Sooners on SI Podcast: Oklahoma's Non-Conference Showpiece is Here

Listen to the Sooners on SI Podcast's full preview of this weekend's battle between the No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners and the No. 15 Michigan Wolverines.

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer celebrates his first victory with the Sooners. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The entire Sooners on SI crew — John Hoover, Ryan Chapman and Carson Field — returned to the podcast this week to preview No. 18 Oklahoma's massive matchup with No. 15 Michigan.

Before diving into the Wolverines, Hoover stopped to give his view on how the Sooners played in their 35-3 victory over the Illinois State Redbirds.

With Week 1 in the books, the trio looked forward to the second-ever meeting between OU and Big Blue.

First, they covered the stakes of Saturday's clash before recapping all of the injury updates given by Brent Venables about offensive linemen Michael Fasusi and Derek Simmons and running back Jaydn Ott.

They discussed Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle's view of Ott's Week 1 snap count, then previewed how the Sooners might try to establish the run against Michigan's physical front seven.

The guys also discussed offensive analyst Kevin Wilson's role with the coaching staff, as he was often seen right beside Arbuckle against the Redbirds, and guessed how his experience could help Arbuckle game plan for the Wolverines.

Then they dove into quarterback John Mateer's Week 1 showing, and what the new OU signal caller will have to do to notch the biggest win of his career.

After a long discussion on OU's offense, attention turned to the other side of the ball.

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Read More Oklahoma vs. Michigan

• Column: Why Oklahoma-Michigan Has Always Been Worth Waiting For
• Brent Venables Calls on Fans Ahead of Oklahoma-Michigan: 'It Takes Everybody'
• Oklahoma WR Deion Burks on Battling Michigan: 'It's Definitely Personal'

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Venables previewed how he tries to prepare for a true freshman quarterback playing his second collegiate game, while linebacker Kobie McKinzie and cornerback Gentry Williams praised Bryce Underwood's outing against New Mexico.

Hoover, Chapman and Field went over Michigan's offense and highlighted the members of Oklahoma's defense that will have to have a big night against the Wolverines for the Sooners to enjoy Saturday's showpiece.

Hoover also laid out how this meeting between Oklahoma and Michigan, the first between either program outside of the Orange Bowl, came to be.

Shifting away from the game, the crew broke down the Sooners' first in-state commitment of the 2026 class in Rejoice Christian School wide receiver Xavier Okwufulueze.

The softball program also announced their fall schedule on Wednesday, so Chapman quickly gave all of those details before closing down the podcast for the week.

You can listen to the Sooners on SI Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and you can watch the show on YouTube.