ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A halftime quarterback change and a familiar family name rescued Michigan on Saturday, as true freshman Tommy Carr came off the bench and led the Wolverines past Penn State 21-18.
First-year coach Kyle Whittingham pulled starter Bryce Underwood at the break after a sluggish first half in which Underwood threw two interceptions. That gave him five picks over his last three games and six on the season, one more than his passing touchdown total. It was only the second time Carr had played this year.
The offense came alive almost at once. Bryson Kuzdzal broke a 43-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and a 22-yard Carr draw set up a 1-yard Jordan Marshall score for a 14-3 lead. Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht was intercepted twice during the stretch.
Penn State clawed back to within three early in the fourth on a 2-yard Carson Hansen run and a two-point conversion. With a chance to tie or go ahead, Becht fumbled at his own 16, and Carr made the Nittany Lions pay, keeping it himself on third down for a 12-yard touchdown with 2:58 left.
Becht answered with a 24-yard scoring pass to Chase Sowell with 1:11 remaining, but Michigan recovered the onside kick to close it out.
Carr comes from deep Wolverines roots. His paternal grandfather is Lloyd Carr, who coached Michigan to an unbeaten 12-0 season and a Rose Bowl win in 1997 and was in the stands Saturday. His maternal grandfather, Tom Curtis, was an All-America safety whose 25 career interceptions remain a program record and who later won Super Bowl V with the Baltimore Colts. His brother, CJ Carr, plays quarterback at Notre Dame.
The win lifts Michigan to 4-2 and 1-2 in the Big Ten and spared the Wolverines their first 0-3 conference start since 1967. Penn State, now 3-4 and 0-4 under Matt Campbell, has dropped four straight. Michigan hosts No. 5 Indiana next week, and Whittingham has not named a starter for that game.
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