NORMAN — All eyes were on No. 18 Oklahoma as College Gameday rolled into town for Week 2’s only head-to-head matchup between two ranked teams. And the Sooners did not disappoint in front of a sellout crowd and a primetime audience on TV, beating No. 15 Michigan, 24-13.
Here are five takeaways from the Sooners’ big win:
A statement game for John Mateer
Little Elm product John Mateer was one of the biggest prizes in the transfer portal this offseason, ultimately choosing to jump from Washington State to Oklahoma. If there was any question as to why he was so coveted, those questions were answered quite emphatically on Saturday night.
Mateer sliced and diced a Michigan defense that has been one of college football’s most dominant units over the past four years. He made plays with his arms and legs, bookending the first half with touchdowns on Oklahoma’s first and last drives of the half.
No play illustrated Mateer’s playmaking ability than a 3rd and long early in the second half with Michigan holding all the momentum after cutting the 14-0 halftime lead to 14-7 on the first play of the second half. Michigan safety Brandyn Hillman got to Mateer untouched on a blitz, but Mateer evaded the sack attempt by spinning away, then rolled right and connected with Isaiah Sategna for a 36-yard gain that got Oklahoma into the red zone.
It was one of multiple should-be sacks that Mateer got away from thanks to his great awareness and quickness.
Mateer had 19 carries on the night, the same amount as all three RBs Oklahoma played combined. He outgained them 74-59 and scored both of Oklahoma’s rushing TDs on his own.
On the passing front, Mateer finished Saturday night’s game going 21-for-34 for 270 yards and a TD. Mateer’s 662 passing yards on the season are the second most in the first two games of an OU career behind Josh Heupel, who had 773 in 1999.
Mateer accounted for three TDs on the night, but his most impressive drive was one that didn’t even result in a touchdown. On Oklahoma’s final possession of the game, he bled more than eight minutes off the clock in a one-possession game, driving the Sooners down the field for a game-clinching field goal. The drive started with 10:11 left in the fourth quarter. It ended with less than two minutes on the clock.
We’re still a long way from Heisman Trophy ceremony invitations going out. But as some of the preseason favorites to win the award have sputtered to start the season, Mateer has thrived and looks like one of college football’s most dynamic stars this season.
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Strong showing by the Sooner ‘D’
Oklahoma shut out the Michigan offense in the first half, bottling up Alabama transfer RB Justice Haynes, who shined for 16 carries, 159 yards and 3 TDs in Michigan’s opener.
While that first-half shutout didn’t extend to the second half, the Sooners still held Michigan to just 288 yards of offense on the game.
Haynes got Michigan on the board with a 75-yard TD run on the first play of the second half. But with that big play (Michigan’s lone touchdown of the night) removed, the Wolverines picked up just 63 yards on 30 carries.
Just as impressively, the Sooner ‘D’ completely locked down Michigan QB Bryce Underwood, one of college football’s most talked about players early in the season.
Underwood was just 9-for-24 passing for 142 yards and no TDs. The 38% completion percentage was the lowest by an OU opponent since 2023.
The Sooners stood tallest when it mattered the most. Michigan was just 3-for-14 on 3rd downs compared to the Sooners going 9-for-17 on their end. Michigan also went 0-for-1 on fourth downs, while Oklahoma went 1-for-1.
As a team, Michigan had just 13 first downs for the game.
“Your mindset sets the tempo for everything,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said after the game. “And I’m really proud of the the toughness that our guys played with on defense.”
Sweet revenge for Deion Burks
Oklahoma star wideout Deion Burks played high school football in the state of Michigan. In fact, he played at the same school (Belleville HS) as Michigan starting QB Bryce Underwood, the top-rated HS recruit in the class of 2025.
Unlike Underwood, though, Burks wasn’t extended the opportunity to play at Michigan. He signed with Purdue out of high school after Michigan failed to offer him a scholarship. Now at Oklahoma, Burks made sure to show Michigan what the Wolverines missed out on by not offering him.
“Michigan did not recruit me, so I don’t like them,” Burks said earlier this week. “It’s definitely personal.”
Burks channeled that slight into juice for Saturday night’s game, punctuating the Sooners’ opening drive with a 9-yard TD on a glorified end around that was credited as a pass. By halftime, Burks had 6 catches for 92 yards — more than double the next closest player on either team. He ended up with 101 yards on the night, the game’s lone 100-yard receiver on either team.
Special teams miscues keep Michigan in it
Oklahoma’s defense forced punts on the first four possessions of the game on Saturday night. But the fourth drive ended up getting extended on 4th and long after the Sooners were whistled for roughing the kicker on a punt that otherwise would have given Oklahoma the ball near midfield. Michigan ended up driving into the Oklahoma red zone where it had an uncharacteristic field goal miss by Dominic Zvada, one of college football’s most accurate kickers.
Oklahoma wasn’t as fortunate the next time it made a special teams mistake. Midway through the third quarter, Oklahoma was set to return a punt already up 21-7. But Isaiah Sategna fumbled it and Michigan recovered it at the OU 31. The Wolverines followed that up with a successful field goal, cutting Oklahoma’s deficit to 21-10.
Immediately after that field goal, Oklahoma had another special teams miscue, bobbling the catch on the subsequent kickoff. That led to the Sooners starting the next drive inside their own 10 and having to punt the ball away a few short minutes later.
“Didn’t play our best game and still won by a couple scores, so we’ll take that,” Venables said. “Really felt like there was a lot of the game we played really, really well, and at times, had an opportunity to pull away. And it’s some self-inflicted issues that kept things a little closer.”
Looking ahead
With a home matchup against unranked Auburn in two weeks, sandwiched by a couple likely snoozers in Temple and Kent State, Oklahoma has a great chance to be 5-0 heading to Dallas for its annual rivalry matchup against Texas on Oct. 11.
With the Sooners picking up a big top-25 win on Saturday night and with four teams ahead of them in the AP Top 25 losing on Saturday, they’ll be flirting with breaking into the top 10 when Sunday’s poll comes out. And with three very winnable games ahead, that top-10 status could very well arrive by the time the annual rivalry matchup with Texas rolls around.
Find more Oklahoma coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.