The Oklahoma Sooners lost in disappointing fashion on Saturday afternoon, falling 17-10 on the road at the hands of head coach Kyle Whittingham, quarterback Bryce Underwood, and the Michigan Wolverines.
OU's poor overall first half and underwhelming offense were the main culprits in the defeat, and the Sooners went down in just the second game of the season, despite high expectations for the year.
Oklahoma's defense just doesn't have the same excellence they had a year ago, despite playing better in the second half of the game. OU will also be without starting linebacker Kip Lewis for "some time" going forward, and starting safety Michael Boganowski was also injured in Saturday's game. There's a lot of improvement that needs to happen on that side
of the ball, but it pales in comparison to the improvement that needs to happen on offense.
General manager Jim Nagy and head coach Brent Venables believed that John Mateer was the right quarterback to get them where they wanted to go this year, and that Ben Arbuckle was the right offensive coordinator to get the job done. Both were very subpar against Michigan, along with OU's offensive line. A running game that didn't get enough of a chance and a group of weapons in the passing game that couldn't get open only add to the laundry list of problems this offense suddenly has.
For the third straight year, it looks like the Sooners will have to find ways to win without much of an offense, a fact that's becoming far too common under Venables. It's beginning to look like the head man can't foster an environment where the offense can have success.
After the game, Venables was focused on finding ways for the Sooners to get better. After 10 wins last year, it sure looks like Oklahoma in 2026 is closer to the six-win teams that Venables has fielded twice already; well below the standard in Norman.
"I know they're going to respond," Venables said. "We have to continue to get better. Had we found a way to put a two-minute drive together there and won the game, I'm going to come in here and say the same thing. We got to get better, I think it goes without saying. Michigan's a really talented football team. We know that, and we're going to see a lot more talented teams as well as the season goes on, and so, I know our guys, what they're made of. Don't question that whatsoever."
Oklahoma hosts New Mexico next week, a very well-coached team that is one of the better squads at the Group of Six level. Make no mistake, they are capable of coming to Norman and getting the win in Week 3 if the Sooners look like they did in Week 2.
Following that are games against Georgia, an extremely talented juggernaut, and Texas, an extremely talented team that Venables almost always loses to. That leads into a gauntlet of an SEC schedule. In a winnable game, the Sooners couldn't get it done in Ann Arbor, and improvement has to happen quickly, from the top down. If Oklahoma doesn't get al lot better, and quickly, it'll be a long season for the Sooners.
There is still time to turn things around for Venables in 2026, but the clock is ticking. He has to figure out some way to fix what Sooner Nation saw on the field on Saturday afternoon.
"We got to improve, find out the ways that we can do a better job as a staff and help them be better when it matters the most," Venables said. "Got to do everything we can to again put this game behind us, learn from it, grow from it, get better from it."
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X@Aaron_Gelvin.
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Brent Venables knows the Sooners have to improve after Michigan loss
