Oklahoma’s Brent Venables is not walking into the Week 2 matchup with Michigan blind to what’s changed.
Last season’s meeting ended with the Sooners beating Michigan 24-13, and Oklahoma’s defense made life miserable for Bryce Underwood by holding him to 142 passing yards. Venables had a clear answer for a freshman quarterback’s comfort zone: take away the easy stuff. Screens, short throws, the quick rhythm passes Underwood would normally lean on - Oklahoma took those away and forced him into a tougher night.
That game is still part of the backdrop heading into the rematch at the Big House, but Venables made it clear this week at SEC Media Days that he sees a much steeper challenge this time. He described Michigan as a “tremendous challenge” and called the Wolverines’ staff a “championship staff.”
That’s a different tone from the way Oklahoma was able to handle Michigan a year ago. The Sooners had the clear coaching advantage then, and the source material points to the same kind of gap being present in other losses Michigan suffered last season, including against Ohio State, Texas, and USC. This time, though, Kyle Whittingham changes the equation.
Whittingham, along with Jason Beck and Jay Hill, gives Michigan a new look on the sideline, and that matters because the Sooners won’t be able to lean on the same edges they had last season. One of those edges came from how Oklahoma used John Mateer.
Mateer ran the ball 19 times, while Underwood ran it just three times in the earlier matchup. Michigan never made Oklahoma defend a quarterback run game, even though Mateer has been compared to Vince Young and Cam Newton.
That won’t be the kind of mistake Jason Beck is expected to make on the Michigan side. With Savion Hiter and Jordan Marshall also in the mix, Michigan should have more ways to stress Oklahoma on the ground. Hiter, in particular, has also been discussed as a receiving option.
The other major swing factor is up front. Oklahoma controlled the trenches last season, and that was part of a broader pattern in Michigan’s four losses.
At least three of those defeats were defined by what happened on the line of scrimmage. Oklahoma, USC, and Ohio State all pushed Michigan around, and the Wolverines couldn’t block or tackle well enough to survive those games.
That kind of issue was not supposed to be part of Michigan football under Jim Harbaugh, but it became one under Sherrone Moore. The expectation now is that Jim Harding, Lewis Powell, and Larry Black will change that. The offensive and defensive lines are supposed to be strengths this season, and that’s a big reason Venables is taking this matchup seriously.
Oklahoma still has its own talent, and Mateer remains a major piece after what he did to Michigan last season. Former Wolverine Cole Sullivan is also on the Sooners’ roster. But Venables’ message was plain enough: this Michigan team looks different, and with Whittingham in the building, the Sooners are not getting the same easy road they had before.
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