ANN ARBOR — Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham, despite his offense being ranked 130th nationally, said this is not the time to “panic” in terms of offensive coordinator Jason Beck.
The Wolverines (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) are coming off a 13-6 overtime loss to Indiana, a game that magnified the issues of an offense that has been floundering this season under the first-year staff. The Wolverines are averaging 300.6 yards per game and are 118th in scoring (20.3 points). But it’s not just the statistics that are an issue. At times, Beck’s play-calling has been head scratching and problematic. He made a costly call on third down at the IU 1-yard line that Whittingham after the game acknowledged was a terrible decision.
As Michigan prepares to play at Rutgers this week, Beck is facing the heat publicly, but Whittingham, who brought the coordinator with him from Utah, said he has made coordinator switches before in-season but is sticking with Beck.
“Now's the time of year where you're seeing head coaches lose their jobs, play callers being demoted and that type of thing, and so my job is to do whatever is best for the program," Whittingham said Monday, Oct. 26, at his weekly news conference. "I'm fully aware of that, and if there's tough decisions to be made in that regard, I'll certainly have made them before and will again.
“But right now I don't think it's time to panic. I guess you could say we're two or three plays away from 6-1 or 7-0, and it's primarily due to our defense.”
Michigan’s defense ranks No. 3 nationally and has kept the Wolverines in games like last weekend’s against Indiana. But the offense has not been close to matching the defensive production, with the exception of the second half against Penn State in Game 6.
It was the second half of the Penn State game that freshman quarterback Tommy Carr took over for 19-game starter Bryce Underwood and earned the start against Indiana. But Whittingham, definitive on not making a “panic” move regarding Beck, wasn’t saying who will start at quarterback when the Wolverines play at Rutgers on Saturday, Oct. 31
“That's to be determined,” Whittingham said. “And, you know, I don't want to play this game every week.”
He was asked if he knows who will start.
“That will be a decision we'll make in the next couple of days here,” Whittingham said, “and, again, keep it to ourselves until somebody lets the cat out of the bag.”
In the Wolverines’ 13-6 loss to Indiana, Carr was 20 of 32 for 167 yards and had an interception and gained 47 yards on 15 carries, but netted only six yards after sack-yardage adjustment.
“Tommy did some good things,” Whittingham said. “Some things we've got to improve on, obviously, as you can say that about everyone in the program. But Tommy was gaining experience. Having the opportunity to run all the reps with the ones last week in practice and be the guy, I thought he handled it pretty well. But obviously, again, we've got to continue to get better play across the board, in that position as well.”
Whittingham said “to be determined” how the snaps will be designated this week in practice.
“Today’s more intro to the opponent and that type of thing, tomorrow morning that will be etched in stone and laid out how the week's going to go,” Whittingham said.
He hasn’t spoken to Underwood since the game to determine his response to not starting and what he may have picked up from the game.
Michigan at Rutgers
▶Kickoff: 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 31, SHI Stadium, Piscataway, N.J.
▶TV/radio: BTN/94.7 FM
▶Records: Michigan is 4-3, 1-3 Big Ten; Rutgers s 2-5, 1-3.
▶Line: Michigan by 14.5.
▶Series: Michigan leads 9-1 (Last meeting: Michigan defeated Rutgers, 31-7 on Sept. 23, 2023. The Wolverines have won nine straight since losing the first meeting, 26-24, at Rutgers in 2014).
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan's Whittingham: No 'panic' over OC Jason Beck, no decision on QB