Michigan football's win over Oklahoma is another reminder that none of us knows anything about college football in September. Also, that resignation can turn into hope in a hurry.
A week ago, many wanted the quarterback benched. A week ago, some thought the coach was in over his head. A week ago, the Wolverines looked headed for a middling season – at best.
Resignation set in. Worse, America turned against the maize and blue.
And now, after the 17-10 stunner over No. 10 Oklahoma at the Big House on Saturday, Sept. 12?
The Wolverines – who entered the week at No. 24 in the US LBM Coaches Poll – have a reasonable chance to get to 6-0 before the defending
champion Indiana Hoosiers (who entered Saturday at No. 5) come to Ann Arbor in October. And the maize-and-blue faithful don't care who hates them, or how many. At least, that's easier to tell yourself when your team wins games like it did Saturday, Sept. 12.
Stories change fast this time of year. Sometimes, in a mere second (sorry, that was cheap), but more often in an afternoon, when everything we thought we knew about one team turns out to be untrue – or at least almost everything – or, sometimes in a week, from one Saturday to the next:
One moment, the Wolverines don't have a passing game and the next moment ... well, they still don't have a passing game. But at least the passing game looked better against the Sooners.
It just didn't look good enough. Which doesn't matter – or didn't matter against Oklahoma.
Good enough is relative, of course. When we say it's not good enough – a distinction the head coach doesn't dispute, by the way, and didn't dispute Saturday during his news conference – we are saying something isn't good enough to get the Wolverines to whatever the end goal is.
In this case, that's a Big Ten title, a CFP berth and a run to the national title. These are always the goals at Michigan. After the first Saturday, they looked laughable. After the second Saturday, they looked ... well, still laughable.
But at least beating Oklahoma makes the CFP berth a little less laughable, anyway. Hey, I can see the eye roll, to which I say:
I could see the eye roll last week, when folks told you the Wolverines were going to beat the Sooners.
Wait, no one told you that, because that would have been laughable, too.
Until it wasn't.
Plenty of lessons to learn
Then again, it is September, and maybe the Sooners don't have an offense, and an overhyped defense, and they'll struggle in SEC play and we'll look back on Saturday differently, and Iowa will teach us another lesson in a couple weeks when it comes to Michigan Stadium, and Indiana will remind folks that there are levels in the Big Ten ...
... many levels, and the Wolverines still remain a few of those from the top.
I doubt it, though. U-M can play with anybody, as coach Kyle Whittingham noted during his news conference while talking about the trajectory of quarterback Bryce Underwood, who was much better in his second game this season.
"We've got to gradually open up the throw game to get more productive, take more shots down the field and that's coming," Whittingham said.
And if it comes?
"We're going to be tough to beat," he said.
How many even dreamed of such a sentence a week ago, when the country pleaded for someone, anyone, to give Western Michigan one less second, and one more win.
Which is to say, the Wolverines' victory this week is more proof that everything we think we know one Saturday means nothing when the next Saturday rolls around, especially this time of year.
By October?
Yeah, assumptions are less dicey. By November? Enough teams have played enough games against enough common opponents, that bets get easier.
But gauging anything after the first week of the season is foolhardy. We learned that again at Michigan Stadium, that when a coach says his team didn't play with enough passion and energy and focus, maybe he is onto something, and maybe the lack of those three things clouds the ability to see other things.
Like talent. Of which U-M has some. Maybe more than we realize, because the Wolverines are young.
So, hold off on the proclamations and declarations and assertations and speculation until we've seen a little more football ... or don't. Mostly because, where's the fun in that?
Speaking of fun, let's end with this:
"We were flat," Whittingham said.
Ok, not a fun start, but hear me out.
He was talking about his team's performance against WMU, now that he's had a week to look back and think about it, though he implied as much right after the Hail Mary escape. We just didn't listen to the implication.
We saw what we saw. Then heard what we wanted to hear. Just as we will surely do again this week.
Declaring the story too soon is fundamental to college football.
That's also what makes it so fun – and more fun when the declarations are upended so quickly.
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
Next up: Miners
Matchup: No. 24 Michigan (2-0) vs. UTEP (1-1).
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19; Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor.
TV/radio: Big Ten Network; WCSX-FM (94.7).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan win over Oklahoma reminds us: We don't know squat in Week 2
