A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to 1-11

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It was supposed to be the marquee home game of the season, certainly the non-conference season—the kind of matchup you love as a fan. The Big House return game in a home-and-home series, the kind that typically gets canceled these days to pave easier paths to the playoffs.

Then last week Western Michigan happened: the “controversial miracle,” and what seemed like a definitive failed eye test on many levels. And man, the bottom fell out so fast, and somehow with zero context. First game under a new head coach, new OC, new DC, new everything. Add in a “not-your-daddy’s MAC team” in WMU and those goddamn yellow uniforms. But maybe there’s no excuse for what we watched a week ago, and therein lies the complicated life of anchoring a portion of your life to a group of 18-22 year olds.

Let’s overreact.

Put in Carr. Fire Whittingham. I don’t see another win on this schedule.

The line flipped seven points in the Sooners’ direction. Oklahoma folks were kicking themselves for not planning the pilgrimage to College Football’s Mecca, where the walk-in price had plummeted to $40.

But inevitably, toe met leather at noon, just like Bo would have wanted.

The defense dominated, putting John Mateer in the crosshairs of the Oklahoma torch-and-pitchfork crowd. Should we talk all week about Mateer’s $3 million NIL deal, or should we still talk about Bryce’s? I wonder if Brent Venables would say his patience with Mateer is “infinite?”

And, off-topic from this game…I wonder if Oregon’s program is in “shambles” after losing by 8 to a team with a double-digit losing streak and a spread of 23.5?

Never forget that they hate us because they ain’t us.

On the other side of the ball, Bryce looked far more comfortable under center and used his legs and his receivers as weapons. He showed flashes of brilliance and athleticism against what was supposed to be a top-tier defense.

Bryce is Michigan’s leading rusher after two games.

There were plenty of miscues and stupid penalties. It wasn’t perfect, far from it, but combined with the motivation of a media and fanbase telling them that a season was over before it even started, it was enough.

Michigan wins 17-10 over the #11 team in the country.

Let’s overreact.

Everything is fine. Bryce is on a path to greatness. Whit’s got this team clicking.

Go Blue!

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All the Photos from the 2025 Oklahoma Experience

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Got Punched by the Gift Horse: Oklahoma 24, Michigan 13

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It made no sense to anyone watching that this was a one score game in the 4th quarter. Those that hung on to hope were the heart-first fans, not the football ones. Michigan didn’t look particularly good in any aspect of Saturday’s affair, but most troubling was that they were seemingly less motivated and less tough. The line of scrimmage was dominated by the Sooners. Tackles were broken. Michigan players couldn’t get off of blocks on defense, and couldn’t keep consistent blocks on offense. Bryce had very little time to make decisions, and nothing was done to mitigate that with the gameplay. While these programs seemed to be a mirror image of each other, Oklahoma did a better job of playing to their strengths (or away from their weaknesses) and took chances with their stars and with their play calling. They succeeded. At this snapshot in time, Oklahoma has built a better Michigan than Michigan. Some of that is a product of more seasoned upperclassmen that have been in that system, some of that is a product of a significantly less conservative offensive approach, and some of that is Sooner players just straight whipped Michigan’s ass. if you take away a 75-yard breakaway scamper (by the best offseason pickup RB in the country) and the countless unforced gifts Oklahoma provided, and this game was a blowout.

Bryce didn’t look great, nor did his sideline skirmish with Haynes, but with an already suspect O-Line that lost its (lone?) anchor to injury early and a gameplan that continued to force the issue as if Joe Moore was in the building, its hard to put blame on the dude who just bought his first pack of cigs last week. The troubling part is that things felt very 2024. And while we all got warm fuzzies about how 2024 ended, I’m not going to be very satisfied if there are four more losses before we “get it figured out.”

So where does Michigan go from here? A get-right game with Central is followed by a second legacy Big-12 matchup on the road, this time against a super motivated Nebraska team with a rich home tradition and a coach that thought sign stealing made a difference. I’d call it a recipe for an upset, but I’m not sure Michigan will be favored going in to that one. Anyway, that will be a test. One that Michigan will need to pass to avoid mass googling of the 2026 schedule. And to pass that test, we are going to need to popsicle stick and chewing gum the O-Line into something better or game plan around it…like let Bryce throw downfield…or let Bryce run…or do something football-coachy that I don’t even understand but that serves us well. Moving forward, a one-game-at-a-time approach is probably the ticket, so lets Eat Bacon and whip the Chips this Saturday before we decide how to defend Dylan Raiola.

A moment about the Oklahoma fan base - let me add to the pile of visitors that was absolutely charmed by the polite ladies and gentlemen of Norman. A cavalcade of well dressed, hand-shaking, well-wishing folks central casted from the people that brought you Yellowstone (the fancy city episodes). An absolute joy to be around all day and even in the stadium. An older fella next to me would exclaim “That call is bullshit” or “That was holding!” and follow it up with a calm turn and a “Where you from?” and “How was the flight?” Looking forward to hosting them next year.

Go Blue

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Mass Debate? I Don't Think So

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This entire Bowl Season has sucked.  Why?  Because we were not in it.  I've watched, perhaps this year more than any other due to the lack of a bowl trip to manage.  No sightseeing Orlando, Pasedena, or the Riverwalk over the holidays, only the quiet comfort of riveting contests like the Poinsettia Bowl to calm my nerves as we wait for recruits to commit and decommit...and the arrival of a new defensive coordinator.  I think I would have had a better time attending the world championships of beer pong.  I can't figure out how it isn't televised on ESPNU.  Anyway, the season, while over for us on November 22nd, and over for most by Jan 1, ended for everybody tonight.  Florida won the BCS championship game on Thursday 24-14, but in this era of hope and change, some other one-loss schools (USC/Utah/Texas/Boise) have staked a claim.  Here's why no one but Florida has a leg to stand on.

USC: Lost a game at home to Oregon State.  Oregon State lost to Penn State 45-14.  Lose to a team that lost to a Big Ten team...outta here.  Slight conundrum that USC dismantled Penn State in the Rose Bowl...but then again, they are automatically disqualified from NC contention for playing their bowl game against a team from the Big Ten and not winning by 35.  Sucks to be in the PAC-10 with that forced Big Ten matchup.

Utah: Plays in Mountain West Conference.  That should be enough.  But, they also only beat Michigan by 2 points....Toledo beat Michigan by 3 points.  Outta here.

Boise State: Play most games on Thursday nights.  Have a blue field.  Outta here.

Texas: Did not make their conference championship game.  Played a Big Ten team in their bowl game, and won by less than 35.  Outta here.

So, congrats to Florida and to Tim Tebow, who will likely end his career with only one bowl loss...