The Michigan haters are going to have to eat some crow, following the Wolverines 17-10 win over Oklahoma on Saturday.
Bryce Underwood played better. It wasn't perfect. He still has a long ways to go, but the kid made good decsions and allowed the defense to win the day.
John Mateer and the high-powered Oklahoma offense turned the ball over twice, the same number of times the Sooners scored.
The momentum had shifted after Oklahoma scored 10 straight points to tie the game. But Jyaire Hill, who committed a huge mistake with a personal foul penalty on the OU touchdown drive, intercepted Mateer, returning the ball to the six. Jordan Marshall cashed in the touchdown and the defense made it stick.
Michigan managed 263 yards. Oklahoma was held to just 289. The Sooners were stymied by the Michigan defense. The secondary and D-line were exceptional, although the linebackers did their part, too.
Underwood was 9-of-17 for 111 yards passing. He also rushed for 87 yards on 18 attempts. It's exactly what Michigan needed to win, and here are three delicious takeaways from the 17-10 victory.
Bryce Underwood took a step forward
It wasn't the most beautiful performance by a Michigan football quarterback, but it didn't need to be. Underwood accounted for 198 total yards, one touchdown, and zero turnovers. That was the key stat.
Against a very good defense, Underwood was able to manage the game. He ran for a 38-yard touchdown, picked up some key third downs, and made a fourth-down conversion on a sneak. He even appeared to call an audible on Jordan Marshall's touchdown run.
Underwood made some quality throws, too. If there wasn't a drop, and if a couple of guys had been able to get a toe inbounds, he would have thrown for a lot more yards.
The biggest difference is that he was confident. He made good reads for the most part and took care of the football. If Underwood can do those things, while improving as a passer along the way, this offense might be cooking with gas.
The defense won the day
What a difference a year makes. After John Mateer accounted for 344 total yards last season in the win over Michigan, he was held to 234 this season, with one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked three times and pressured on almost every throw.
Kyle Whittingham said before the season that the defensive line was the strength of the team. He was half right. The secondary is right there with it.
Smith Snowden, Jyaire Hill, and Zeke Berry were all over the place. Rod Moore was Rod Moore, and Chris Bracy looks like a steal in the portal. He forced the first takeaways. Well, Dominic Nichols did, but it wasn't called correctly. Still, he had a massive day. John Henry Daley and Trey Pierce, too. Even the linebackers had their moments.
We thought before the season that Michigan could have one of the best defenses in the Big Ten. Through two weeks, against two teams that won 10 games a year ago, the Michigan defense has allowed just 22 points and one touchdown. It looks better than advertised.
AP voters, Michigan haters eat crow
Kyle Whittingham made all of us who questioned him look stupid. He beat Oklahoma, the No. 11 team in the AP poll is his second game to improve to 2-0. Once people forget about the fake outrage from the win over Western Michigan, Michigan has put itself solidly into the College Football Playoff race.
If the Wolverines can win their home games, or even lose just one, there will be a strong argument to make, especially if Western Michigan wins 10 or 11 games. The committee can't, in good faith, count that game as a loss, as some AP poll voters tried to do.
Even if that wasn't their reason for voting Michigan out of the Top 25, they will have to put the Wolverines right back in after a 17-10 win over their 11th-ranked team.
Michigan has a lot of work to do. This was one game, just like last week. But after the season felt like it was on life support, it's alive and well again.
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