What they're saying before Michigan football battles Oklahoma

Michigan Wolverines football is set for a clash with Oklahoma Saturday night in Norman. Here’s a look around the internet at what they’re saying before kickoff.

Joel Klatt, Fox Sports: College Football Week 2 Picks, Preview: What To Expect in Cy-Hawk, Michigan-OU

Remember what I said about conference narratives being formed this week? This is a big one in the Big Ten vs. SEC narrative.

This is the first big test for two programs that revamped their offenses after a disappointing 2024 on that side of the ball. For Michigan, this will mark true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood’s first road start. Obviously, that’s noteworthy as you have no real way to create that sort of environment in the practices leading up to that game. That’s a great environment Underwood is going into as Oklahoma seeks to create some early momentum before dealing with a gauntlet of an SEC schedule.

As I previously touched on, Underwood had a solid showing in his college debut. He looked as good as a freshman could look, making decisive throws and knowing what he was looking at. That decisiveness will be important as Oklahoma’s defense is much more creative, aggressive and athletic than what he saw against New Mexico.

And while this is Underwood’s first road start, I actually think Michigan is going to need to lean on him throwing the ball and his athleticism as a runner. We didn’t really see Michigan deploy Underwood as a runner last week, with running back Justice Haynes having a big game in his Wolverines debut (159 yards, three touchdowns). If Michigan can get a lead early, that would allow it to at least utilize the run game a bit more.

Oklahoma, meanwhile, has some experience with its new quarterback. John Mateer came in from Washington State in what I thought was one of the top transfer moves of the offseason. He’s also working with the same offensive coordinator he had at Washington State last season, Ben Arbuckle. That familiarity is crucial early in the season because Mateer didn’t have to learn any new schematic language over the offseason. In turn, Mateer had an impressive Oklahoma debut in Week 1, throwing for 392 yards and scoring four total touchdowns in the win over Illinois State.

What was concerning from that game, though, was that Oklahoma didn’t run the ball too well. It only rushed for 3.2 yards per carry and Jadyn Ott, who was a big transfer addition from Cal, only played four snaps. Brent Venables claims that Ott’s low usage was planned, saying they want to ease him in due to his explosiveness. But it has me wondering about Ott’s health.

The one big thing to pay attention to in this game is Michigan linebacker Jaishawn Barham’s suspension for the first half. Barham will miss the first half due to a targeting penalty (which I do not agree with) that he was called for in the second half of Michigan’s win over New Mexico. After speaking with some Michigan folks, they feel they’ll be able to weather Barham’s absence because they feel pretty good about their linebacker depth.

Still, I think Oklahoma wins this game, but slightly.

Pick: Oklahoma 28, Michigan 24 (Michigan +5.5)

Austin Meek, The Athletic: How 18-year-old QB Bryce Underwood has already revolutionized Michigan football

While many of the collectives that sprung up in the early days of NIL have closed their doors, Champions Circle is still going strong, even if it’s undergoing a rebrand.

Instead of calling itself a collective, Champions Circle now refers to itself as a fan engagement platform that provides ways for fans and players to interact via autograph signings, donor events and a new digital media network that puts athletes in the role of content creators.

The biggest schools are spending more than $25 million on their football rosters. Not all of that can come from revenue sharing funds, which are capped at $20.5 million and typically distributed among a handful of sports, with football getting 70 to 75 percent. Entities like Champions Circle have a role in helping programs spend above the cap by facilitating deals that can be approved by the newly formed College Sports Commission, which recently softened its stance barring deals with collectives.

So far, Michigan is looking like one of the early winners of the revenue-sharing era. After signing Underwood and a top-10 recruiting class for 2025, the Wolverines are working on another top-10 class for 2026, highlighted by five-star running back Savion Hiter.

If Underwood plays his cards right, he’ll be extremely wealthy before he takes a snap in the NFL. Yes, Michigan is paying him a lot of money. Rich schools will always have donors eager to help with the payroll. But when the offers are relatively even, it’s the total experience that makes the difference.

Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News: Wojo’s Pigskin Picks: Underwood hype excessive? Watch out if Wolverines beat Sooners!

I’m not here to feed the hype. I swear, I’m not. Michigan is headed to Oklahoma for a Saturday night showdown, so Sooners coach Brent Venables is the one in charge of the hype. He compared Underwood to another immensely touted quarterback who went undefeated as a freshman, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence. Venables, determined to restore the Sooners’ reputation for brutish defense, plans to throw the kitchen sink – and the cattle trough – at Underwood.

To his credit, Sherrone Moore has tried to tamp down the fanfare, spending the whole summer pretending there was a competition for the starting job. Then Underwood went out last week and did things no Michigan quarterback had ever done, at least not since 2023. Underwood was smooth and poised and flicked the football so effortlessly against New Mexico, commentators raved and fans rejoiced. By the end of the third quarter, the Michigan Stadium crowd was singing along to “Mr. Bryce-side,” and the next day his No. 19 jersey was selling in Ann Arbor faster than mango-flavored edibles.

Michael Cohen and RJ Young, Fox Sports: Bryce Underwood’s Rise, Michigan’s Stakes, and a CFP Moment in Norman

Michigan is set to travel to Norman to take on Oklahoma this weekend in a top-20 showdown. How much will this game shape the national perception of Michigan’s College Football Playoff chances this season – and how much of that falls on the shoulders of freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood?

RJ Young: If Michigan is to reach the national title game, beating a team like Oklahoma on the road is exactly what Bryce Underwood and the Wolverines will have to do. With a superstar freshman at QB and a stout defense, the Wolverines will hope to emulate Dabo Swinney’s 2018 Clemson Tigers and run the table. With Underwood, they have a player with the talent to do just that.

However, Oklahoma will not make it easy. Brent Venables is calling the defense — like he did for 2018 Clemson — and they have their own supreme talent at QB in John Mateer, who set a school record for passing yards in a debut with 392. This is the kind of game Michigan needs to win to convince others it’s a national title-caliber team in 2025.

Michael Cohen: Before diving into Saturday’s matchup between No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 15 Michigan, which features two programs right on the edge of the College Football Playoff conversation, let’s take a moment to consider how impressive Underwood’s debut was last weekend, less than two weeks removed from his 18th birthday. Underwood completed 21 of 31 passes for 251 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in an exceptional performance that only amplified the incredible expectations that have been heaped onto his broad shoulders for years. His 251 passing yards were the most during any debut by a Michigan freshman in school history. His four completions of 25-plus yards nearly matched the total of six produced by three Wolverines quarterbacks combined last season. He flashed tremendous arm strength, velocity and conviction on short and intermediate throws, some of which were zipped into tight windows, and he displayed beautiful touch on a lofted throw to tight end Marlin Klein from a precarious situation deep in his own territory.

Justin Williams, The Athletic: Week 2’s top 10 college football games: Michigan-Oklahoma, rivalry games take top spots

This is only the second-ever meeting between these blue bloods, with the Sooners winning the 1976 Orange Bowl. It should be a fun quarterback matchup between Oklahoma’s John Mateer and Michigan true freshman Bryce Underwood. Mateer broke Baker Mayfield’s record for most passing yards in a Sooners debut with 392 last week against Illinois State, but how will he handle what could be a solid Michigan defense? Underwood was similarly impressive in his first college game, but does his performance dip against a more talented defense and with a week of game film available? There are some coach narratives in this one as well, with Michigan’s Sherrone Moore facing his alma mater ahead of a uniquely structured suspension, and Oklahoma’s Brent Venables hoping to ward off any hot-seat talk with a big win.

David Cobb, CBS Sports: Michigan vs. Oklahoma prediction, pick, odds, spread: Bryce Underwood, John Mateer headline Week 2 clash

Oklahoma and its new quarterback, John Mateer, are in for a rude awakening against Michigan’s defense after struggling to run the football against Illinois State in Week 1. Similarly, the Wolverines and their freshman star QB Bryce Underwood are walking into an absolute hornet’s nest. The Palace on the Prairie will be next-level electric, and the Sooners’ loaded front seven is going to wreak some havoc. It should take both offenses some time to get settled, and touchdowns will be difficult for both teams to find in what’s shaping up to be a defensive slugfest.

George Stoia, Sooner Scoop: Why the Michigan game is the biggest of the Brent Venables era

Venables can certainly prove his worth on Saturday. But he hasn’t exactly fared well in these types of games as OU’s head coach. He’s 4-5 versus top 25 teams and 2-4 versus top 15 teams. He’s also 5-9 in one-score games. 

However, that narrative can shift — or at least begin to shift — with a statement win against a strong team and a historic program like Michigan, which won the national title just two years ago. That’s why, in many ways, it’s the biggest game of his head coaching career, even if he doesn’t see it that way. 

“Today was the biggest game of the year for Oklahoma,” Venables said after beating Illinois State. “Some people, they don’t like that. And that’s cool. This next game’ll be the biggest game of the year. And I’ve coached in a lot of games where it was the biggest games of my career. I’ll run out of fingers and toes where I’ve had that same attitude. I’ve never been in a game bigger than this one.”

Win or lose, Venables and his team will still have 10 more games this season to prove themselves. And some of those games will end up being bigger than this one — looking for revenge at the Cotton Bowl, daunting road trips to Tennessee and Alabama, and facing a few former Sooners in Norman, in Auburn and LSU.