Michigan at Oklahoma: Fun facts and interesting notes ahead of Week 2

The Michigan Wolverines head to Oklahoma on Saturday for a showdown that the college football world will be watching closely.

Michigan beat New Mexico 34-17 in its opener with quarterback Bryce Underwood at the center of the storylines, going 21-for-31 for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns in his collegiate debut. The Sooners took down Illinois State 35-3 in their opener on Saturday, headlined by a show-stopping performance from quarterback John Mateer, who went 30-for-37 for 392 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Michigan and Oklahoma have met only once on the gridiron, a 14-6 Sooner victory in the 1975 Orange Bowl. Saturday’s game will also be a homecoming of sorts for head coach Sherrone Moore, who went to Oklahoma and played offensive line from 2006-07.

Saturday’s game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on ABC. ESPN’s College GameDay will also be live from the Norman in the morning. The trip down to Oklahoma will be the first road game U-M has played against an SEC opponent. BetMGM has U-M as a 5.5-point underdog with the over/under set at 45.5 points.

The following notes were shared this week via the Michigan Athletic Department.

• The Wolverines travel to Norman, Oklahoma, this weekend for a matchup with the No. 18-ranked Sooners. It marks U-M’s first road matchup of the year with a top-25 team after three such contests last year (1-2; at Illinois, at Indiana, at Ohio State).

• As U-M readies for another night game kick, the program is riding a 13-game winning streak in night games (5 p.m. local kick time) and has won 18 of its last 20; last loss was in the 2022 CFP semifinal against Georgia.

• Twelve (12) Wolverines made their collegiate debuts in the team’s week one victory; another nine players made U-M debuts after earning playing time at previous institutions.

• Four players were first-time starters: Channing Goodwin (wide receiver) and Bryce Underwood (quarterback) on offense and Brandyn Hillman (defensive back) on defense, plus Andrew Marsh on special teams (kick returner).

• Underwood’s 251 passing yards (21-of-31 attempts) set a new standard for passing yards by a freshman signal caller in his debut, surpassing the record of 179 set by Tate Forcier in 2009. The 251 passing yards represent the sixth-highest total for any U-M quarterback in their first career start.

• Oklahoma’s quarterback John Mateer set a record of his own in the Sooners’ Week One victory, throwing for 392 yards (30-of-37 attempts) and three touchdowns to set a quarterback debut passing yardage record. It was a career high figure for Mateer.

• Tight end Marlin Klein set career highs in Michigan’s win, pacing all U-M pass catchers in receptions (six), yards (93) and touchdowns (one) to set new single-game bests across the board. The touchdown came on the 17th catch of No. 17’s career.

• Explosive plays were a struggle for the U-M offense in 2024, but the Wolverines ripped off six plays of 20-plus yards in game one. Channing Goodwin’s 39-yard reception was the longest passing play, while Justice Haynes popped for 56 and 59-yard runs.

• Haynes’ 56-yard touchdown came on the seventh play of the game and was longer than any offensive touchdown play for U-M in all of 2024.

• Overall, the team’s total offensive output (452 yards) was its highest since Week 3 of the 2023 season (492 yards against UNLV).

• The defense limited big plays from the Lobos to two passing gains of 20 and 25 yards and 267 yards overall. New Mexico averaged just 1.8 yards per rush and lost 35 yards on sacks and tackles for loss.

• Twenty-five (25) different players recorded at least a share of a tackle or hurried the quarterback on defense, not including several players who made tackles on special teams plays.

• U-M forced three turnovers, with TJ Guy, Brandyn Hillman and Cole Sullivan each recording the first reception of their respective careers.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore weighs in on Oklahoma

Mateer, who some have as a dark horse Heisman contender, has Michigan on high alert this weekend. Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore sees a playmaker who thrives in improvisational situations.

“He’s an electric quarterback,” Moore said Monday. “He’s a gunslinger. People keep comparing him to Baker Mayfield because he’s a shorter quarterback, but he’s got his differences. He’s a quarterback who can make every throw, off-schedule throws. He can run the football. So we got to do a good job of keeping him off schedule, but not making sure that he can’t just have free windows and covering guys up when they’re downfield, because they do have speed on the outside lanes to run, and the O-line is good.

“Have a great plan to keep him rattled and change the picture on him so he’s not comfortable. I know they’re going to be fast. I know they’re going to be physical. They’re going to be fundamentally sound and they’re going to try to tackle as well as they can. So, but our job is to try to make a miss and be explosive on offense. So we’ve got to do things to counteract his thought process and how he puts together the plan. So that’s what we’re going to attempt to do.”