No. 16 Michigan got real lucky on Saturday after the officials granted the Wolverines another shot at the end zone after quarterback Bryce Underwood's initial Hail Mary attempt that went floating out of bounds. The 13-12 finish in Ann Arbor caused a lot of uproar and upset across college football, but the No. 18 Penn State Nittany Lions still had something to celebrate in the aftermath.
In fact, they have even more to look forward to in Week 2 with Michigan.
The Wolverines face No. 10 Oklahoma on Saturday. While their No. 16 spot in the AP Poll will likely change after the embarrassing performance against Western Michigan, it should still be a ranked matchup between Michigan and the Sooners.
Oklahoma at Michigan gives Penn State a preview of how the Wolverines perform in big moments
Oklahoma had an expected performance on Friday for a ranked team in the country, shutting out UTEP 51-0. This Week 2 matchup will show just how well head coach Kyle Whittingham's Wolverines can bounce back from their non-loss in Week 1.
This is the first game Penn State can asses from its toughest opponents — Michigan, USC, and Washington — in terms of how well they perform against ranked teams. Both the Trojans and Huskies don't face a ranked team until Big Ten play.
The game can go one of two ways: either Whittingham fails to rally the team and the Wolverines can't keep up with the Sooners, or Michigan has new life in Week 2 and looks like a Top 25 team.
While almost any other college team would prefer the former, the Nittany Lions would better benefit from the latter. If the Wolverines are still ranked by the time Week 7 rolls around, a win looks a lot better on head coach Matt Campbell's resume and a loss doesn't look as bad either. Even if Michigan doesn't beat Oklahoma, Penn State is in a better position if it puts up a fight in Week 2 and proves that Western Michigan was just a fluke and unpreparedness.
Underwood was 12-of-22 for 170 yards and one touchdowns. He threw one interception and had a poor, 54.5 completion rate to end the evening. John Mateer was 11-of-17 for 225 yards and three touchdowns (zero interceptions), and finished with a 64.7 completion percentage against UTEP. The Wolverines put up 276 total yards of offense to the Sooners' 401.
Michigan has to rise to the challenge, especially after what happened on Saturday. It was already an important and telling contest for the Wolverines (and the Big Ten teams they face in 2026) before losing to the Broncos, but now there's added pressure and a brighter spotlight to see how they respond.
Can Michigan and Whittingham overcome an early disappointment? Will the Wolverines look like the threat Penn State initially thought they were heading into the season? Saturday will answer those questions and more. The Nittany Lions' best case scenario is a middle ground between looking better enough to stay in the Top 25, but not too much where Michigan looks like it'll give Penn State a lot of trouble.
By the time Week 7 rolls around, things will undoubtedly change in some ways for both the Nittany Lions and Wolverines. In the meantime, this matchup with Oklahoma is what Penn State will have to baase judgment on.
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