David Pollack is sticking with Oklahoma in Saturday’s showdown at Michigan, and he isn’t hiding why.
The Sooners rolled into the season with a 51-0 demolition of UTEP, while the Wolverines had to sweat through a 13-12 escape against Western Michigan. That gap in Week 1 performance has Pollack leaning hard toward Oklahoma when the two heavyweights meet in Ann Arbor.
"Oklahoma looks way better," Pollack said on 'See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack.'" There's no way I can pick Michigan after last week and what I saw in the struggles, but I do think it'll be somewhat competitive.
I got it like 24-17. Oklahoma winning the football game at Michigan."
It’s a matchup with real history, even if the series is tiny. Oklahoma and Michigan have played only twice.
The first meeting came in 1976, when the Sooners beat Michigan in the Orange Bowl to win the national championship. The other was last year, when Oklahoma handled Michigan in Norman.
This will also be Oklahoma’s first trip to Ann Arbor.
The opener comparison tells the story. Oklahoma put up 401 yards of total offense and never let UTEP breathe.
Michigan, on the other hand, needed a controversial final sequence just to avoid a loss to Western Michigan. The Wolverines’ defense held up well enough, limiting Western Michigan to 221 yards, but the offense never found a steady rhythm.
Pollack still sees reasons for caution if you’re Oklahoma. Michigan has talent, a strong defense and the home crowd behind it, which is why he expects the game to be close even while picking the Sooners.
Oklahoma and Michigan kick off at 11:00 a.m. CT on Saturday on Fox.
In Other News...
Michael Hawkins Jr. Is Making Oklahomas QB Problem Even Harder To Ignore
Michael Hawkins Jr. has made an immediate impression since leaving Oklahoma for West Virginia, piling up productive rushing games against Coastal Carolina and UT Martin and showing the kind of dual-threat burst that once made him an intriguing option in Norman. For Oklahoma fans still watching from afar, it is a familiar sort of frustration: the former Sooner is finding his footing somewhere else, while the quarterback situation back home remains under a microscope.
John Mateer is still holding the starting job, but that has not quieted the debate around Oklahomas offense. The criticism has grown around his play, and with little proven depth behind him, the Sooners do not have many easy answers if they want a different look under center. Hawkins early success only sharpens the contrast between two quarterbacks with different styles, and it leaves Oklahoma trying to balance patience with a problem it cannot really ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma's Run Game Debate Just Got A Telling Player Response
After Oklahomas loss to Michigan, the conversation around the Sooners run game quickly shifted from production to philosophy, with plenty of heat aimed at the game plan and play calling. One of the transfers in the backfield, Avant, offered a more measured read on how it all unfolded, saying he felt in rhythm during the game and believed the coach put him in the best position possible even if the workload did not look like many around the program expected.
Avants response matters because it cuts against the growing criticism and gives a glimpse at how the backfield is processing a performance that left plenty of questions behind. For Oklahoma, the issue is not just whether the offense can run the ball better, but how much of the frustration comes from execution and how much comes from the way the staff is choosing to use its backs, a debate that is only going to get louder if the ground game keeps looking this way. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma May Have Found Its Answer In The Backfield
Oklahomas early-season rushing issues have left Brent Venables searching for a steadier answer in the backfield, and Tory Blaylock is starting to re-enter that conversation. After missing the opener with a hamstring injury, the running back made his season debut recently, and Venables said Blaylock is now fully healthy and back in the mix for playing time.
For a Sooners offense that has needed more push on the ground, Blaylocks return gives the staff another option to lean on as the schedule tightens. His availability matters not just because of what he can add individually, but because Oklahoma has been looking for someone to help settle the run game into something more dependable. [Read more 🡒]