Michigan spent the better part of the last week defending itself from more than just a bad final sequence against Western Michigan. The Wolverines took the 13-12 win, but the conversation around the program has turned into something much uglier: a public teardown of how they looked, how they played and why so many people are ready to bury them after one game.
That’s the strange reality for a team that should be focused on Oklahoma. Instead, Michigan has been dragged back into the final seconds of Week 1, when the MAC’s attempt to get the result overturned never had a real chance. Still, by explaining why officials were wrong to put one second back on the clock, the MAC managed to make the whole episode feel bigger than the score itself.
Western Michigan handled the loss with class. Michigan, meanwhile, came out looking like the team that stole the moment, even though the Big Ten replay process had nothing to do with it. And because the Wolverines were sloppy, flat and overconfident, the optics got worse fast.
“We just went out there and played soft, simple as that,” safety Rod Moore said.
That word - soft - has hung over Michigan all week, and it’s the kind of label that sticks when a team wins but still walks away embarrassed. If Bryce Underwood’s final pass had simply sailed out of the end zone and the game had ended there, Michigan might have caught a sliver of sympathy.
Not much, but some. At the very least, a loss would have ended the debate and spared the program the extra layer of outrage that followed.
Instead, a huge chunk of the country is now waiting to see whether Oklahoma can deliver the kind of punishment that makes Week 1 look even worse. The No. 11 Sooners have enough talent to turn this into a lopsided mess.
“If you come out how we came out soft against Western Michigan, it’s going to be way more embarrassing than that was,” Moore said.
Still, it’s worth remembering that one awful September game does not always define a season. Michigan was viewed by many smart observers as a sleeper before the year began.
And college football has already shown plenty of examples of teams taking a bad early loss and moving on to something much better. Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois in 2024 and won its next 13 games en route to the College Football Playoff championship game.
Oregon’s last two games against Boise State both came down to the wire.
Michigan isn’t on that level, but the Western Michigan game also wasn’t a clean read on what the Wolverines might become. The defense did its job, keeping the Broncos out of the end zone and holding them to 3.3 yards per play. The offense never got into any rhythm, running only 48 plays, and the self-inflicted damage came from turnovers and penalties that don’t have to follow them into Week 2.
The bigger issue now is quarterback play. Michigan needs enough at that spot to keep the season from slipping away, and that’s where things have gotten awkward.
Whittingham said this week that Underwood’s hold on the starting job wasn’t “infinite.” When a reporter relayed that comment to Underwood, he answered, “That’s cool.”
It’s not exactly the tone a team wants going into one of its biggest games of the season. But there’s still time for Underwood to steady himself.
He threw for 251 yards in his first collegiate start before any of his coaches could really start shaping the picture around him. Whatever regression showed up after that isn’t all on him, and the talent is still there if he can tap back into it.
For now, though, the easy move is to pile on Michigan. The Wolverines earned plenty of that. And if nothing changes by Saturday, Brent Venables’ defense could make things look far worse, shifting the conversation from the CFP to simply getting to a bowl game.
Even so, Moore doesn’t sound like a player ready to accept the collapse narrative.
“We’re Michigan,” Moore said. “We’re not (some) lay-down, soft school.
Even though we may have played bad last week, it was the first game. First-game jitters are out the window.”
In Other News...
Oklahoma Faces One Big O-Line Concern Going Into Michigan
Oklahomas offensive line left the season opener with more questions than answers, even before the Sooners got a full read on how the group will hold up against a far stiffer test. Starter Jake Maikkula and Ryan Fodje were already sidelined, and Michael Fasusi left early with a shoulder injury, forcing the staff to piece together protection on the fly while the offense worked through the game.
There is at least some optimism going into Week 2, with Maikkula and Fodje expected back for Michigan. Fasusi is the name to watch, though, because his status is still uncertain and that leaves one important spot in limbo as Oklahoma prepares for a defense that will make any weakness up front hard to hide. Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle sounded confident the unit can adjust, but the Sooners would clearly prefer to arrive in Ann Arbor with the line closer to full strength. [Read more 🡒]
Brent Venables Defends What Makes Oklahoma Different From Everyone Else
Scheduling elite nonconference games has become part of the Oklahoma identity, and Brent Venables made it clear he does not see that as a coincidence. With the Sooners fresh off a matchup with Michigan, the head coach pointed to the value of opening the season against top programs, saying those games help prepare his team while also giving recruits a clear picture of the standard in Norman.
Venables also acknowledged the college football landscape could eventually make those kinds of matchups less common if playoff structures change. Even so, he framed them as a differentiator for Oklahoma, one of the few programs willing to test itself early against the sports best and live with the results because of what it means long term. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas New Portal Defenders Could Spark A Real 2026 Debate
Oklahoma kept working the transfer portal for defense, and the latest wave of additions has a distinctly future-facing feel. The Sooners brought in defensive tackles Danny Saili and Braxton Fely, linebacker Jaydon Southard and cornerback DYoni Hill, all players who could become part of the conversation for the 2026 roster as the staff keeps building out depth and competition on that side of the ball.
What makes the group more intriguing is the timing. Because of a temporary restraining order, the four newcomers are eligible to play in 2026, giving Oklahoma a chance to evaluate how their previous experience translates once they arrive in Norman. For a defense that always has spots to win and roles to settle, these are the kinds of portal moves that can quietly shape a depth chart long before the season actually gets here. [Read more 🡒]