Michigan didn’t just beat No. 11 Oklahoma on Saturday - it looked like a different team while doing it.
A week after scraping past Western Michigan 13-12, the Wolverines answered the doubts hanging over them with a 17-10 win over the Sooners to move to 2-0. The final score told one story, but the way Michigan played told a better one: more physical, more composed, and a lot tougher to move around.
Bryce Underwood didn’t light up the stat sheet, finishing with 111 passing yards and 87 rushing yards plus a touchdown, but the numbers don’t capture how steady he looked. He wasn’t forcing throws, he took what was there, and he seemed to settle in once Jason Beck gave him more room to use his legs.
Michigan was never likely to ask him to win this game with big passing numbers, and it didn’t need that. What it got instead was a quarterback who handled the position well and gave the Wolverines something real to build on heading into Week 3.
The biggest reason Michigan controlled the game was up front. Kyle Whittingham said during spring ball that the defensive line was the team’s biggest strength, and that claim held up against Oklahoma.
The Wolverines held the Sooners to 110 rushing yards and kept living in the backfield. John Henry Daley delivered the headline day with a sack and three tackles for loss, while Dom Nichols kept coming hard off the edge despite a facemask penalty in the third quarter.
Trey Pierce and Enow Etta also made their presence felt inside.
That kind of front-line play gave Michigan a chance to dictate terms, and it did.
Still, the discipline issues that showed up against Western Michigan were back again. Michigan had nine penalties in that opener, and it followed that up with 11 penalties for 90 yards against Oklahoma.
The Wolverines twice ran into the punter on special teams, picked up a few unsportsmanlike calls, and had a particularly costly moment in the third quarter when Michigan had Oklahoma pinned inside its own five-yard line, only for Jyaire Hill to hit a Sooners receiver late. Those are the kinds of mistakes that can undo a good day fast.
There were also questions on the offensive line, where Whittingham made a change by replacing Evan Link at left guard with Nate Efobi and starting Brady Norton at right guard. Last week, those three had rotated, but that wasn’t the setup against Oklahoma.
Norton looked solid enough, but Efobi was flagged multiple times and had a rougher day against the Sooners’ defensive front. Pass protection held up for the most part, but Michigan again struggled to generate much push in the run game.
That left the ground attack searching for answers. Jordan Marshall was mostly quiet for a second straight week, Savion Hiter had a few flashes, and neither could really get loose.
Underwood ended up leading the team in rushing, which says plenty about where the Wolverines are right now. Michigan won a huge game, but it also came away with some clear offensive issues it needs to sort out quickly.
In Other News...
Oklahomas O-Line Gets Another Michigan Test Bill Bedenbaugh Must Solve
Oklahoma heads into its Week 2 matchup with Michigan with a familiar mix of relief and uncertainty along the offensive line. Starting center Jake Maikkula is back after recovering from a knee injury, and sophomore Ryan Fodje is set to return at left tackle, giving the Sooners some much-needed stability in front of the quarterback.
Still, the group is not whole. Michael Fasusi is expected to miss the game because of a shoulder injury, which pushes true freshman Noah Best into a start at right guard and leaves Bill Bedenbaugh once again sorting through the pieces. The line coach has already earned praise for the way he has managed the changes, but Michigan presents another early test of just how well those adjustments hold up. [Read more 🡒]
How Much Has Really Changed For OU Since That Michigan Loss
Oklahomas season has already moved well beyond the sting of that loss to Michigan, but the matchup still lingers as a useful marker for how far the Sooners have come. Since then, Brent Venables team has climbed to a 10-3 finish and earned a College Football Playoff berth, with wins over Tennessee and Alabama helping define a year that looked nothing like the uncertainty that surrounded the program earlier.
Michigan, meanwhile, has been sorting through its own next chapter with first-year quarterback Bryce Underwood at the center of it. His debut season gave the Wolverines a new direction, and Oklahomas side of the ledger only makes the question more interesting as both programs head into 2026: how much of that meeting actually still matters, and how much has changed since then? [Read more 🡒]
Sooners Protection Plan Just Changed Ahead Of Michigan
Oklahomas offensive line picture looks a little steadier heading into the Michigan game, with Jake Maikkula and Ryan Fodje expected to be available after sitting out the season opener. That matters for a Sooners offense that needs as many healthy pieces as possible in front of the quarterback, especially with the schedule tightening and the competition level about to jump.
Michael Fasusi, though, is not in the same spot after re-aggravating a shoulder injury, so the protection plan is still not fully settled. There is some good news elsewhere on the depth chart, with Danny Okoye expected back on the defensive side and Parker Livingstone cleared through concussion protocol, but Oklahoma will still be sorting through the implications of those line changes before facing Michigan. [Read more 🡒]