Bryce Underwood Heisman Buzz Grows After Michigan Tops Oklahoma

Dave Portnoy points to Michigan's chyron-confirmed 17-10 win and Underwood's stat line — 111 pass yards, 87 rush yards, a touchdown — as backup for a Heisman comparison he says he's only half-joking about

Michigan beat No. 11 Oklahoma 17-10, and Bryce Underwood did it with his arm and his legs — 9-of-17 passing for 111 yards, plus 18 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown. Those exact numbers show up on the Wake Up Barstool schedule graphic that's been making the rounds, and they're the reason a comparison Dave Portnoy has floated as a bit for months suddenly has some evidence behind it.

This isn't a new Portnoy bit, either. He predicted last year that Underwood — the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class who flipped from LSU to Michigan in a stunner — would win the Heisman before Underwood had thrown a single college pass. Underwood then became the first true freshman to start a Week 1 game for Michigan since Tate Forcier in 2009. A truly wild call at the time. Two games into the follow-up season, it's looking less like a joke.

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“If he continues to improve like he did from week 1 to week 2, he’s gonna be a combination of Tom Brady, JJ McCarthy, Johnny Unitas, and Cam Newton by the end of this year” -@stoolpresidente on Bryce Underwood

Portnoy's follow-up take was even bolder: if Underwood keeps improving at the rate he did from Week 1 to Week 2, he'll be "a combination of Tom Brady, JJ McCarthy, Johnny Unitas, and Cam Newton" by season's end. That's a wild list of names to throw at a guy who's started two college games, but Portnoy's framing it as a trajectory, not a finished product — and the win over a ranked Oklahoma team is the first real data point to back it up.

History says this is still a longshot. No true freshman has ever won the Heisman — only two redshirt freshmen, Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston, have pulled it off. Underwood would need a full season of eye-popping numbers and marquee wins to get there, and Michigan's schedule doesn't get easier just because Oklahoma's in the rearview.

Still, the pieces are lining up in a way they weren't a year ago. Underwood is dual-threat, he's already beaten a ranked opponent, and he plays for the coach whose most famous alum, JJ McCarthy, won a national title just two seasons back. Whether Portnoy's comparison ages well or becomes a punchline depends entirely on what Underwood does the rest of the way — but for now, Michigan fans have exactly the kind of season-long storyline they were hoping for when Underwood flipped from LSU in the first place.