Every summer, the same Buckeye Talk debate bubbles up: how much can you really learn from Michigan’s first big nonconference test?
This year, the spotlight lands on Sept. 12, when the Wolverines face Oklahoma in a game Andrew Gillis called the most important non-Ohio State matchup on Michigan’s 2026 schedule.
“We’re going to find out, I think, what Michigan is all about under Kyle Whittingham,” Gillis said. “And that is why I think it’s No. 1 for me because this is the benchmark.”
The draw is obvious. Bryce Underwood gets another early chance to show he can handle a defense built to stress him, and Brent Venables’ Oklahoma group looks like the kind of unit that can force those answers right away.
Underwood has the recruiting buzz and the ceiling talk. What he still hasn’t proven, at least consistently, is that he can go toe-to-toe with elite defenses.
Stefan Krajisnik pushed the point even further, arguing that Michigan’s recent history makes this kind of September game feel less like guesswork and more like a warning label. In 2024, the Wolverines were overwhelmed by Texas early, and Krajisnik reminded listeners that game “was No. 1 on our list going into the season when we did this same exercise” - and Michigan wound up looking exactly as shaky as that performance suggested. The next season, Underwood had a rough road outing against Oklahoma as a freshman, and that, too, ended up foreshadowing the year that followed.
“In Michigan’s case, that kind of early season nonconference game has been pretty telling the last couple years,” Krajisnik said.
That’s the case for watching closely: if Michigan gets exposed in Norman, there’s a decent argument that the cracks could keep showing when the stakes rise later in the year.
Stephen Means, though, doesn’t think Ohio State fans should treat Sept. 12 as some kind of season-defining hinge point.
“If this were a four-team playoff world, I’d agree,” Means said. “But nobody’s playoff chances change based on what happens on Sept.
- And that’s what makes it so beautiful.
We can enjoy football... One loss doesn’t kick you out the playoff.”
His point is simple. Michigan’s ugly showing against Texas in 2024 didn’t stop the Wolverines from showing up in Columbus and making Ohio State work for a game they’d rather forget. In his view, the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry lives in its own lane, untouched by what happens in early September.
So the real divide is about the question itself. If you’re trying to gauge whether Michigan is built to chase a national title, Oklahoma could tell you plenty about Whittingham’s team and Underwood’s growth. If you’re trying to predict what happens on the last Saturday in November, Means would tell you Sept. 12 may not be the clue you’re looking for.
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Ohio State Fans Still Have One Transfer Question They Need Answered
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Even with Aaliya in place, there is still lingering curiosity around the departures that reshaped the roster earlier in the year. Five players transferred out of Ohio State in the spring, and one of the more notable names is Taison Chatman, who could wind up being an important player for Utah this season. For Buckeyes fans, the unanswered question is less about who came in than how much was lost in the process. [Read more 🡒]
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The challenge is not just the names on the list, but the way the games are spaced and how quickly the pressure could stack up. With the playoff picture in mind, every early test carries extra weight, and the margin for error gets thin fast when the opponents keep coming. Some projections suggest Ohio State can still navigate it, but the path runs through the kind of stretch that will tell us plenty about how far the Buckeyes can go. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State's Prized 5-Star Recruit Suddenly Faces A Murky Future
Jamier Browns path back to Wayne High School has already turned into a storyline worth watching for Ohio State, where the prized 2027 receiver commitment remains one of the most important early pieces in the class. Brown, a five-star prospect, has stayed committed to the Buckeyes even through coaching changes, giving the program a high-end offensive target to build around as his recruitment moves deeper into high school.
But Browns immediate future has hit a bit of turbulence. He was suspended for two high school games after transferring from Wayne to Big Walnut and then back to Wayne, a move that kept him out of the first two games of the 2026 season. The larger question hovering over the situation is how the school switch came together in the first place, and how much, if any, Ohio State and Ryan Day were involved in it. [Read more 🡒]