tommy Carr at the helm, and every unit seemed to play better. The offense had a pulse. There was energy, decisiveness, and a sense that something might actually happen when Michigan had the football. It wasn't perfect, and it wasn't always pretty, but it was different. And after six games of waiting for the offense to become something resembling functional, different was pretty fucking refreshing.

A difficult position for Coach Whit, but not a difficult decision. There was no choice. And IMHO, there is no choice moving forward.

None of this is necessarily an indictment of Bryce Underwood's future. He's an enormously talented teenager who was handed a bag of money, the keys to the kingdom, and expectations that would have been difficult for a seasoned NFL quarterback to meet. Maybe he becomes everything we hoped. Maybe he doesn't. But Michigan doesn't have the luxury of waiting around to find out. Not this season. Not anymore.

Not with the first 0-3 start in Big Ten play since 1967 staring them in the face.

Make no mistake, this is not a cure-all. Tommy Carr is 18, inexperienced, and not particularly built to take a hit. The offensive line is still an injury-plagued, rotating mess that has had no chance to gel. The Utah-based play calling is still a work in progress. Carr will make mistakes. He'll have bad games. There will almost certainly be moments when the same people clamoring for him now will wonder what the hell they were thinking.

But I don't think there's a question that Michigan's best chance to win right now comes with Tommy Carr under center.

The world rejoices as the player they would have all sold their souls to just get to make a visit to their crap campuses seems to be a Michigan bust. But for Michigan, it's next man up.

The financial aspect means nothing. Your tickets will continue to be at the same level of unaffordable either way. The money is spent. The expectations are what they are. And the worst thing Michigan could do now is let the price tag dictate who plays quarterback.

Wipe a little egg off your face and focus on the fact that the regular season is only half over, Michigan is 4-2, and everything is still in front of them.

Cignetti is on the clock, and googling him is so 2023. ChatGPT tells me he's an asshole.

Go Blue.

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