There’s been plenty of praise for quarterback Bryce Underwood and the Michigan offense in recent days after putting 34 points on the board and going for 452 total yards against New Mexico over the weekend. Joining rare company by starting as a true freshman, Underwood helped Michigan’s offense establish an early rhythm and look competent for the first time in two years.
However, the level of difficulty is about to be turned up a couple of notches this Saturday when Michigan takes on Oklahoma in Norman.
It will mark not only the first road game of the year for the Wolverines and Underwood, but their first against a Power 4 opponent.
“It’s going to be a really cool matchup of two incredible programs that represent the excellence of college football,” Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said in his Tuesday press conference.
The game not only features two historical brands, but will feature two teams that have plenty of similarities in how they’re constructed. Both were middling teams in 2024 (Oklahoma went 6-6 while Michigan went 7-5) that made big improvements at the quarterback position this offseason, with Michigan adding Underwood and Oklahoma bringing in John Mateer from Washington State.
Both quarterbacks help set each team up for more success in 2025, much like how Clemson was able to reach its ceiling back in 2018 with true freshman Trevor Lawrence. On Tuesday, Venables compared Underwood to Lawrence in terms of their talent and potential.
“As I said to open up, (Underwood) is a little different. It reminds me a lot of a Trevor Lawrence — just quick, decisive, accurate, poised, tough, consistent,” Venables said. “There’s a reason he was the No. 1 player in America.”
Being the former defensive coordinator at Clemson, Venables got a great look at Lawrence during his run of success as the starting quarterback of the Tigers from 2018-20. Lawrence led Clemson to a national championship and three College Football Playoff appearances before ultimately being selected No. 1 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Oklahoma’s head coach is wise to make such a comparison considering the many similarities Underwood and Lawrence share. Both were widely considered the No. 1 recruit in their respective high school recruiting classes, have dual-threat capabilities, and were expected to lead their teams back to prominence right away. Furthermore, Lawrence was trying to fill the shoes left by star quarterback Deshaun Watson, while Underwood tries to match the shine of J.J. McCarthy after Michigan’s down year at the position in 2024.
After impressing in his debut against New Mexico — going 21-of-31 for 251 yards and a touchdown — Underwood will try to do his best Trevor Lawrence impersonation on Saturday when the Wolverines head into hostile territory to take on the Sooners. Fans might recall a similar situation in 2018 when Clemson went on the road to Texas A&M and relied on the then-freshman to lead a comeback 28-26 victory.
At this point, Michigan’s freshman quarterback has had a wealth of expectations and lofty comparisons placed on his shoulders — we’ll wait and see if he can live up to this one when Michigan takes the field against Oklahoma on Saturday night.
