Dave Portnoy was not exactly worried about Michigan when the season started. He had already made his prediction for the Oklahoma game. The Wolverines were going to win it. For a fan who has spent much of the offseason backing the program, the confidence was pretty straightforward. Then Michigan actually played its first game.
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The 13-12 win over Western Michigan changed the mood in the fanbase. More so because the way UM won was fairly controversial. Portnoy still expects Kyle Whittingham’s team to be better against Oklahoma, but his confidence has taken a hit.
“Obviously, it’s a huge game, but Michigan has to be much better,” Portnoy said on the September 10 edition of the Joel Klatt Show. “I think they will [be]. I think we will be. I say we [because] I think we will be much better. And they’re a good team. If we beat [them], I’ve said this before, I think it’s an elimination game.”
The Wolverines looked rough in Whittingham’s debut at Ann Arbor. They won, but almost everything surrounding the result created questions. Bryce Underwood completed only 12 of 22 passes for 170 yards, threw an interception, and spent most of the afternoon struggling to get the offense moving.
Michigan produced only one touchdown before the final play. In fact, they couldn’t register a point on the scoreboard until late in the 4th quarter after the first drive of the game. The Wolverines needed a 47-yard Hail Mary to JJ Buchanan to escape with a victory. For a lot of people, that play shouldn’t even have happened as the play clock got exhausted on Bryce Underwood’s earlier Hail Mary attempt. At least for the TV audiences.
The offense had four three-and-outs, punted six times, and turned the ball over twice. The head coach didn’t shy away from taking accountability, though.
Whittingham acknowledged afterward that there was “a lot to fix” on that side of the ball. That is not the version Portnoy expected to see. Now the No. 11 Sooners are coming to Ann Arbor after destroying UTEP 51-0. For Portnoy, there’s a lot at stake for UM’s entire season.
“I’m a little shaken on the confidence,” Portnoy said. “But it’ll take an A+ effort, and it’s all us. If we play anything like last week, we’re going to lose.”
Of course, some things should concern UM fans. For starters, the ground game didn’t get going against the Broncos. Michigan could not consistently move Western Michigan off the line of scrimmage. That matters because this offense was supposed to have a much easier path to efficiency if it could establish the run and keep Underwood out of obvious passing situations.
Instead, the Wolverines repeatedly put their young quarterback in situations where he had to create something himself. The QB’s film had poor footwork, inconsistent mechanics, and questionable decisions, including throws into double coverage. Underwood’s 35.8 PFF offensive grade was the lowest on Michigan’s offense in the season opener. There was still one encouraging part.
Michigan’s offensive line graded well in pass protection, as per PFF. The issue was not simply that Underwood was getting crushed every snap. Michigan struggled to turn that protection into productive football. That’s where Oklahoma becomes a difficult matchup.
The way Brent Venables’ team plays can haunt Whittingham. Oklahoma did not need John Mateer to win the game by himself in Week 1. Its offense could create different problems through the quarterback’s legs, the passing game, and the offensive line.
Mateer threw three touchdown passes and produced 225 passing yards in the season opener. His ability to move outside the pocket gives Oklahoma another answer when a defense takes away the first read. Michigan already knows how dangerous that can be.
Last season, Oklahoma beat the Wolverines 24-13. The Sooners gained 408 yards, including 270 through the air, while Mateer accounted for three touchdowns. Michigan held up reasonably well against the run overall, but it struggled to consistently pressure Mateer or disrupt Oklahoma’s rhythm.
Still, UM’s defense should be better at home than its performance in Norman. However, the defense spent around 40 minutes on the field against Western Michigan. The unit still held the Broncos without a touchdown and limited them to 221 yards, but that workload cannot become a weekly habit. Oklahoma has a much better chance of punishing that.
That’s probably why Portnoy, despite pledging around $3 million annually to UM, doesn’t have full confidence in Michigan.