Kyle Whittingham on Michigan's start: 'We're 3-1, feel like we are 0-4'

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Michigan heads into Week 5 of the college football season with a 3-1 overall record and a 0-1 record in Big Ten games.

While the Wolverines have a winning record, head coach Kyle Whittingham doesn't feel that way.

During his news conference on Monday, he talked about how Michigan has begun the year.

"Well, we're 3-1. I feel like we're 0-4. I can tell you that's how I feel. But we're 3-1. One play away from 4-0, one play away from 2-2."

The one play that kept the Wolverines from being 4-0 came this past weekend. Michigan was up 19-14 over Iowa with two seconds left in the game. The Hawkeyes threw a 16-yard prayer to the end zone, and Reece Vander Zee somehow managed to come down with it for the score as time expired.

Whittingham mentioning that Michigan was one play away from 2-2, of course, refers to the season-opening controversial ending to Western Michigan. It looked like Western Michigan pulled off the upset, but then Michigan benefited from the game clock on the field being different than what was on TV and converted a Hail Mary with the extra play.

The Michigan coach continued.

"I see a lot of things trending in the right direction. The offense, Bryce Underwood as an individual, the offensive line. So I think we've got some things going for us.

But, we've still got the things we've already talked about that need to be cleaned up."

The things that need to be cleaned up include the number of penalties they take, their lack of execution in the red zone, and the need to win the turnover margin.

Underwood has been an interesting case over the first month of the season. After the close win over Western Michigan, Whittingham seemed to infer that Underwood didn't have the QB job locked down. The head coach later clarified his comments and voiced his support for Underwood.

So far, the Michigan QB has thrown for 780 yards, 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He has added 192 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground.

Whittingham is in his first season with the Wolverines. So far, Michigan has wins over Western Michigan, then-No. 11 Oklahoma, and UTEP. The Wolverines took their first loss of the season against Iowa.

Michigan has big games against Penn State, No. 6 Indiana, No. 15 Oregon, No. 23 UCLA, and No. 5 Ohio State left on the schedule.

The Wolverines will go on the road to take on Minnesota this week, looking to earn their first Big Ten win of the season.

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