Oklahoma held serve at home in 2025, and now it's Michigan football's turn to do so in 2026.
One season after the Sooners handled the Wolverines 24-13 in Norman, Brent Venables and company make the return trip to Ann Arbor to take on a wounded Michigan team − not physically, but mentally. U-M needed every second (and perhaps an extra one) to survive Western Michigan, 13-12, with a Hail Mary on the final play of the season opener.
Still, the Sooners say they're preparing for a dog fight on Saturday, Sept. 12 (Noon on Fox).
"It's going to be a great, great challenge," Venables told local reporters at his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 8. "Largest stadium in college football, a place that they've been very successful there at home, a very experienced
football team, 62 lettermen coming back, one of the best rosters in all of college football.
"Won 32 of their last 35 home games, lost to the Number 1 team twice and the Number 3 team one time."
He said the staff with U-M coach Kyle Whittingham is "championship pedigree" and raved about defensive coordinator Jay Hill's long-term success and the immediate impact offensive coordinator Jason Beck has made in his recent stops as the offensive mind at Syracuse (2023), New Mexico (2024) and Utah (2025).
None of that was on display in Ann Arbor last weekend. Between an opening drive that went 11 plays and 75 yards for a touchdown and the very last play of the game, the offense was largely anemic. U-M didn't have a drive go more than 30 yards and just one lasted more than two minutes. It included five three-and-outs and two turnovers.
The defense, however, was up to the challenge. Hill's unit held WMU to just four field goals, two of which came after the offense turned the ball over deep in Michigan's own territory. It didn't allow a single play of 20 yards and held the Broncos to three field goals on their three trips to the red zone.
"They do look like a really good defense because they are a really good defense," OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. "They fly around, they force you into a lot of one-on-one matchups all over the field. You have to have the urgency to win the matchups. Coach Hill does a great job. They're real."
On the other side of the ball, Michigan will see a familiar face in starting linebacker Cole Sullivan, who transferred to OU this offseason. Venables praised what he did in Week 1, saying he graded out extremely well and said he would be "a pivotal piece" in Oklahoma's success all season, in particular this week.
Sullivan, for his part, is staying even-keel. He praised U-M's fanbase and called The Big House "a fun place to play" and said he expected an "electric atmosphere" for the ranked matchup, even if both teams fell from their Week 1 standing: OU is now No. 10 and U-M was the biggest faller in the poll, dropping eight spots to No. 24.
Still, Sullivan says not even the rankings or the fact he's facing his old team will change his approach.
“We say it's always just a nameless, faceless opponent, so that's how I'm gonna do my best to treat it,” Sullivan told reporters. “Nothing's gonna change in my preparation.”
He acknowledged U-M's expected stars − Andrew Marsh, JJ Buchanan, Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter − as players to prepare for in addition to the overall scheme, which he said was "very difficult." Meanwhile, the coaches have a connection that goes back years, too.
About three years back, Venables reached out to current Utah head coach Morgan Scalley and Whittingham to see if he could come out to Salt Lake City and pick their brain after admiring their work from afar.
"I love watching those guys play for all those years at Utah. Their physicality, assuredness, passion, energy, you can see they have a great culture and this level of consistency that's rare," Venables said. "Took our defensive staff out there, got a chance to watch them work out, winter conditioning, watched film ... asked him lots of questions.
"He was great. It was a good trip for us."
Whittingham called Venables "personable" and "charismatic" before he mentioned they shared ideas for "several hours" that day. He also added he's not surprised the program is trending up since Venables was able to get his feet under him at OU.
Venables also praised U-M's struggling quarterback Bryce Underwood, calling him "one of the most talented players at any position in all of college football." He also discussed the idea of potentially overlooking U-M given how much it struggled with a Group of Six school.
He immediately shut that down and discussed how the Sooners aren't just now starting their Michigan prep, but did so in the offseason. He didn't try to act like the Wolverines played a clean game, but he pointed out it takes a talented group to have so much go wrong and still find a way to win.
“It says a lot about a team to find a way to win when maybe everything didn’t go your way. Let’s not forget, that’s a MAC champion, a very experienced 10-win football team that’s got tremendous pride that put a lot into the game, as well," he said. "It came down to the last play of the game.“To not play your best when it comes to turnover margin, maybe rushing, time of possession, the things from a stat sheet [perspective] didn’t go in your favor, and still overcome and have a chance to win says a lot about what they have in the locker room.”
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oklahoma won't be caught sleeping on U-M despite Week 1 letdown: 'Great, great challenge'
