Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables got carried off the field on his players’ shoulders in celebration on Saturday after his team beat the formerly No. 15-ranked Michigan Wolverines 24–13.
“You only get 12 opportunities guaranteed at the beginning of the year, so not apologizing for celebrating with the guys. They need to celebrate,” Venables continued. “Everybody else outside—and not here, just everywhere—is going to nitpick and this and that, and that’s fine, but I want our guys to have an appreciation for what it takes and everything that goes into winning. It’s not easy to do. So it was cool for those guys.”
Oklahoma (2–0) moved up to No. 13 from No. 18 in the polls on Sunday because of the victory. The Sooners beat a top-25 opponent for the second consecutive time under Venables, which went back to a 24–3 win over then-No. 7 Alabama in 2024.
Michigan notably beat that Alabama squad 19–13 in the ReliaQuest Bowl, and that was a Wolverines squad with bigger quarterback questions than Saturday’s team. The Wolverines mustered 129.1 yards passing and 1.4 passing touchdowns per game last year with a carousel of quarterbacks in the wake of J.J. McCarthy’s departure.
Enter Bryce Underwood, the top-ranked quarterback recruit nationally in the 2025 class, and the Wolverines have hope that things will change this year. It looked that way on Aug. 30, when Underwood went 21–31 passing for 251 yards and a touchdown against New Mexico in a 34–17 victory.
Michigan didn’t see that on Saturday against the Sooners as Underwood went 9–24 passing for 142 yards and no touchdowns. Underwood completed only 37.5 percent of his passes, and the Wolverines couldn’t move the ball consistently, as a raucous Memorial Stadium full of 84,107 fans in Norman, Oklahoma, cheered them on.
“And I think everybody put the pressure on him. But we all got to do our jobs. And that’s O-line, that’s receivers, that’s running backs, whoever it is in those situations to make it easier for him,” Moore added.
Michigan running back Justice Haynes produced half of his team’s scoring with a 75-yard touchdown run to open the second half. Outside of that play, the Wolverines had just 213 yards of total offense for the game.
Venables said his team played “complementary defense” and credited the secondary in particular for keeping Michigan off balance. Kicker Dominic Zvada had the only points besides Haynes with field goals of 42 and 35 yards.
“I thought we had some really good, timely plays within several of the drives, even on early downs, that really put them in a tough position,” Venables said. “And then we got them into some predictable situations there, as well. So just good team defense, as much as anything. Guys playing well together, for the most part.”
On offense, Washington State transfer and Sooners quarterback John Mateer got the job done for his team through the air and on the ground. Mateer went 21–34 for 270 yards and one touchdown versus one interception, and he rushed for 74 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
“Obviously, you saw what it can do. He falls forward a lot. He’s got great strength and great skill,” Venables said. “He’s a tough guy. He’s fearless. He attacks everything without fear. He believes in the guys around him. He plays within the system.”
Oklahoma will look to keep things going against Temple (2–0) next Saturday. Michigan, meanwhile, will seek to bounce back against Central Michigan (1–1) after tumbling to No. 23 in the country.
