Michigan Football Winners and Losers from Massive Win Over Oklahoma

What a difference a week makes.

Merely seven days after being embarrassed on their home field for winning a game that was mired in controversy, Michigan had no time to lick its wounds. Their next opponent was not another cupcake to attempt to work on things that ailed them the previous week.

It was the Oklahoma Sooners out of the SEC, coming to Ann Arbor after beating Michigan by double digits just one season ago.

Instead of laying down, as many expected them to throughout the week, Michigan’s defense stood tall against a potential Heisman Trophy candidate in John Mateer.

A couple big plays on offense, coupled with one massive takeaway on defense, and the Wolverines rule the day with a 17-10 victory.

Here are our winners and losers from their big victory.

Winner: DE John Henry Daley

Michigan was only officially credited with three sacks on the day, but it felt like John Mateer was under pressure early and often. Newcomer John Henry Daley was quiet in his Michigan debut, but wasted little time affecting Mateer in his follow up.

Daley bull rushed the left tackle, showing off impressive power to push him into the lap of Mateer before putting him on the ground, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Daley and Dom Nichols have proven to be an excellent duo early in the season. It will be interesting to see how many pressures Daley is officially credited with when the stats become official Sunday morning.

Regardless, a game of this magnitude is one where a team’s best players have to play their best. Daley certainly did that.

Winner: DE Nate Marshall

Michigan was just one play away from victory. Unfortunately, they had to pull their starting edge rushers off the field as they were gassed after chasing around Mateer for the first couple of plays on Oklahoma’s final possession of the game.

Nate Marshall checked into the game with a chance to close things out, and etch his name into Michigan lore.

Mateer and the offense were trying to move their way down the field to give themselves a chance at a hail mary to stun Michigan in a way that Michigan stunned Western Michigan one week ago.

It was not to be. Marshall raced around the corner, and Mateer never stood a chance. Marshall buried him into the turf as the rest of time melted away.

Winner: CB Smith Snowden

Smith Snowden is as sticky as they come through two games as a Michigan cornerback. John Mateer and his bevy of pass catchers should have been an excellent test for a secondary that was excellent last week against Western Michigan.

Snowden is rarely beaten in coverage. He’s rarely targeted.

Whenever he is, he’s in perfect position to either knock the ball away, or make the tackle on a throw near the line of scrimmage.

He’s been an excellent addition through two weeks for a Michigan secondary that is deep and talented at cornerback.

Winner: CB Jyaire Hill

Hill nearly found his name on the other side of this list, after a boneheaded personal foul penalty gave Oklahoma’s offense a second life in the second half.

Hill has had a propensity to run hot with his motor, and sometimes it leads to plays like that.

Had the game ended there, Hill would have gotten a thumbs down for the game. But it didn’t end there, and Hill made what was the biggest play of the game.

Jyaire Hill gets his hands on it and sets us up perfectly! pic.twitter.com/LQg5RwDv9Z
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) September 12, 2026

Michigan and Oklahoma were deadlocked at 10 with the Sooners trying to drive for a potential go-ahead score. They were facing a third-and-9 from their own 16. Mateer tried to make a play down the field, but Hill undercut the route for an interception and returned the ball deep into Oklahoma territory.

Two plays later, Jordan Marshall scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. With an offense struggling the way that Michigan’s did throughout the game, big plays had to come on defense. Michigan was plus-2 in the turnover margin today, and Hill’s play was the difference maker in the biggest moment of the game.

Winner: QB Bryce Underwood

Was it the gaudiest stat line? No. Underwood finished the day 9-17 for 111 yards and did not throw a touchdown pass.

What did he do? He took care of the ball against an Oklahoma defense that thrives on creating negative plays.

Underwood added 87 yards on the ground with 18 carries, and scored the first touchdown of the game as he reminded the world what a good athlete he is in open space.

TOUCHDOWN WOLVERINES 〽️

QB Bryce Underwood takes it himself 38 yards to the HOUSE!@Wendys pic.twitter.com/jaBOk89PdZ
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 12, 2026

Underwood and the offense still have a lot of things to work on, but the mission today was not to be able to win a shootout. It was to take care of the ball and make just enough plays to win.

He did that, and showed maturity along the way. If nothing else, calls for his job should be quieted.

Winner: DC Jay Hill

The star of the game was the leader of the defense. Take a bow, Jay Hill. As much fanfare that came with the hires of Michigan’s offensive staff, Hill became almost a forgotten man on that side of the ball.

Through two weeks, Michigan’s defense looks like far-and-away its strongest unit. Hill was masterful today. Save for one series in the second half, he always looked like he was a step ahead of Oklahoma’s offense. Michigan’s defense carries a heavy burden while their offense continues to search for ways to put points on the scoreboard.

Hill and his defense were up to the task today, and have proven that the team can lean on it while they try to find their way on offense.

Winner: P Cam Brown

It’s probably not a good thing if the punter is listed on a list like this, but Cameron Brown certainly deserves consideration here.

He had two punts downed deep in Oklahoma territory, and was able to get the final punt of the game off to pin the Sooners deep in their own territory.

It’s boring, but sometimes games are won with the field position battle. Michigan’s special teams were certainly a boost to them today.

Loser: Run Game

Michigan’s ground game is lost. Bryce Underwood has been the leading rusher in each of the team’s first two games. Yes, there are some designed runs that Underwood can create more space with as opposed to the running backs.

Underwood had 18 carries for 87 yards, most of which came on the 38-yard-touchdown to open the scoring for the day.

Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter combined for 38 yards on 19 carries. Michigan looked predictable on offense at times, especially on their final two series of the game. Perhaps that’s a byproduct of how little Jason Beck trusts his team at this point of the season. If it’s not, they need to find some answers, or the offense will continue to be stuck in neutral.

Loser: Offensive Identity

This kind of furthers the point above. Michigan is running east and west in a lot of their run game concepts. They’re not finding much room when they do that. They’re finding less room when they try to run downhill. Their guard play leaves a lot to be desired with Evan Link getting benched in favor of Nate Efobi on Saturday.

Their passing game is confusing. They play a lot of sets with multiple tight ends, or their rhino package, with players who are little-to-no threat for catching the ball. That leaves the passing game entirely on the shoulders of Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan. When the opposing defense only has to cover two players with seven guys, it’s easy pickings for them.

Michigan needs to figure out what they’re good at. The guess here is they’re better suited to play out of 11 personnel to spread the field more, while trying to run at opposing defenses instead of around them.

Next week’s game against UTEP will be a good opportunity to work on some things before conference play begins against Iowa.

Loser: Penalties

Penalties were a problem last week against Western Michigan. Penalties were a problem again Saturday against Oklahoma. The Wolverines were penalized 11 times Saturday. Some of them were a byproduct of bad luck, for example, Dom Nichols was flagged for a facemask when John Mateer ducked out of a sack, and he got a piece of the back of his helmet. Yes, it’s a penalty, but not a byproduct of a lack of discipline.

Jyaire Hill? That is unacceptable. Illegal procedure penalties? Unacceptable. Not knowing where to line up? Unacceptable.

Michigan’s coaching staff has a calling card of discipline. They need to find it before conference play begins.

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