The last time Oklahoma hosted a ranked opponent under the lights at the Palace on the Prairie, the Sooners surprised the college football world with a 24-3 upset of No. 7 Alabama.
On Saturday night at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 15 Michigan will square off before a primetime national TV audience in a battle of Power Four blue bloods representing the two best conferences in college football.
Oklahoma and Michigan aren't just two of the best teams of the 2025 college season, they're two of the best teams of all-time in the college sport.
With the Sooners the betting favorite of the Las Vegas oddsmakers, an Oklahoma win in the game on Saturday night wouldn't be considered an upset. But I'm not sure a Michigan win would be much of an upset either given how relatively evenly matched these two teams are statistically just one week into the new season.
What we do know is that one of these two teams is going to come away the winner on Saturday. While we won't know which team until late Saturday night or by what score, we do have four bold predictions that are certain to have an impact on the outcome of the game.
John Mateer will burn the Michigan defense for 300-plus yards passing
John Mateer is a dual-threat quarterback who can beat you with his arms and his legs. The Michigan secondary is considered the Wolverines' weak link on defense.
Mateer has a big and accurate arm, and the Sooners have plenty of underrated receivers. The OU quarterback torched Illinois State for nearly 400 yards last weekend, and he won't hesitate to test the Michigan secondary. Look for Mateer to throw for over 300 yards and two more touchdowns against a Wolverine defense that allowed 251 yards to New Mexico.
This is predicated, however, on the Sooners' ability to run the ball and on an offensive line that gives Mateer time to get through his progressions and find open receivers.
The Oklahoma defense will record three takeaways, including a pick-six
The Sooners had no defensive takeaways in the win over Illinois State. In a game that is as evenly matched as Oklahoma vs. Michigan, turnovers can and probably will play an important part in the outcome. The Sooner D will step up in this game and force at least three turnovers and give their offense additional scoring opportunities. One of those takeaways will end up in a pick-six.
Michigan's Justice Haynes will be held to half of his Week 1 rushing total
Alabama transfer Justice Haynes ran wild against New Mexico last week, rolling up 159 rushing yards and 9.9 yards per carry. Michigan is sure to unleash its prime rushing weapon against a Sooner defensive front that gave up 117 yards on the ground against Illinois State. Brent Venables knows how important it is to bottle up the Michigan running game and force Big Blue to become one dimensional.
Haynes will get plenty of attention from the Oklahoma defensive line. Playing for Alabama, Haynes had 18 yards on three carries against the Sooners last season. The Sooner front seven holds Michigan's lead back to half his run production of a week ago.
Michigan will have more field goals than TDs in the game
Michigan's 34 points in its 34-17 win last week over New Mexico were comprised of four touchdowns and two field goals. The Michigan offense will be able to move the ball against a good OU defense on Saturday, but the Sooners will bend but not break on defense and hold the majority of Wolverine scoring drives to field goals instead of touchdowns. Michigan has an outstanding FG kicker in Arkansas State transfer Dominic Zvada, who has been successful on 89% of his FG tries over his career.
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