Brent Venables had already made his point after Oklahoma’s season-opening win. The Sooners weren’t perfect, he said, and they’d need to be sharper for what was waiting in Ann Arbor.
Then Michigan went out and made the matchup look a whole lot more inviting.
Oklahoma opened with a 51-0 rout of UTEP in Norman, while the No. 16 Wolverines spent Saturday barely hanging on in a 13-12 escape against Western Michigan.
That result not only kept Michigan from absorbing an ugly early loss, it also turned next Saturday’s 11 a.m. CT showdown with OU into a very different kind of ranked game than it looked like on paper.
“We gotta get ready. We gotta be a hell of a lot better here when we go on the road to Ann Arbor,” Venables told SECN+ during his postgame interview after OU’s blowout.
A day later, Oklahoma’s path into that road trip looks cleaner than Michigan’s. The Sooners still have their own issues to sort out, but the Wolverines came away from Week 1 looking like a team that survived more than it solved.
Michigan needed a last-gasp miracle to avoid what would have been a catastrophic upset and a serious hit to its College Football Playoff hopes. Even with the win, the Wolverines are expected to slide in next week’s rankings, and there’s little reason for anyone to treat them like a playoff-caliber team right now.
The finish was chaotic enough that fans at The Big House stormed the field after the escape. Western Michigan had actually thought it had pulled off the upset first, only for a review of a failed Hail Mary attempt to put one second back on the clock and give Michigan one more chance. The NBC broadcast crew even disagreed with the ruling and said the game should have ended with the Broncos on top.
Instead, Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood launched a 47-yard throw to JJ Buchanan in the end zone as time expired again.
Was there time left?🤔
One second was added after this play, leading to a Michigan Hail Mary walk-off.
(via NBC) pic.twitter.com/2rVU5mVTqK
- On3 (@On3) September 6, 2026
MICHIGAN DOES THE UNBELIEVABLE ON THE FINAL PLAY OF THE GAME 😱
THEY PUT ONE SECOND BACK ON THE CLOCK AND MICHIGAN CAPITALIZES TO WIN IT!
📺: NBC pic.twitter.com/dTmoS82w2C
- FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 6, 2026
Storming the field against western Michigan🤨🤨🤣🤣
- Danny Stutsman (@Danny_Stutsman) September 6, 2026
For most of the afternoon, Michigan looked stuck in neutral. The Wolverines led only 7-6 at halftime, and even that edge nearly disappeared when Western Michigan linebacker Dillon Moore intercepted Underwood and appeared to return it for a pick-6 before it was ruled he stepped out of bounds at Michigan’s 27-yard line. The Broncos settled for a field goal after that sequence with nine seconds left in the half.
Outside of the opening scripted drive and the final Hail Mary, Michigan did not find the end zone. The offense was the glaring problem, while the defense was the side doing enough to keep the Wolverines alive.
Michigan finished with just 276 total yards, and 150 of them came on the first and last drives of the game. Underwood completed 54.5% of his passes for 170 yards, with 47 of those yards coming on one throw, and he turned it over twice.
Western Michigan is not a powerhouse defense, but it was still enough to expose issues Michigan is unlikely to solve by next week. Oklahoma, meanwhile, should have a week to clean up some of its own minor problems and may also get back two starting offensive linemen.
If the Sooners needed a reminder that they should be ready for a tougher test in Ann Arbor, Michigan just provided one.
In Other News...
Danny Saili Is Already Forcing His Way Into Oklahomas Plans
Danny Sailis move to Oklahoma has already started to pay off for the Sooners. The former Arkansas linebacker, now cleared by the NCAA, was on the field for Oklahomas season opener and has wasted little time getting comfortable in Brent Venables defense, a system that asks a lot from its linebackers and rewards players who can pick things up quickly.
What has stood out most inside the building is how seamlessly Saili has fit in with the group. Coaches and teammates have pointed to his experience and the way he adds competition and depth, the kind of presence that can matter over the long grind of a season. For Oklahoma, the early signs suggest this was more than just a routine transfer addition. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Is Counting On Reggie Powers In A Crucial Defensive Test
Oklahoma enters the new season facing an important adjustment on defense after losing Kendal Daniels, whose strong year ended with a draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons. The Sooners are now looking for returning talent to absorb the production gap, and Reggie Powers is a central part of that plan after spending last season in a supporting role.
Powers is expected to move into the starting cheetah spot, a bigger job on a unit that wants to stay strong without Daniels presence. He has already shown excitement about the expanded opportunity, and Oklahomas confidence in the defense will depend in part on how quickly he can translate that promise into steady play. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas Season Opener Said Plenty About This Team Fast
UTEPs season opener in Norman turned into a long afternoon almost immediately, with the Miners falling behind early and never finding a way to make Oklahoma uncomfortable in a 51-0 loss to the No. 10 Sooners. Scotty Walden spent his postgame remarks sorting through the obvious setbacks, with special teams standing out as a particular problem, even as he tried to keep the bigger picture in view for a roster still trying to take shape.
There was at least some encouragement for UTEP on the offensive side, and Walden said he sees room for the group to keep developing after a game like this. The schedule does not offer much time to ease into that process, either, with Michigan, Texas Southern and Oregon State all still ahead in non-conference play, so the Miners will need whatever lessons they can carry out of Week 1. [Read more 🡒]