4 Stats to Know Ahead of Michigan Wolverines vs. Oklahoma Sooners

It's only a game sample size, but these stats could matter in Week 2.

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Michigan went from No. 16 to unranked following its controversial win over Western Michigan this past weekend. The Wolverines will welcome in Oklahoma, who took down Michigan in Norman a season ago.

While it's just a game sample size, here are four stats to know about the teams heading into Saturday's contest.

Michigan's third-down conversions

Stat: Michigan converted just 3-for-10 on its third-down attempts against WMU, which makes the Wolverines No. 112 in the nation

The Wolverines' offense struggled to stay on the field last weekend against Western Michigan, and while the Broncos played good, sound defense, Michigan hurt itself. The Wolverines' offensive line didn't create enough push, which set Michigan behind the chains.

Bryce Underwood faced a lot of third-and-mediums and third-and-longs, and with how poorly he read the defense, Michigan didn't stay on the field, putting its defense in a bind. The Wolverines are going to need to get more push for their run game and that would make third downs more manageable.

Oklahoma's third-down defense

Stat: Oklahoma's defense allowed UTEP to go 2-for-13 on third-down tries on Friday night

This is another stat to know and an easy one to compare with already talking about the Wolverines' third-down offense. Take Oklahoma's game for what it's worth, since it was playing UTEP — a team the Wolverines will see next weekend — but Oklahoma did exactly what it was supposed to do.

The Sooners got off the field and that led to them shutting out UTEP. Oklahoma could be the best defense Michigan faces this season, and, as said above, it's going to be critical for Michigan to stay ahead of the sticks.

Oklahoma's rushing offense

Stat: Oklahoma's rushing attack gained 170 yards against UTEP, which ranked the Sooners 64th in the nation

What could bode well for Michigan is that the Sooners' offense didn't light up the Miners on the ground. RB Lloyd Avant led the team with 79 rushing yards and QB John Mateer had seven on three carries.

Michigan's defensive line is much stronger than UTEP's, and while Oklahoma's game plan will be drastically different on Saturday compared to last weekend, it's notable that the Sooners didn't run at will on UTEP. Oklahoma averaged 4.4 yards per carry and Michigan has a chance to lower that number.

Making John Mateer one-dimensional is important and if the Wolverines can slow down the rushing attack, it will make Mateer attempt to beat Michigan's secondary.

Michigan's penalties

Stat: Michigan had nine for 80 yards against WMU, which ranked the Wolverines No. 116 in the nation

If Michigan is going to have any chance to beat Oklahoma on Saturday, this number cannot show up. Nine penalties are a lot in general and for a Kyle Whittingham team — it's a ton. Whittingham is used to running well-disciplined programs and Michigan was not it on Saturday.

The Wolverines cannot shoot themselves in the foot with stupid penalties. Most of them were controllable and an interception was called back due to Jyaire Hill's interception. The play needs to be cleaned up against the Sooners.

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