What they're saying about Michigan football's loss at Oklahoma

The Michigan Wolverines fell 24-13 at Oklahoma on Saturday night in a game that drew plenty of reactions from the local and national media following a disappointing effort.

Below is a sampling of the narratives coming out of the showdown, centered around a Michigan team that did not show enough poise in key situations on the road in Norman.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore

I mean, I think for us, we’ll watch it on the film and really gauge and see what we need to get better at. I thought on defense, the adjustments in the second half were really good. We got tackled better on defense. I thought there were some missed tackles that we made. And then offensively, just the overall execution. When you play offensive football, one person misses, one person misses here. You have an un-executed play, so we gotta do better at that.

Chris Balas, The Wolverine

Oklahoma 24, Michigan 13: Notes, quotes, and observations — no bright spots

Many will point to poor offensive line play, lack of a vertical passing game, limited pass rush, poor tackling, etc. (etc.) as culprits in a 24-13 Michigan loss at Oklahoma, and they’ll have a point. Often, though, you can point to positives and those “things to build on” in games like this, one that was a logical (and yes, expected, as least here) loss to what appears to be an improved Sooners team. 

Our concerns go a bit deeper on this early Sunday morning. It’s one thing to lose, but it’s another to look completely disjointed regardless of the opponent … and, dare we say, out-physicaled. The Sooners took the fight to the Wolverines from the first snap, winning both lines of scrimmage most of the night, but especially with their defensive line vs. the Wolverines’ overmatched offensive line. 

Like last year’s home game with Texas, this was the litmus test, and the Wolverines failed badly. Yes, it was “only” a 24-13 game on the scoreboard, but the Sooners’ two turnovers (to Michigan’s none) gave U-M life when they were on their heels and allowed them to hang around longer than they should have. 

To their credit, Michigan came out swinging in the second half to make a game of it for a short time, but those plays you used to know were coming — a timely sack, a pick, a key first down pass — were missed opportunities Saturday night behind a freshman quarterback who, not surprisingly, played a bit like one when his teammates struggled with him.

John Borton, The Wolverine

Michigan’s Sooner sadness could pay dividends later

The Wolverines require greater discipline for road wins. Michigan played the first half of this major showdown without one of the hardest-hitting defenders in the nation, senior Jaishawn Barham. That’s because Barham went facemask to facemask with New Mexico’s QB a week earlier, instead of lowering his aim by six inches. Barham drew a first-half suspension for targeting, and missed what proved to be a decisive first half. When Michigan appeared to have the Sooners stopped on a late, clock-eating drive, grad transfer defensive tackle Tre Williams dove over the pile to grab a handful of Mateer’s facemask, extending the drive and draining precious seconds off the clock. Michigan also burned precious timeouts trying to get organized prior to the snap.

Underwood himself showed his frustration in an emotional bark-off with junior transfer running back Justice Haynes on the sidelines. It’s a high-emotion game, certainly. The dustup got quickly settled, but road environments call for Michigan Vs. Everybody, not Michigan Vs. Michigan.

“Right after that happened, they talked it over and they were fine,” Moore assured. “It’s competitive. They’re competitors. They just both want to be right, both be on the same page. Handle it right and make good plays.”

Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire

Five takeaways from Michigan football’s faceplant in Oklahoma

The defensive line wasn’t nearly as troubling as its offensive counterpart, but after years of being the ‘boa constrictor,’ an aggressive team on both sides of the ball, Saturday marked a rare instance where both lines were outmatched, overworked, and taken advantage of.

The offensive line was particularly atrocious, made the worse by El-Hadi’s injury. But even before he went down, there were massive leaks and Underwood was running for his life all day. What’s more, outside of Haynes’ 75-yard TD, the run game got next to nothing going on the ground. 

There wasn’t one single player who didn’t err at some point — all had their moments being passed by, pancaked, and flat-out embarrassed. It was not a strong showing by the once proud unit.

The defensive front was better, however, it often failed to get pressure, despite Oklahoma appearing susceptible in Week 1. Now, John Mateer did get hit a few times, but never was put on the ground. He did make solid, if not spectacular throws under pressure, but the one part of the team that appeared set to dominate this season — if not in this game — never appeared to find its footing.

Both sides got pushed around, which was not encouraging. Now, Oklahoma (not currently seen as one of the top teams in the SEC) may actually be pretty good — but it’s far too early to tell. If that’s the case, using the Sooners as a barometer, Michigan is at least a few years removed from its prior dominance up front. And, at worst, the legacy (at least the offensive line) is completely gone.

Austin Meek, The Athletic

Michigan-Oklahoma wasn’t supposed to be about Sherrone Moore. But that’s how it ended up

No. 15 Michigan lost 24-13 to No. 18 Oklahoma in a major test of mettle for both teams. Moore got exactly what he didn’t want: a game that was about him.

What happens on the field is always about the head coach, in one way or another. Moore got a pass last year because the program he inherited was reeling from Jim Harbaugh’s departure and a mess of NCAA allegations. This year, Moore’s fingerprints are much more apparent.

Bryce Underwood, the freshman quarterback who went 9-for-24? He’s Moore’s guy. Chip Lindsey, the offensive coordinator who couldn’t get the offense in gear? He was Moore’s hire. The field goals in the red zone? Those were Moore’s calls.

Michigan is Moore’s team now, despite the fact that someone else will be coaching the Wolverines next week against Central Michigan and the week after at Nebraska. 

Stewart Mandel, The Athletic

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Billy Napier’s nightmare, Oklahoma’s revival and more Week 2

Michigan freshman sensation Bryce Underwood had a tough night in Norman (9-of-24 for 142 yards), but it’s hard to be critical of his passing when he appeared to have few options to throw to. Without injured tight end Marlin Klein, who had six catches for 93 yards against New Mexico, the Wolverines seemed to have just one receiver who could get open, Indiana transfer Donaven McCulley (three catches, 91 yards). Despite the Wolverines continually having to settle for field goals, Underwood kept his team within one score, 21-13, well into the fourth quarter. And he finished his first road start without a turnover.

I’d call his performance encouraging, even if underwhelming. He’s probably not going to lead Michigan to a national title this season, but I assume he and the offense will improve over the course of the year.

Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press

Bryce Underwood and Michigan football learn lesson vs Oklahoma: Playing QB is hard

J.J. McCarthy never had to deal with what Bryce Underwood just did. No, not a swarming defense. The former Michigan football quarterback and his compatriots faced that many times − Penn State, Ohio State and Alabama, to name a few − en route to three Big Ten titles and a College Football Playoff championship over the Wolverines’ epic three-season run.

But McCarthy never had to do it by himself.

The Wolverines’ run game was stifled on Saturday, Sept. 6 – perhaps the primary reason for U-M’s 24-13 defeat. The raw numbers looked fine: 32 carries for 146 yards and one touchdown. But one play skewed the 4.6-yard average impressively.

Justice Haynes showed his electric nature again, scoring from more than 50 yards out for the second week in a row. On Saturday, it was a career-long 75-yarder. But Michigan’s other 31 rushes logged just 71 yards – 2.3 per attempt.

That didn’t allow Underwood, an 18-year-old … making his first true road start … in front of 84,107 screaming fans … at night … at an SEC stadium, to get in any sort of rhythm. He completed just 37.5% of his passes, for 142 yards.

David Hale, ESPN.com

College football Week 2 highlights: Top games, plays, stats

Earlier in the week, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy lamented all the money Oregon spent to build a winner, only for Ducks coach Dan Lanning to retort with a series of “Yo momma’s so poor” jokes and a 69-3 drubbing of the Pokes on Saturday. Meanwhile, Oklahoma, flush with enough cash this offseason to lure star transfers such as QB John Mateer, held off Michigan, a school whose NIL budget is currently earmarked to pay down NCAA fines and get Connor Stalions that new telescope and fake beard he has been asking for, 24-13. The lesson: Teams are only as good as their players, and good players don’t come cheap. On a totally unrelated note, we just received an email from a deposed oil baron in Oklahoma who just needs our credit card and social security numbers to help secure a fortune, which he’ll happily share with us.