Sooner Nation could make its biggest impact of the 2025 college football season Week 2 when the Michigan Wolverines visit Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
As expected, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported on Sunday that Michigan will name freshman Bryce Underwood as its starting quarterback for the Wolverines' season opener against New Mexico on Saturday. Michigan then made things official on Monday.
Bryce Underwood gets nod before facing Sooners
With the Wolverines hosting New Mexico on Saturday night, Underwood's presumed second-career start and first-ever road game will come in front of Sooner Nation at Memorial Stadium. The Sooners and Wolverines were already given a primetime slot on ABC at 6:30 p.m. CT on Sept. 6, setting up a ruckus environment for the freshman signal caller.
Sooner Nation paired with OU's stellar defensive line could make life miserable for a young quarterback that early in his career. If Underwood does get rattled and is pressured into mistakes, it could be the key in the Sooners mounting a monumental win early in the season against preseason No. 14 Michigan. If the Sooners then avoid upsets, they should be 5-0 heading into the Red River Rivalry.
However, Underwood is not the average freshman. Underwood signed with Michigan as a consensus five-star recruit and No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He was originally commtted to LSU before flipping to the Wolverines.
Even though Michigan hasn't started a freshman at quarterback since 2009, everyone still already knew Underwood would immediately come in and take over as QB1 because of the extremely high expectations.
“Have I seen a freshman quarterback like him? Not like I can think of," Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said during Monday's press conference.
The unknown of Underwood and how quickly he can be elite could be a disadvantage, but no matter how good, a sellout crowd of 80,126 will affect any young quarterback, already giving the Sooners the biggest advantage Week 2.
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