The Michigan Wolverines secured a significant 17-10 victory over No. 11 Oklahoma on Saturday, demonstrating resilience one week after a controversial win against Western Michigan. Quarterback Bryce Underwood, the highest-paid player in college football, played a pivotal role in the Wolverines' bounce-back performance.
Michigan entered the game as significant underdogs, with Oklahoma favored by 5.5 points, a reflection of the team's perceived struggles in their season opener. The Wolverines narrowly escaped a historic upset against Western Michigan, winning 13-12 after an extra second was inexplicably added to the clock, allowing a game-winning Hail Mary pass. The controversy led the MAC Conference to call for the result to be overturned and contributed to Michigan dropping out of the AP Top-25, despite the victory.
Against Oklahoma, Underwood delivered a strong performance, scoring the longest rushing touchdown of his career from 38 yards out in the first half. He avoided turnovers and finished with 111 passing yards and 87 rushing yards. Head coach Kyle Whittingham praised Underwood's play, calling it an excellent game. "Great response by Bryce," Whittingham stated. "I thought he played an excellent game."
Underwood, who signed a reported $3 million-a-year Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal totaling $12 million over four years, expressed gratitude for his teammates' accountability. "Very happy. Just thankful to my teammates for holding me accountable this entire week to be the best quarterback I can possibly be," he said.
The Wolverines' defense also played a crucial role, limiting the Oklahoma offense and giving quarterback John Mateer difficulty. Whittingham described the defense as "lights out" and highlighted a key defensive stand in the fourth quarter that ended with a sack, sealing the win.
"It was a big effort. Team effort," Whittingham said following the game. "Still got a lot of things to clean up. Very proud of the way they responded after our performance last week. That is great to see."
With the win, Michigan improves to 2-0 on the season. The team is scheduled to host UTEP next week. Oklahoma, now 1-1, will play New Mexico before facing challenging conference games against Georgia and Texas.
