John Mateer spotted his tight end, Jaren Kanak, on the third play from scrimmage with a 31-yard pass on third and nine to springboard the Oklahoma offense into a scoring drive. Later on in the series, Mateer tossed it to Michigan native Deion Burks, who went in motion to get a head start for six.
Michigan's offense punted on its first three possessions. T.J. Metcalf picked off Mateer for the game's first turnover. The offense got bailed out with a couple of penalties which eventually put them in scoring territory, but the drive stalled and Dominic Zvada missed a chip shot field goal to get on the board before halftime.
Mateer took advantage and engineered an 80-yard dive in three minutes to shut out the Wolverines in the first 30 minutes. On the opening play of the second half, Justice Haynes found pay dirt from 75 yards out as he went untouched to the endzone. Michigan football caught momentum in a bottle, but couldn't capitalize on the scoreboard.
Oklahoma widened the margin thanks to a short field and a miraculous play by Mateer. Brandyn Hillman had him dead to rights for a sack, but Mateer escaped and threw a laser down field that resulted in six more. Michigan could only manage a pair of field goals to make it a one possession game. Oklahoma's defense was too much for Bryce Underwood and a shorthanded offense to overcome.
Here are three of the takeaways from the non-conference failure.
1. Chip Lindsey regressed from last week
Lindsey was praised last week for the way he got the offense to look in a favorable matchup for the Wolverines. On Saturday night in Norman he backtracked to settling for a Kirk Campbell performance. The offense was held scoreless, went 3-14 on third downs and was doubled up in successful first down attempts.
He called several screen passes early that were blown up by Oklahoma's defenders. He wanted to develop the running game, but it was non-existent, besides one play. Not all of it was his fault though, the offensive line was wretched, Marlin Klein did not play because of an undisclosed injury and the receivers didn't do anything to help him or Bryce Underwood either. Donaven McCulley had a highlight reel catch that inflated his stats.
Brent Venables deserves a round of applause for how well he managed the defense. He kept Underwood from taking the next step in his young process. 9-of-24 is a Davis Warren type of stat line. The freshman's hype was overexaggerated just like Arch Manning's was, and the overrated chants by the Oklahoma sections were justified.
2. Injuries crippled the offense
Breaking news arrived on Friday that Marlin Klein was in danger of missing the Saturday night showdown. He was seen in pregame limping noticeably, but got taped up and it appeared he might give it a go. The German never played and not one tight end caught a pass in the loss.
To add to that Michigan's best offensive lineman got rolled up on and injured his ankle. Gio El-Hadi needed help leaving the field and it looks like it will be a lengthy injury designation for him. We'll probably learn more at the weekly press conference on Monday about his status. Nathan Efobi was the next man up.
Semaj Morgan dropped a pass from Underwood then got popped by an Oklahoma player after the play had died. He tried running off the field, but fell to the ground and immediatley went to the medical tent to get checked on. He could have gotten concussed, but was cleared to return.
On defense Zeke Berry had to leave because of a leg injury. He was replaced by a true freshman in Jayden Sanders, who surprisingly did not get targeted by John Mateer and Ben Arbuckle. Sharmari Earls or Jo'Ziah Edmond could have used some much-needed reps if they were healthy. Brandyn Hillman left for a minute, but ultimately returned.
3. Expectations have promptly been tempered
Going into the palace on the prairie Michigan probably felt good about themselves. After leaving there, they now know that they have a lot of work to improve upon. Also for consideration, the schedule seemed promising at first glance, but has become more difficult then expected.
Bryce Underwood provided bulletin board material for Oklahoma's defense and others by saying that we've never seen a freshman like him. He did not back up his words, and the Sooner brigade made him look like Davis Warren out there.
They are in a similar situation to where they stood at this time a year ago. A win over USC softened the blow of the Texas loss and this year a win at Nebraska in two weeks could provide the same benefits for a team who won't have their head coach in that meeting.
Hopefully, Michigan has been preparing for this since the news occurred and has all of its bases covered. Running the football will be at a premium, just like it was following the Texas loss last season. Kalel Mullings had three straight 100-plus yard performances, and Justice Haynes should be on that same trajectory.