Oklahoma and Michigan are two of the winningest programs in college football history, but they have only played each other one other time in the long, highly successful histories of both programs.
They will meet for a second time on Saturday under the lights at sold-out Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. The game will start at 6:30 p.m. CT and be televised on ABC, with ESPN's No. 1 announce team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe.
Previewing Oklahoma vs. Michigan
Michigan's 1,013 all-time victories ranks first in college football. The Sooners are No. 6 in all-time wins with 951. The only other meeting between these two college football blue bloods was in the 1976 Orange Bowl. The then-No. 3 Sooners, under head coach Barry Switzer, defeated Michigan coaching legend Bo Schembechler and the No. 5 Wolverines 14-6 in a defensive battle. That win and a loss by top-ranked Ohio State in the Rose Bowl earlier in the day elevated Oklahoma to its fifth of seven national championships.
The Wolverines are just two years removed from a national championship and finished off an up-and-down 2024 season with huge wins over eventual national champion Ohio State and Alabama. The Maize and Blue got the new season off on the right foot last week with a 34-17 win over New Mexico.
Oklahoma unveiled its new-look offense and lock-down defense in a dominant 34-3 season-opening win over Illinois State. Now comes the crossroad that Sooner fans -- and, quite frankly, the media -- have long anticipated in looking ahead to the 2025 season and Oklahoma's chances of having a better performance and outcome against a second straight brutal schedule within the SEC.
The Week 2 matchup against Michigan may not be the biggest or most important game Oklahoma will play in the 2025 season, but it certainly may be the most pivotal. A win in this game by the Sooners would be a huge confidence builder and have a direct positive impact on how the rest of the season could play out for Oklahoma. Meanwhile, although a loss to the Wolverines certainly wouldn't be a season-ender, it clearly would not have the same impact on the remainder of the season that a victory would represent.
Needless to say, a win over a quality Power Four opponent like Michigan would also be a positive checkmark should the Sooners be in contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff at season's end. It will also make the trip to Michigan this time next season a lot more satisfying.
How much of a home-field advantage is this year's game for Oklahoma? The Sooners are 146-15 in home games since the beginning of the 1999 season, Bob Stoops' first season as head coach. OU's .907 winning percentage over that time is one of the best in all of college football. Michigan, on the other hand, is 29-17 all-time in road games played at night.
What to know about Michigan
- Historically, Michigan's offensive identity has long been a ground-and-pound running game that wants to out-muscle opponents and wear them down. In its season opener this past Saturday, however, with a highly touted true freshman at quarterback in Bryce Underwood, the Wolverines showed off a new twist: a true passing game. Underwood debuted with 21 of 31 completions to eight different receivers for 251 yards and a touchdown (Michigan had just two games of 200-plus passing yards all of last season). It will be interesting to see how the young freshman handles all of the defensive looks and disguises that Brent Venables is sure to throw at him. We saw what that was like for Texas' Arch Manning on the road against Ohio State this past weekend.
- The run game is still a major part of Michigan's playbook on offense, and the Wolverines have another highly talented running back in Alabama transfer Justice Haynes, who had 159 rushing yards, averaged 9.9 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns against New Mexico. With the trouble the Sooners had slowing down the run against Illinois State, you know they are going to see plenty of Haynes carrying the ball on Saturday.
- The Wolverines returned 24 letter winners from a defensive unit that ranked 10th among FBS teams last season in total defense. After one week of play, Michigan ranks No. 4 in ESPN's SP+ rankings in defensive efficiency. By comparison, Oklahoma's defense ranks seventh after the opening weekend.
- Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore is in his second season at the helm after serving six seasons as an assistant. He is a former OU player and Oklahoma alum. Moore was an offensive lineman under Bob Stoops in 2006-07. Oklahoma running backs coach DeMarco Murray was one of Moore's OU teammates, and Brent Venables was the defensive coordinator. Oklahoma was a combined 22-6 the two seasons Moore was there.
What to know about Oklahoma
- All eyes again will be on quarterback John Mateer, who turned in one of the best quarterback debut performances in OU football history in the Sooners' season opener. The Washington State transfer completed 81% of his passes (30 of 37) for 392 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown. But going against the Michigan defense will be much more challenging than what he faced last weekend. Mateer ranks in the top five in the country in completion percentage after Week 1 and is No. 2 in passing yards. His 392 passing yards in the season opener set a new OU program record for a quarterback playing his first game in a Sooner uniform. Baker Mayfield was the previous record holder with 388 yards in the air in his OU debut in 2015.
- The big question mark this week leading up to the Saturday matchup with Michigan is will we see highly regarded transfer running back Jaydn Ott and how much? Ott battled through an injury-plagued 2024 season, but ran for 1,315 yards in 2023 while at California. The Sooners don't know yet what they have in Ott, but Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle both vowed this week that Ott will play on Saturday after playing just one snap on offense in Week 1 and was stuffed for a three-yard loss, and see plenty of action against a stout Michigan front seven.
- The Sooners hope to be able to run the ball more effectively than they did against Illinois State and create better downfield passing opportunities. For that to happen, however, the Sooners are going to have to do a much better job of run blocking on the offensive line. Either way, Oklahoma is sure to attack the Michigan secondary. The Wolverines gave up 251 passing yards to New Mexico, which is probably music to the ears of Mateer and Arbuckle.
- Oklahoma had just two sacks and five tackles for loss against Illinois State. The Sooner defensive front seven needs to do a better job applying pressure and making Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood uncomfortable in the pocket, which could force him into making some bad decisions with the ball. The Sooner pass defense was terrific last week, giving up just 34 yards through the air, but they will be tested and attacked more frequently by Michigan.
Numbers to know
- Since the 2021 season, Michigan has won 48 of its last 56 games and has the second-best winning percentage (.857) in college football over that time. Only Georgia (.914) has a better win percentage.
- Michigan is 8-0 under head coach Sherrone Moore when leading at the half, but 0-5 when trailing at the half.
- Michigan is one of five teams (Illinois State, Auburn, Ole Miss and LSU are the others) Oklahoma will play this season that is making its first trip to Norman.
Prediction
This will be a much closer game than the one last week and should largely be a defensive battle. The offenses will get in its licks, but in the end, the team that plays the best red-zone defense will win the game. Oklahoma prevails.
Oklahoma 24, Michigan 20
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