Oklahoma got a break in Week 1, even if it came in the wildest possible fashion.
Michigan’s last-play Hail Mary to beat Western Michigan 13-12 on Saturday night kept the 16th-ranked Wolverines from taking a brutal opening-week loss, but it also softened the edge on what looked like a massive opportunity for the Sooners. Oklahoma travels to Ann Arbor in Week 2 for the second half of the home-and-home series, and that game suddenly feels a little less daunting than it did before kickoff in Michigan’s opener.
The finish itself was pure chaos. On the play before the winning throw, the clock showed triple zeroes before Bryce Underwood launched a desperation pass that hit the turf.
Officials gathered, then ruled there was still one second left. Michigan got one more snap, one more shot, and the Hail Mary ended in the end zone for a walk-off touchdown.
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
That escape matters for Oklahoma’s résumé, too. If Michigan had lost to Western Michigan, a Sooners win over the Wolverines on Saturday would carry a very different look later in the season. Now Oklahoma still needs to do its part, but at least the immediate damage to the strength of schedule picture was avoided.
The Sooners and Wolverines are meeting in the back half of a series that started last season, when Oklahoma won 23-14 in Norman. This will be Oklahoma’s first trip ever to Michigan Stadium, a place that seats 107,000-plus.
Michigan will not be walking into that matchup in a great mood. The Wolverines entered Saturday as nearly 28-point favorites, yet the offense turned it over three times and managed only 276 total yards against a Western Michigan team that kept flying to the ball. The Broncos, the reigning MAC champions, were coming off a season in which they had the conference’s second-best defense and plenty of returning starters on that side of the ball.
Still, Oklahoma should expect a much tougher version of Michigan this week than the one that showed up against Western Michigan. The Wolverines will be trying to clean up a sloppy opener and erase the sting of last year’s loss to the Sooners.
Oklahoma, meanwhile, arrives with its own momentum. The Sooners rolled past UTEP 51-0 to open the season, piling up 401 yards of offense.
That was notable on its own, since OU topped 400 yards only three times all of last season. The defense was just as sharp on the scoreboard, holding UTEP to 198 total yards.
Even with the shutout, Brent Venables wasn’t fully pleased with the way his defense played.
"There's plenty of things we got to clean up," Venables said during his postgame press conference. "Thought we were sloppy tackling on defense.
I didn't like that at all. We got a little loose in coverage as well.
They didn't make us pay, but good teams are going to make us pay moving forward."
That message will matter in Ann Arbor. Michigan may have stumbled into a miracle, but it still has real issues to sort out. Oklahoma, for its part, gets a chance to test itself against a wounded opponent and try to turn a tricky road trip into something that can shape the rest of the season.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Just Got An Unexpected Late Boost In A Thin Secondary
A thin secondary got a little more help late in the cycle when Brent Venables landed a transfer commitment from former Wisconsin starter DYoni Hill. Hill brings a journeyman path through Miami, Marshall and Wisconsin, and he arrives with the kind of experience Oklahoma has been hunting as it tries to steady a cornerback group that needed more bodies and proven reps.
Jaydon Southard from Stephen F. Austin is another name worth watching as Oklahoma keeps working the transfer market for help on defense. The Sooners have been aggressive about adding depth where it matters most, and Southards fit could give Venables another option if the interest turns into a commitment. [Read more 🡒]
Red River Just Got More Personal For Oklahoma After One Transfer
The Red River rivalry has always carried enough emotion without any extra backstory, but the player movement between Oklahoma and Texas has given this years meeting a different kind of edge. Parker Livingstones move from Texas to Oklahoma adds a fresh layer to a matchup that already lives on history, bragging rights and every small detail that can tilt the week one way or the other.
Hollywood Smothers going the other direction only sharpens that feeling for Sooners fans, because these swaps turn a familiar rivalry into something more personal on both sidelines. Steve Sarkisians acknowledgment that some departures were made to create room for new transfers only underscores how modern roster building now bleeds into one of college footballs most traditional games, making the next Red River showdown feel even more charged. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Transfer LB Is Earning Praise Before A Very Personal Test
Cole Sullivan has settled into a useful role for Oklahoma as the Sooners continue building depth on defense, and his work in the 51-0 win over UTEP drew a little more attention than usual. The junior linebacker finished with one tackle and one pass breakup, and Pro Football Focus gave him a 71.2 grade, a small but encouraging sign for a player who has made his value by being athletic, reliable and quick to process the action in front of him.
Now comes a much more personal matchup. Sullivan is getting ready to face Michigan, the program he transferred from, and the Sooners will be watching to see how he handles a game that carries more meaning than the average nonconference date. He has been backing up at middle linebacker while fitting smoothly into Oklahomas defense, but this one gives him a chance to show how far he has come since leaving Ann Arbor. [Read more 🡒]