Saturday was the grandest day in the four years Brent Venables has been Oklahoma's head coach.
Yes, even better than beating the pants off No. 7 Alabama in front of the home fans last season. That same Alabama team ended up losing to Michigan in an SEC-Big Ten bowl matchup last year, and the Wolverines, with the No. 1 high school recruit on the planet coming in at quarterback, were expected to be even better in 2025.
On Saturday night at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, No. 18 Oklahoma defeated No. 15 Michigan 24-13 before 84,107 raucous fans and a national television audience, serving notice that the 2025 edition of Sooner football is a legitimate force to be reckoned with this season.
Quarterback John Mateer led an Oklahoma offense that outgained Michigan 408-288 and ran 18 more offensive plays than the Wolverines. On the other side, Venables directed an Oklahoma defense that sped up and confused highly touted true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, who was playing on the national stage in the first big game of his college career and in an extremely hostile environment to boot, where the Sooners have lost just 15 games since the beginning of the 1999 season.
The Sooners were effective shutting down the Michigan run game and put constant pressure on Underwood, forcing him into quick decisions and hurried throws. He completed just nine of 24 passes for 142 yards.
The victory over a Michigan team just two years removed from a national championship was clearly a signature win for Venables as OU's head coach. A day that began with ESPN College GameDay hosting its program from Norman early in the morning ended around 10 p.m. that night with the Sooner players hoisting the head coach on their shoulders and triumphantly carrying him off of Owen Field as everyone in the stadium relished the notion of "Hail to the Victors" (the Michigan fight song). In this particular case, however, it was the Sooners enjoying the spoils.
5 takeaways from Oklahoma vs. Michigan
QB John Mateer was the game difference maker
John Mateer was the one guy Michigan could not let beat it, and that is precisely what he did. The Washington State transfer used his arm and his legs to slice up a good Wolverine defense, completing 21 of 34 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown and leading the Sooners in rushing with 74 yards, including two TD runs. Mateer's 662 passing yards are second only to former OU quarterback Josh Heupel (773) for the most in the first two games of an Oklahoma career.
Save for one play, OU throttles Michigan's revered run game
Michigan has built a long-standing reputation as an offense that likes to smash you in the mouth and pound the rock. Alabama transfer Justice Haynes had 159 yards on the ground and averaged almost 10 yards per carry in the Wolverines' 2025 season-opening win over New Mexico.
The Sooners held Michigan to 146 yards rushing on Saturday night, with 125 of that total attributed to Haynes. But Haynes' production is highly deceptive because 75 of his 146 yards on the ground came on one play -- a touchdown run to open the third quarter. He was limited to just 50 yards on his other 18 carries, which translated to 2.7 yards per carry. Without the long touchdown run, Michigan's rushing total for the game would have been 71 yards.
Oklahoma's defense was more physical than the always physical Wolverines
Michigan is widely known for its physicality, especially in its offensive and defensive fronts. Prized Wolverine quarterback Bryce Underwood was hardly a factor in the game, throwing for just 142 yards and no touchdowns and minus-one yard when he tucked the ball to run.
The Sooners were also able to out-muscle the Michigan offensive line and shut down the run game with the exception of one 75-yard run. The Sooners recorded just one sack, but had eight tackles for minus-28 yards. Were it not for a series of Oklahoma penalties, the Michigan offense would not have crossed the 50-yard line in the first half.
Brent Venables cautions Sooners and their fans not to get ahead of themselves
"Our destination isn't to be 2-0 and beat Michigan," Venables said in his postgame press conference. "We feel like we have a heck of a team and have an opportunity with a lot of big-time challenges ahead of us to have a really good season, so I'm really excited about what this team can become."
The home crowd was definite factor in the Sooners' win
Underwood was never able to feel comfortable or get into a rhythm the entire night.
Many of his 24 passing attempts were hurried and off target, and head coach Sherrone Moore was forced to take two costly fourth-quarter timeouts on offense when the play clock was running down. The 16th consecutive Oklahoma sellout was at a fever's pitch from the opening kickoff and clearly was a distraction to the young Michigan quarterback. On Saturday night, the 84,107-strong crowd definitely served as the Sooners' 13th man.
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