It comes as no surprise that the majority of the Big Noon Kickoff and College Gameday crew went with Oklahoma, especially after the way Michigan looked in Week 1. However, Charles Woodson and Desmond Howard showed that the Maize and Blue roots run deep.
Both Woodson and Howard, two Michigan legends, were the only analysts at the desks to take Michigan over Oklahoma, and even though it was out of total loyalty to the Wolverines, it definitely gets the blood pumping for this huge matchup.
"It would be very disrespectful of me to sit in Austin and pick their rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners to win any game, so of course Michigan bounces back." @DesmondHoward had jokes 🤣 pic.twitter.com/xhVYEiD51v
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 12, 2026
Howard even had jokes when making his pick, saying he could never pick Texas' biggest rival, the Sooners, while he is in Austin, where College Gameday was this weekend. Of course, he believes that Michigan will bounce back.
Only Charles Woodson knows ball pic.twitter.com/uUMrJoDfPX
— Swanky Wolverine (@swankywolverine) September 12, 2026
Woodson hyped up the crowd not only with his pick, but also by picking up the big blue Michigan flag and running the field as cheers filled the stadium.
The Michigan faithful showed up for the Wolverines after all
There were a lot of doubts about whether or not The Big House would be the home-field environment it typically is on game day, after how the Wolverines looked against Western Michigan. Ticket prices even plummeted as low as $50, with Oklahoma fans making the last-minute decision to make the long trip to Ann Arbor.
It looked iffy as well, less than an hour before kickoff, with so many seats empty and a lot of Oklahoma red evident in the crowd.
I don’t recall seeing this much red at the Big House for an Ohio State game in the depths of the bad years for Michigan. pic.twitter.com/10ctoaY9pV
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) September 12, 2026
Silly of us to think that the Michigan faithful wouldn't step up because at kickoff, the stadium was filled with Wolverines fans ready to see their team pull off the upset that not many believe they can.
it’s a Maize Out at Michigan Stadium pic.twitter.com/REfO3xGCrh
— Alejandro Zúñiga (@ByAZuniga) September 12, 2026
The crowd certainly delivered on the Maize out. Michigan needs the crowd on its side in this game, as Oklahoma won't be an easy team to take down. The Sooners' defense will be the biggest test for a Michigan offense that struggled to gain an inch against Western Michigan.
If Michigan can pull off the upset, they can prove all the haters wrong and probably even jump back into the rankings. This was a highly anticipated matchup even after the Wolverines dropped out of the rankings, and hopefully it delivers.
The start of the game has been promising for the Wolverines, with the offense already showing good improvement from Week 1 and the defense doing what it does best by shutting down the Oklahoma offense.
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