Oklahoma’s first road test comes with a familiar kind of pressure point: the 11th-ranked Sooners head to Ann Arbor for an 11 a.m. Saturday kickoff against Michigan in the Big House, and this one has the feel of a game where the unexpected can pop up fast.
That’s why three bold calls stand out for the Sooners-Wolverines matchup.
Start with the pass rush. Oklahoma’s defense didn’t exactly look finished last week against UTEP, even though it came away with four sacks.
The unit was pretty vanilla, too, and that should change against Michigan. With Danny Okoye and Braxton Fely presumably working into the rotation up front, the Sooners look equipped to heat things up even more.
Brent Venables should have a few wrinkles ready, and Bryce Underwood brings some mobility, but he’s not the most elusive quarterback out there. Taylor Wein and Kip Lewis are expected to take a step forward even against tougher competition, and that should help Oklahoma get to Underwood multiple times early before adding one more late to finish with four sacks.
One of those comes from Cole Sullivan against his former team, after he recorded a sack against the Sooners in last season’s meeting.
On the other side, Rocky Beers looks lined up for a busy day in the passing game. He still hasn’t topped 100 receiving yards in a career game, though he came close with 94 yards and a touchdown on seven catches for Colorado State against Boise State last season.
Against UTEP, he caught two passes for 43 yards and a touchdown. Oklahoma won’t lean as heavily on 13 or 14 personnel against Michigan, but the tight ends should remain central to the offense.
If Michigan’s defense forces John Mateer to work underneath, Beers fits as the ideal outlet on those short throws over the middle. Mateer said earlier this week that he wanted to concentrate on taking what was available, and in this one, that could mean feeding Beers.
Mateer’s own running load should look different, too. Last year against Michigan, he posted a season-high 19 carries, paced Oklahoma’s ground game with 74 yards and two touchdowns, and no other Sooner finished with more than 24 rushing yards.
He had only three carries last week against UTEP, his lowest total since arriving in Norman, but that number should climb on Saturday. Still, with Lloyd Avant and Xavier Robinson set to share work in the backfield and the offense looking more balanced overall - plus Ryan Fodje and Jake Maikkula back on the offensive line - Mateer won’t need to carry the whole thing with his legs this time.
Last week also gave Oklahoma a little preview of what can happen when the line is settling in, as Noah Best became the first Oklahoma freshman offensive lineman to start the season opener since Dru Samia in 2015, and the first center to do it since J.R. Conrad in 1992.
In Other News...
Sooners Protection Plan Just Changed Ahead Of Michigan
A week after opening the season with some shuffling up front, Oklahoma is set to get a little healthier where it matters most against Michigan. Jake Maikkula and Ryan Fodje are expected to be available after sitting out the opener, giving the Sooners more options on the offensive line as they prepare for a far stiffer test in Week 2.
Michael Fasusi, though, will reportedly be unavailable after re-aggravating a shoulder injury, leaving one more question mark in a group that already needed sorting out. There is also some good news elsewhere on the depth chart, with defensive end Danny Okoye expected back and wide receiver Parker Livingstone cleared through concussion protocol, but the line news is the part Oklahoma will be watching most closely heading into the matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Sooners Fans Have A Bittersweet Tress Way Story To Process
Tress Ways NFL run has entered its final chapter, with the longtime Washington Commanders punter saying he expects to retire after the upcoming season. A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Way has spent his entire pro career with Washington since 2014 and built a rsum that includes multiple franchise punting records, making him one of the more durable and recognizable specialists of his era.
For Sooners fans, it is the kind of update that lands with a little extra weight because Way has been part of that familiar Oklahoma pipeline to the league. He was also just named a team captain for the season alongside Jeremy Reaves, a sign that Washington still values what he brings even as the end of the road comes into view. The only real question now is how one more year in Washington will unfold before the goodbye arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Sooner Nation Could Take Over More Of Michigan Than Expected
Less than 24 hours before kickoff in Ann Arbor, the market for Oklahoma-Michigan tickets has turned surprisingly soft, with some seats available in the $44 to $60 range. What had looked like one of the weekends pricier Big Ten-SEC matchups earlier in the summer has become a much easier entry point for Sooners fans who are still trying to make the trip north.
That drop has only added to the sense that Oklahoma could be backed by more than the usual traveling crowd. With Michigan fans cooling on the game after their recent performance, the balance in the stadium may lean more heavily toward crimson than many expected when the matchup was first circled. For a road team in a setting like this, that kind of noise shift can matter almost as much as anything that happens on the field. [Read more 🡒]