One the four losses Michigan football suffered last season was to the Oklahoma Sooners.
The two teams met in what is starting to become a rare non-conference matchup between Big Ten and SEC programs.
The Sooners won 24-13 after holding Bryce Underwood to just 142 passing yards. Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables had a genius plan to take away all the throws a freshman tends to rely on, such as screens and short stuff. Oklahoma made the easy throws hard, and Underwood never got comfortable.
There are still questions about how Underwood will play this season, especially in Week 2 when the Sooners come to the Big House.
Yet, Venables knows exactly what the Sooners will be up against. At SEC Media Days this week, he talked about the "tremendous challenge" presented by Michigan football.
One of the biggest differences between this season and last season is the coaching staff. Oklahoma clearly had the edge last season. The Sooners coached circles around Sherrone Moore and company, just like Ohio State, Texas, and USC did.
Kyle Whittingham will change that. Jason Beck and Jay Hill, too. Things won't be so easy for the Sooners this time around, something Venables reiterated when he called Michigan's staff a "championship staff."
Kyle Whittingham will make a major difference for Michigan against Oklahoma
Whittingham has won multiple conference championships. He's had an undefeated season. The Sooners still have John Mateer, who torched Michigan football last season. Former Wolverine Cole Sullivan is also part of the Sooners' roster.
Like Michigan, the Sooners are loaded with talent. However, Whittingham can negate two key advantages that led to Oklahoma's win. One was that the Sooners were willing to run Mateer the way Michigan wasn't willing to run Underwood.
Mateer ran the ball 19 times. Underwood ran it three. Michigan didn't force the Sooners to defend a running quarterback, one who has been compared to Vince Young and Cam Newton.
That just doesn't make sense, and Jason Beck, the new Michigan offensive coordinator, won't make the same mistake. With Savion Hiter and Jordan Marshall also running the ball, good luck stopping the run. Hiter has been talked about at length as a receiving option, too.
That's one edge the Sooners had last season. The other was in the trenches. All four Michigan losses, at least three of them, were defined by one thing: the trenches.
Oklahoma, USC, and Ohio State pushed Michigan around. The Wolverines couldn't block or tackle well enough to win those games. That wasn't a problem under Jim Harbaugh. It was becoming one under Sherrone Moore.
With Jim Harding, Lewis Powell, and Larry Black, that won't be a problem this season. The offensive and defensive lines should be each be a strength, which is why Venables isn't lying when he says this Michigan football team will be formidable.
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