Game Recap: Michigan

Do the Oklahoma Sooners have a top-five defense in college football? Most likely. Do they have a top-ten offense? Perhaps. Do they have an outstanding player in John Mateer? Absolutely. Mateer and the offense performed exceptionally well against the #15 Michigan Wolverines. They took an early lead and never looked back. Let's discuss that victory. Offensive paragraphs are written by me, defensive paragraphs are written by Sam.

Photo credit to Athlon Sports

1st Quarter

The offense got off to a strong start with a 12-play, 75-yard, five-minute touchdown drive. Given the caliber of the Michigan defense, that is outstanding. This drive was ALL John Mateer, just like the rest of the game ended up being. Third and long? Heave it down field to Jaren Kanak. Then Deion Burks. Then run it on fourth down. Then flip a touchdown pass. He is a magician. Unfortunately, this was really all we did in the first quarter. After Mateer hit Deion Burks on a bomb down the sideline to start the second drive, OU ran five non-punting plays the rest of the quarter, gaining four yards and turning the ball over. Mateer missed a wide-open player and threw it right to a Michigan safety. If we had last year's offense, we wouldn't have crossed the 50. Considering we were winning at the end of the first was very encouraging.

Score at the end of this quarter: 7-0 OU

2nd Quarter

The Sooners only had the ball twice in the second quarter, and we didn't do too badly with it. We punted on our first drive of the quarter, but not after driving the ball to midfield. The second drive was a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that ended with John Mateer running it into the endzone. The drive killed the clock and fixed a mix of the run and pass. John "Moneyline" Mateer showed he is worth every penny it cost to bring him here. The main thing to notice from the first half is our offensive line. John Mateer constantly had all day to throw the ball, and, while it still left room to be desired, the run blocking really began to open up. Given the quality of the defense Oklahoma faced, that is a great sign for the future.

The first and second quarters were largely similar. Oklahoma’s defense dominated in every facet of the game. From penetration of the offensive line, to tackles for loss, to a secondary draped like a blanket over the Michigan receiving corps, Bryce Underwood and the Wolverine offense became intimately familiar with the vaunted Venables defense. Despite Oklahoma failing to get a takeaway in the first half, extremely physical play at the line and a missed field goal by the Wolverines kept Michigan scoreless.

Score at the end of this quarter: 14-0 OU

3rd Quarter

The third quarter was both stale and magical offensively. Can it be both? Our first and third drives were seven plays for 17 yards and two punts. The second drive was very nearly a three-and-out, until John Mateer said, "screw it, I'm at OU, I'm gonna let it rip." The dude proceeded to avoid a sack on third down, throw downfield on the run to Isiah Sategna, and hit him in stride. After that, Jaren Kanak laid a man-sized block on a Michigan LB so Mateer could waltz into the endzone. That bomb, when John Mateer is in New York for the heisman ceremony, will be shown as the play that inserted him firmly into the heisman race.

In the third quarter, the Oklahoma defense broke its focus on the first play of the half, yielding a 75-yard touchdown run by Justice Haynes. Aside from that, little was given by OU in the third quarter. Courtland Guillory and Kendal Daniels kept up their leading effort on the defense and helped hold Michigan to just two more field goals. The 13 in this quarter would be the Wolverines’ only points of the game.

Score at the end of this quarter: 21-13 OU

4th Quarter

Technically, our first drive of this quarter started in the third quarter, but it was mostly in the third. And the drive ended exactly how we hoped it would: a missed field goal, keeping it a one-score game against a ranked opponent. Yay. Once the Sooner's got the ball back, however, Ben Arbuckle decided he had endured enough of our offense being on the sideline. Mateer proceeded to lead a 16-play, 78-yard, 8-MINUTE AND 27-SECOND drive that ended with a chip-shot field goal from the three-yard line. Given how the defense played to this point, we knew the game was over. An absolute masterpiece of a drive to end the game for the Sooners.

The fourth quarter saw little of the Sooner defense on the field. The offense’s 8-and-a-half minute drive to ice the game ensured our unit was well rested and able to force a couple of key punts and a turnover on downs to close it out.

This was the signature win of the Venables era and his self-led defense succeeded in its core mission - confuse and overwhelm  the opposing quarterback. Underwood finished 9/24 and didn’t have any completed passes that sniffed the end zone. The defense will need to carry this same effort forward to Temple and beyond to keep things moving.

Final score: 24-13 OU

Observations

• John Mateer is, arguably, the best QB in the SEC. If he can start putting air under some of his throws as opposed to darting every pass, he will be unstoppable.

• Jaren Kanak is a dominant Tight End? Absolutely.

• The offensive line bullied the stout Michigan defensive line.

• Our secondary, while they played a great game, have a lot to clean up. Too many open receivers tonight.

• We might have the best defensive line in the country.

• Owen Heinecke is a man.

• Brent Venables has this defense rocking and rolling.

• Our running backs are not playing at the level needed for us to win a title. They need to become a threat.

• If you want to run against our defense, you're gonna have a bad time.

• If we can clean up errors and stop getting in our own way, this team could go 12-0.

• Whether it be muffed punts, muffed kick-offs, roughing the punter, or missed field goals, our special teams unit has a way to go.

• Our punter, Grayson Miller, is a beast.

Key Players

• John Mateer: 21-34, 270 yards, one touchdown, one interception. 19 rushes, 74 yards, two touchdowns.

• Deion Burks: Seven catches, 101 yards, one touchdown.

• Jaren Kanak: 5 catches, 69 yards.

• Owen Heinecke: Seven tackles, two solo, one tackle-for-loss, one pass deflection.

• Kendal Daniels: Four tackles, three solo, 2.5 tackles-for-loss.

• Grayson Miller: Four punts, 191 yards

Other Stats

• Offense: 21-34, 408 yards, 7.9 yards per pass, one touchdown, one interception. 40 rushes, 138 yards, 3.5 yards per rush. 9-17 on third down, 1-1 on fourth down, 22 total first downs.

• Defense: 3-14 on third down, 0-1 on fourth down, 5.9 yards per pass and 4.6 yards per run—12 first downs.

So far, this is the best-case scenario for this season. Show growth on the offensive side of the ball and win against a ranked blue-blood at home. We've still got a long season ahead of us, with at least six ranked opponents still to play (all in our last seven games of the season). Up next is Temple, who is looking strong so far. For now, let's celebrate this win. Boomer!

All stats above courtesy of ESPN.