Oklahoma's stumble against Michigan foreshadows ugly times ahead

What a difference a year makes for the Oklahoma Sooners. Not only in terms of how they fared against the Michigan Wolverines, but also in what may lie ahead now on a daunting schedule.

Last season's 24-13 win for Oklahoma in Norman over the Wolverines set the stage for what would be a stellar season for the Sooners. It was not only an introduction for transfer quarterback John Mateer (who accounted for three total touchdowns in that Michigan win) but also a statement that the Sooners were ready to compete against big-name competition in their second season in the Southeastern Conference.

Saturday's 17-10 loss in Ann Arbor, however, may serve as the announcement that the Sooners are getting ready to take a step back from last year's 10-2 mark and first-round loss in the College Football Playoff.

Michigan game was key for rest of Oklahoma Sooners' schedule

What comes next for Oklahoma is anything but easy and could well take the Sooners out of any kind of CFP conversation. After a home game with New Mexico next week, the Sooners' next two games are against teams ranked in the top four of the Associated Press Top 25 rankings. Oklahoma travels to second-ranked Georgia and then, after an off week, has the Red River Rivalry game in Dallas against fourth-ranked Texas.

Entering those games 3-0 versus 2-1 certainly has a different feel to it, as could 3-2 versus 2-3 overall unless the Sooners can forge an upset away from Norman against a pair of SEC powerhouses.

Home games against Mississippi State and Texas A&M (both currently ranked in the AP top 10) on back-to-back weeks in November may not as matter as much for the Sooners after mid-October, especially with the Michigan loss now on the books.

Certainly that's a doom-and-gloom scenario, but it's also a realistic one. 

Perhaps the Sooners would have flamed out with the upcoming SEC schedule anyway, but Oklahoma has already found itself on the wrong end of a close game in 2026 as opposed to last season when the Sooners found ways to win tight contests at Tennessee and Alabama on their way to an 8-2 start.

Oklahoma won those close games thanks to the steady play of Mateer, who looked anything but steady on Saturday. Certainly Michigan's defense played a role in that, sacking him three times and pulling off a key interception that set up the Wolverines' winning score.

Mateer finished 17-of-33 for 189 yards and added 45 yards on the ground. However, needing a touchdown to tie, Oklahoma's two final drives netted a total of 13 yards with Mateer going 1-of-5 for just 3 yards. And that 3-yard completion turned into a killer for Oklahoma. It came over the middle as the Sooners had no timeouts remaining, keeping the clock running.

After that 3-yard pass, Oklahoma had a penalty with a 10-second runoff, an incomplete pass and a 10-yard sack that ended the game.

It was poor time management, and that can't come in a must-convert situation. It was also the type of scenarios where Oklahoma had some kind of answer last season.

This year, there was nothing.

There is certainly still hope that "Sooner Magic" will be uncorked in the coming weeks. However, if what Oklahoma fans saw on Saturday continues against an SEC schedule, it could be a brutal few weeks ahead.