Dominant Venables defense keeps Wolverine QB in check
With 10 minutes left in the game and Oklahoma holding a 21-13 lead, Sooners fans were on edge that previous kicking game miscues might end up spoiling an otherwise dominating performance over Michigan by a stifling Sooners defense and an effective offense lead by quick-footed QB John Mateer.
What was needed was a long drive. One that milked the clock down — perhaps ending in points to put this game away.
What was delivered was exactly that.
It was a masterful drive lead by Mateer, starting on the Oklahoma 19 yard line. Moving the ball 78 yards. And more importantly taking 8:27 off the clock.
Also, it was masterful play calling by offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle (affectionately called Coach ‘Buck by his players), who dialed up a run-based drive — assisted by some ball-control asses from Mateer — in a display of time management we have not seen on Owen Field much since air raid offenses took over the college football landscape in the 1990s.
And it was masterful execution by and trust in an offensive line that all week leading up to this matchup between the No. 15 Wolverines and the No. 18 Sooners had heard how bad they run blocked. True freshman Michael Fasusi got his first start at tackle and he played like a veteran.
They blocked one of the top defensive fronts when they needed to on Saturday night. Arbuckle credited offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh for getting the O-line in tune. “He’s worked so hard … He’s put his heart and soul into it.” (Coach Brent Venables gave the game ball to Bedenbaugh and the offensive line).
A chip shot 21-yard field goal by Tate Sandell with 1:44 left in the game sealed the deal.
In what some said was a must-win for the Venables program at Oklahoma, the Sooners got just that.
And it wasn’t as close a game as the 24-13 score indicated.
Mateer was 21 for 34 for 270 yards and one touchdown. He accounted for three TDs. He carried the ball 19 times — matching the total amount of carries of all other Oklahoma rushers — for 82 yards.
Mateer’s ability to stop and start and evade Michigan tacklers allowed for perhaps his most impressive play of the night — a third and long early in the second half after Michigan had seemingly wrestled back momentum after a 75-yard dash by Wolverines RB Justice Haynes cut the Oklahoma lead to 14-7.
A safety blitz pressured Mateer, but he twisted his way from the pass rush, scooted to his right and tossed a 36-yard pass to WR Isaiah Sategna, who had scrambled free down the west sideline, to put the Sooners in the red zone.
The game was sweet for WR Deion Burks — a native of Michigan who said earlier in the week he felt snubbed when the Wolverines did not recruit him out of high school. Burks scored on the Sooners’ first drive of the game, on a nine-yard jet sweep that had the 84,107 in attendance rocking to an electric environment.
Burks finished the day with 101 yards on 7 catches. He netted 33 yards after the catches.
Defensive dominance
Outside of Haynes’ 75-yard TD run, the Oklahoma defense bottled up the Michigan rush game, holding them to just 63 yards on 30 carries.
Walk on defensive tackle Owen Heinecke was a star.
The defense kept highly touted freshman Michigan QB Bryce Underwood in check, holding him to just nine completions on 24 passes and no touchdowns. The 38 percent completion percentage is the lowest by an OU opponent since 2023.
Michigan was just 3-for-14 on third downs, whereas Oklahoma converted nine of its 17 third downs. Michigan also went 0-for-1 on fourth downs, while Oklahoma converted its only fourth down attempt.
“Our guys are flying around knocking paint off their helmets. It looks good,” Venables said at halftime.
It was only Oklahoma miscues that kept Michigan in the game. Roughing the punter, a muffed punt and bad penalties at key times extended Wolverine drives, oftentimes after the defense that seemingly stopped them.
What does this mean?
“Our destination isn’t to be 2-0 and beat Michigan. We feel like we have a heck of a team and have an opportunity with a lot of big-time challenges in front of us. I’m really excited about what this team can become,” Venables said in his post-game remarks.
Oklahoma is now 2-0 and likely to move up in everyone’s rankings. The Oklahoma-Michigan game was the only one between ranked opponents on Saturday. ESPN’s Gameday was on the South Oval and all national attention was focused on Norman.
The physical play by Oklahoma was evident during the game. It is exactly what Coach Brent Venables preaches and his players delivered. That is exactly what can get Oklahoma into the hunt for an SEC championship.
Oklahoma overcame critical mistakes during the game against a solid Big Ten blue blood program. That means something.
But, it is just game two. Too early to make any bold predictions, other than to say the Sooners’ prospects look much better than most had predicted for 2025. They are substantially better than last year.
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