Staff Predictions: Michigan Football vs Oklahoma
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
One of the biggest games of the week will take place on Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor, as the Michigan Wolverines are set to host the Oklahoma Sooners at The Big House (noon on FOX).
Maize n Brew staff members are back to answer some questions about the season opener last week — not much happened, right? — the game tomorrow, and give some bold predictions in this week’s Roundtable!
As we always do in these roundtables, let’s look back real quick at last week’s game. Provide any takeaways or hot takes you have coming out of the WMU game. (Sarcasm font) I can’t imagine there will be many!
Von: Was I excited when Michigan won the game the way it did? Absolutely, who doesn’t love a completed Hail Mary pass?! Did I feel weird about it? Also yes — in the moment I thought it was impossible for there to be one more second on the clock, but you never apologize for a win.
But do I feel bad for WMU? Absolutely NOT! I’ve seen so much discourse over the past week about how WMU got “screwed” or that the Big Ten rigged the game (since when did the Big Ten like Michigan that much?). I’m not entertaining any of that because those opinions are garbage. The Big Ten released the footage of there being a second left on the clock when Micah Davis touched the ball out of bounds, and both WMU and the MAC both initially accepted the explanation before (oddly) reversing course earlier this week. And then come to find out this actually occurred less than 24 hours later in the Washington-Washington State game on NBC. This is NOT a Big Ten/Michigan problem, it’s an NBC problem.
Had the shoe been on the other foot and Michigan lost the game on a controversial Hail Mary, every single rival fan on Twitter — Buckeyes4eva or SpartanDawg420, I’m sure are their usernames — would have been saying the Wolverines got what they deserved and should have defended the Hail Mary pass better. So with all that said, I will say that the Broncos should have defended the Hail Mary pass better (both times, in fact!) and ultimately got what they deserved.
Was WMU the better team on Saturday? One hundred percent. I’m not denying that in the slightest, and neither did Kyle Whittingham after the game. But don’t let these fools on social media (or Josh Pate or Paul Finebaum or any of those knuckleheads) twist your mind into thinking that the last second of the game shouldn’t have been put back on the clock.
Zach Libby: Storming the field created unnecessary discourse. Should not have happened.
Scotty: I don’t even know what to say. I never imagined it was possible for this team to look that bad. At this point, I’m just hoping that maybe WMU is really good.
Kellen: Clocks in football games should go down to tenths of a second once you go under a minute left, just like basketball. That would have avoided the controversy in part this weekend. I never will understand why college football refuses to change certain things in the spirit of tradition; just make the sport better, people will keep watching, I promise, just ask MLB how much the pitch clock has helped them.
Grace: Remember a few seasons ago when we wondered why Kalel Mullings wasn’t getting more snaps? I’m beginning to wonder if we’re going to have a ton of personnel questions on offense this season. I really hope I’m wrong.
Charles: There weren’t many positive takeaways other than JJ Buchanan is the real deal, Dominic Nichols is a beast and the secondary appears to be in good shape. There were just too many negative takeaways to even count, but I think Bryce Underwood’s apparent regression and the lack of a competent run game were the most alarming. Onto Oklahoma!
Andrew: God, I’m an idiot.
Sam: Obviously it wasn’t a pretty game, and losing it would have derailed the entire season. It makes me feel even more uneasy about Oklahoma, and while I so badly want to believe in Bryce Underwood, it’s hard to imagine a world where he takes that leap (at least over the next several weeks). I do think the offensive line will do a better job in run blocking and make life easier for Jordan Marshall and company. The defense looked strong, maybe too many clutch conversions allowed, but 12 points on four field goals should win you most games. I hate putting it all on Underwood, but can he show us more against the Sooners?
Nick: Bryce Underwood will get much of the attention as far as concerns go, so I’ll spare going in on him here. My hot take is the offensive line’s performance in the run game is a bigger concern because no matter how good or bad the quarterback play is, the run game was always expected to at least be a reliable fallback option. The numerous missed assignments and failure to get a consistent push against a MAC team, even one that’s supposed to be as good as WMU is pretty jarring. Hopefully this changes once a staring five is actually set, but with Oklahoma coming to town, it’s only going to get much more challenging.
Zach Edwards: Yeah I don’t think anyone was expecting that outcome. The run game was honestly the most surprising low of the game, and even though Oklahoma will be a stronger opponent, I expect the offensive line and running backs collectively to play much better than against Western Michigan. Despite the abysmal performance, my 8-4 prediction remains the same and I’m expecting Michigan to have a lot of growth from Week 1 to Week 2.
Dan: I’ve said enough about the negatives. A positive: The defense was exceptional. Jay Hill had an excellent game plan and WMU wouldn’t have moved the rock much if Michigan’s offense could get anything going and give the defense some reprieve.
The Oklahoma Sooners looked really good in their opener against UTEP, pitching a 51-0 shutout and looking dominant from start to finish. What are you most worried about as it pertains to Brent Venables’ group?
Von: That defense is nasty. Of course last weekend’s opponent isn’t anything to write home about, but shutting out any opponent in football is very difficult. UTEP went 2-of-13 on third downs a week ago, and the Sooners allowed just 198 total yards. They also held UTEP’s quarterback to a 50 percent completion rate, and its leading rusher only went for 49 yards. The Wolverines saw this defense last year and know how hard it’s going to be to move the ball and put points on the board, and that is ultimately what this game is going to come down to — can Michigan do anything offensively against one of the top defenses in the nation?
Zach Libby: Defensive tackle David Stone.
Scotty: If the offense was completely unable to move the ball against Western, how is it going to get anything going against the Sooners? I hope the defense is ready to play…
Kellen: Can I say everything? But honestly, I’d say Venables’ creative blitzes are about to put Michigan’s offensive line in a blender. He’s a mastermind who can exploit inexperienced fronts, and if Michigan couldn’t handle WMU in the trenches, Oklahoma is about to create so much carnage.
Grace: He’s just a defensive mastermind. When the offense looked as bad as it did on Saturday, I worry we’re just going to go three-and-out on every single possession.
Charles: Oklahoma is built around arguably the best defensive front in the country (led the SEC in rushing yards allowed per game and sacks in 2025) and an electric quarterback in John Mateer. We saw the Sooners have their way with Michigan a year ago, and it could be even worse this time unless the Wolverines look like a completely different team from last week.
Andrew: How does Michigan score against the Sooners? After the first drive last Saturday, the Wolverines ran two plays in Western Michigan territory. Brent Venables was probably watching the tape and cackling like Dr. Evil. The defense will hold its own, but I am concerned about Jay Hill’s reliance on man-to-man coverage with the skill players Oklahoma unleashed last week.
Sam: The complexity of the defense. Venables is a TERRIFIC defensive mind and there are going to be so many tricky looks thrown at Underwood. Can he use his legs more and punish man coverage? Can he get the ball out quickly to Marsh and Buchanan? Is the Wolverines’ only path to victory to run the ball, run the ball, and run the ball some more?
Nick: I fear the offensive line and run game issues are only going to be further magnified. If that was a struggle against Western Michigan, I have a hard time believing it’s all of a sudden going to rectify itself against what should be one of the best front sevens in the country. That could bleed over to the other side of the ball as well like it did last week, where the offense consistently getting stopped leads to the defense being on the field for way too much of the game, and eventually getting worn out.
Zach Edwards: The most worrying part of Brent Venables-led Oklahoma is how balanced the offensive attack was. The Sooners had 231 passing yards with 12.2 yards per play, and 170 rushing yards with 4.4 per play, last week vs UTEP. Oklahoma is led by quarterback John Mateer led and still didn’t rely on him that much in Week 1, which could give Michigan issues.
Dan: Oklahoma’s defense and John Mateer. Both made Michigan look silly a season ago in a game that was lopsided from the jump. Their experience against a team with its tail between its legs in a week full of questions and controversy spells reason for doubt that Michigan can keep up.
Let’s say Bryce Underwood struggles in the first half on Saturday like he did against WMU. Would you like to see a change at QB, or would you let him finish the game and see how he looks against another inferior opponent next weekend?
Von: If Underwood plays a half of football against Oklahoma like he did against WMU last weekend where he’s careless with the football and making the same mistakes he has made since last year, I would be willing to have the Tommy Carr conversation. For now, I think Michigan has to roll with him, but if I were Whittingham, I would not hesitate to make a move.
Zach Libby: Absolutely not. The backups should not play at all unless something drastic occurs.
Scotty: I don’t think throwing Tommy Carr in there halfway through the OU game is a good idea. He’s a freshman, and I don’t think the result would be very good.
Kellen: We live in a society where people no longer have patience when it comes to bad performances. I get it; Bryce is the chosen one, the highly paid recruit that came to Michigan with even higher expectations. Yes, he looked bad against Western. But let’s give him a little more runway, perhaps another month worth of games before we start hitting the panic button.
Grace: I think it’d make sense to see a change. I am rooting for Underwood to put it all together and be great, and it seems like putting in the work. But it’s just not clicking yet, and if you can’t win or move the ball, you gotta do what works.
Charles: Ugh. I honestly don’t know what to think. Once you make a quarterback change, you can’t really go back because Underwood’s confidence and psyche would be altered moving forward. If Michigan believes Tommy Carr gives them a better chance to win against Oklahoma and beyond, then make the change, but that’s hard to say with a true freshman quarterback. I would hesitantly stick with Underwood for now.
Andrew: If the Michigan defense is playing well, but the offense can’t string together more than 3-5 plays at a time during the first half, you make the switch and give your team the chance. But if this game is just a boat racing by Oklahoma, you ride it out and don’t throw your true freshman quarterback to the wolves — make the switch in practice before UTEP.
Sam: Pull the plug. I recognize he’d have played only 10 quarters in this new offense and halftime of Week 2 is probably too early to give up on him. But this team has a loaded schedule, and it has to do everything it can to avoid non-conference defeats. Of course, if you bench Underwood and the replacement also falters, what do you do then? Venables’ defense is good enough that I want to have more patience with Underwood this weekend, but he is certainly running out of time.
Nick: For me, everything seems to be an issue between the ears with Underwood. We don’t have any reason to doubt the reports that came out of fall camp saying he looked really good. To me, it seems like a matter of simply reverting to the old habits once he got put in live action, and that’s not something that can be quickly fixed. Personally, I’d still give him the start and let him finish the game against Oklahoma. But if he’s truly regressed or not up to the challenge again, then it’ll look even worse against the Sooner defense than it did against WMU, at which point you’ll have to consider other options ahead of UTEP.
Zach Edwards: I would want to see how he responds in the second half. Whittingham is a new head coach and has yet to have to make major halftime adjustments with his new team, and if Underwood isn’t a part of that, I feel like it would be a disservice to Underwood. If Week 2 is as embarrassing, or more embarrassing than Week 1, it might be time to see Tommy Carr in Week 3 against UTEP.
Dan: It depends on how the game goes. If Michigan is competing DESPITE Underwood, than a change is needed if the coaches think they can win with someone else. But if the Wolverines are getting blown out, you let Underwood play until the fourth quarter, and then you put Carr in for some experience and chalk it up to standard blowout procedures before potentially making a change heading into Week 3.
Even if Michigan loses this weekend, what do you need to see out of this team to give you at least some confidence in the outlook of the program moving forward?
Von: I need to see the offensive line and run game take a big step forward. The Wolverines’ offensive attack has historically been predicated on running the ball and bullying opposing defensive fronts. What we saw last week was the polar opposite of that. Jordan Marshall was largely ineffective all night long, and Savion Hiter didn’t take advantage of his opportunities either. The offensive line got manhandled by a much smaller WMU defensive front, which was the most concerning thing that happened in that entire game in my opinion. Even if they lose, I have to see vast improvement on the offensive line and in the run game to feel even remotely decent about the rest of the season.
Zach Libby: Underwood improves on his reads.
Scotty: If Michigan can be competitive with Oklahoma and show some life offensively, I’ll feel better about this team. However, this kind of has to be a win if Michigan wants to be a CFP team and Michigan is the type of the program that should be making the CFP every season.
Kellen: I need to see better play in the trenches on both sides of the ball. That was Michigan’s identity under Harbaugh and Moore, and the Wolverines look lost without it. I wanna see some fight, I wanna see battling adversity, I wanna see Michigan being the hammer and not the nail. You can insert another cliche here but you get the point.
Grace: The score needs to be close. If we get blown out, all my preseason predictions go out the window and it’s doomsday for me.
Charles: Just don’t get blown out. At the very least, this game has to be a building block for the remainder of the season. I think a lot of us thought Michigan could lose to Oklahoma before the season started so it’s not necessarily about a win or loss, but rather coming out with a glimmer of hope.
Andrew: Competence and competitiveness. It’s a low bar, but a bar that could make this game a one-possession fight in the fourth quarter. Last Saturday was unacceptable. But the legacy of that game will be proven to be either a one-off or foreshadowing based on how these next 11 games go.
Sam: More bullying up front. Whittingham really emphasized being more physical and violent on the “Inside Michigan Football Radio Show” this week, and I couldn’t agree more. Even if the quarterback play is a disaster and the red zone defense can’t hold up, this program is all about powerful offensive line play.
Nick: I want to see more discipline and physicality. Those were two of the things we were promised under Kyle Whittingham thanks to how his Utah teams looked for so many years. A game full of bad penalties is something that can be easily fixed, especially when they’re things like hits after the whistle or alignment issues like we saw last week. Fixing the penalties might not help you win a game, but it can at least raise the floor. As for the physicality, even putting up a decent showing against Oklahoma would be encouraging as the team gets ready to go into the rough and tumble Big Ten.
Zach Edwards: A stronger run game. That’s really all that matters to me as the identity of Michigan football for years.
Dan: Offensive rhythm. It doesn’t have to be from Underwood, but it has to come from SOMEWHERE. Michigan couldn’t run the ball against WMU. At least last year, Justice Haynes could rip off some big yardage runs and make games interesting. Adjustments have to be made to get something going.
Give us a bold prediction for tomorrow’s game.
Von: JJ Buchanan goes for 100+ yards again and two touchdowns — but those are the only touchdowns that Michigan scores.
Zach Libby: We’ll see another surprise visiting recruit on campus.
Scotty: Oklahoma wins by 28+.
Kellen: Michigan will lose the game despite winning the turnover battle. As bad as Underwood is when it comes to holding onto the football, John Mateer isn’t afraid to take risks either. Mateer can make the passing game as seamless as a Venmo transaction, but he could give the ball away a couple more times.
Grace: Bryce Underwood throws a touchdown pass and Michigan’s defense scores twice.
Charles: I think Michigan takes an early lead. The environment is going to be electric and the team is going to have a chip on their shoulder following last week, so I expect the Wolverines to come out with a ton of energy and tenacity. The question is, how long can they sustain it?
Andrew: Bryce Underwood gets pulled for Tommy Carr.
Sam: Andrew Marsh goes off and Jason Beck finds more creative ways to put the ball in Marsh’s hands.
Nick: I don’t know how bold this is but I think we’ll see Savion Hiter score his first touchdown. He didn’t get as many snaps as I thought he would against WMU, especially after a fall camp full of hype. Maybe they were saving him up to use more in this game? Or at the very least incorporating him more into the offense could provide some sort of spark. We shall see.
Zach Edwards: Jordan Marshall has a rebound game and runs for more than 100 yards. This may not be a very bold prediction, but after the run game struggled against the Broncos, a 100-yard game from the top back might be hard to anticipate.
Dan: Michigan covers the 5.5-point spread thanks to the defense…and maybe even wins.
What’s the final score and why?
Von (1-0): Oklahoma 27, Michigan 14. Before last week, I thought this was going to be an awesome game. I actually thought Michigan was going to win. Now, I think the Sooners come to Ann Arbor and get the job done, leaving Whittingham and company with even more questions moving forward.
Zach Libby (1-0): Oklahoma 17, Michigan 6.
Scotty (0-0): Oklahoma wins, 38-7. Michigan looked atrocious against a MAC team at home and while it was only one game, I’m worried this just isn’t a very good team.
Kellen (1-0): Oklahoma will win in the trenches and win a low scoring affair, 24-13. I’m sure Michigan fans will be completely reasonable about Bryce Underwood’s performance online, he typed sarcastically.
Grace (1-0): 24-21, Michigan. Listen, in my head we are losing this one, maybe by a lot. In my heart, I want to believe in this team. So I think the defense puts on a show and takes advantage of Oklahoma’s offense trying to get too showy. Michigan puts together one solid offensive drive. We win, but still don’t feel great about the season ahead.
Charles (1-0): Oklahoma, 27-16. I would love to pick Michigan to pull of the upset and show the world last week was just a blip, but it’s hard to imagine that after what we witnessed against Western Michigan. The offense was dreadful and there were way too many mistakes made to have any type of belief in such a quick turnaround. Michigan keeps it competitive for a while, but Oklahoma’s defensive line starts to dominate and Mateer makes a few big plays to create separation in the second half.
Andrew (1-0): Oklahoma, 27-17. This game is a step in the right direction, but it’s too much to overcome in a week.
Sam (1-0): Oklahoma, 24-13. I wish this was a classic reverse juju scenario, but I just don’t know how I can confidently pick Michigan after what we saw in Week 1. I’m expecting a low-scoring, grind-it-out type of affair, and I don’t think the Wolverines’ offense has the juice to pull off the upset.
Nick (1-0): I’ve got Oklahoma, 27-13. I was pretty discouraged by what we saw against WMU and there are issues that are easily fixable, but I don’t think there’s enough time to get everything squared away against a potential playoff team like Oklahoma.
Zach Edwards (1-0): 24-13, Oklahoma wins. Michigan’s defense plays well overall but the offense, again, can’t get going in the pass game. Despite me anticipating Marshall having a rebound game, it simply won’t be enough as the defense is going to allow more than 12 points, unlike it did against Western Michigan, simply because of Mateer and the efficiency seen from Oklahoma’s offense last week.
Dan (1-0): Oklahoma 14, Michigan 10. Everyone and their mother is calling for an Oklahoma blowout. I’m just not there. Hostile environment, on the road, in a game that could be a rock fight with two strong defenses. Up until Saturday’s survival against WMU, Michigan was favored by 2.5 points. Good teams have struggled or even lost to bad opponents in the past. The talent on Michigan exists, and I think they keep this game close.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos