Oklahoma leaned on toughness, balance, and a stifling defense to defeat Michigan 24–13 in Norman. It was a performance that left head coach Brent Venables beaming with pride.
“All right…a great win for our guys, our coaches, our players from Sooner Nation. Man, they were awesome. They really showed up tonight and affected the game. That was a lot of fun to be a part of. The passion, the energy in the stadium, in our locker room. Hard-fought victory…didn’t play our best game and still won by a couple scores. So, we’ll take that.”
Quarterback John Mateer led the charge efficiently, passing for 270 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 74 yards and two scores. Venables praised his adaptability: “John, you know, showed his acumen as a runner as well…quarternacks that are playing at the highest level, they can throw it and they can run it and improvise.”
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— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) September 7, 2025
The offensive line got singled out too. “Started off giving a game ball to Bill Bedenbaugh and the offensive line group. Really proud of those guys. Everything that they’ve battled through.”
Defensively, Oklahoma held Michigan to just 288 total yards, forced three conversions on 15 third- and fourth-down attempts, and limited them to a 38% completion rate. Venables emphasized this was no accident: “Your mindset sets the tempo for everything, and I’m really proud of the toughness that our guys played with on defense.”
With this win, the Sooners showed early they’re a force again. “Our destination isn’t to be 2–0 and beat Michigan…I’m really excited about what this team can become…This is a players’ game…celebrate, man. What we do is too hard. You only get 12 opportunities guaranteed at the beginning of the year.”
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