5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 17-10 loss to Michigan
· Yahoo Sports
The Oklahoma Sooners suffered a disappointing loss to the Michigan Wolverines, 17-10, on Saturday in Ann Arbor. The Sooners' offense was held under 300 yards, and John Mateer completed just 52% of his passes. Oklahoma entered the game as the favorite and struggled offensively.
The offense couldn't string together enough positive plays and lived in third down too much.
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The offense can't play like it did today if the Oklahoma Sooners want to make the playoff. That much is simple. Oklahoma has to find answers and find them quickly. Here are five takeaways from the Sooners' loss to Michigan.
1. What run game?
There was a lot of talk this offseason about the Oklahoma Sooners trying to improve their run game. It looked pretty good against UTEP. At times against Michigan, they found running room with their backs. But the problem is they didn't stick with it.
Oklahoma's running backs received 13 carries. The same amount as John Mateer. Sometimes, it's okay to simply turn and hand the ball off to a running back and let your offensive line get downhill.
Avant averaged 3.9 yards per carry on his nine carries. Certainly not a great number, but good enough to keep running the ball. He ran for 35 yards, including an eight-yard run to start the game. But then Arbuckle never went back to him on that opening drive.
Avant opened the second drive with a six-yard run but didn't get another carry, and Oklahoma later punted. On the third drive, Avant had a two-yard run on the second play and an 11-yard run. Avant's final carry of the first half came on the Sooners' final drive, a six-yard run for a first down.
Avant was the most consistent and effective part of the offense and only received five carries in the first half. Then he only got four carries in the second half.
Arbuckle has to commit to giving his running backs carries. And not in read-option or RPO situations. Just turn and hand the ball off and let the offensive line get downhill and run block.
2. John Mateer can't do it all
John Mateer accounted for 33 pass attempts and 13 carries. That's 46 of Oklahoma's 60 plays. Yes, the quarterback is going to touch the ball more, but Ben Arbuckle has to create better balance and take some of the load off of his quarterback.
Mateer has enough talent to win a game like this, but it shouldn't all be on his shoulders. He didn't do enough to create balance in the offense by handing it off, which would open up the play-action game for Mateer and the passing attack.
Mateer's interception came at the worst time and in the worst situation. In a game like this, when Oklahoma's offense is struggling to make a play, Mateer has to learn to eat the ball and punt it away on third down.
Arbuckle and Mateer have to take a long look in the mirror at themselves and their philosophy. Oklahoma isn't playing Washington State's schedule.
3. Isaiah Sategna clamped up
Isaiah Sategna was an All-SEC second-team selection in 2025. He wasn't that today. He was targeted 10 times and caught only two. Sategna finished the day with two receptions for nine yards and three carries for 11 yards. He was the target on John Mateer's interception and wasn't really open. That Sategna couldn't get open enough, or that Arbuckle couldn't find opportunities for him to make plays downfield, is a problem.
4. Defense was Good Enough
Was the defense great? No. Was it perfect? No. Was it good enough for the Oklahoma Sooners to win the game? Absolutely.
The Sooners' defense shut Michigan's offense down for much of the second half, but was put in a bad spot after John Mateer's interception and subsequent return gave Michigan the ball at the six-yard line.
17 points should always be enough to win a football game. If the other side isn't going to give you the defense the ball, they can't score for the offense. Too many times the defense has been put in a position like this.
The offense has to do their part.
5. Little Room for Error
With Oklahoma's schedule, this was a must-win. The Sooners have big-time aspirations with a team that many inside the program and outside believe is the most talented team of the Brent Venables era. If that's the case, you can't afford letdowns like that, even on the road, and even in a hostile road environment.
Oklahoma gets a well-coached New Mexico team next week. Then it's Georgia and Texas. Oklahoma has to go 2-1 in their next three if they want to enter the second half of the season with just one loss.
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: 5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 17-10 loss to Michigan