Joel Klatt labels Michigan vs. Oklahoma as a game that could shape 2025 football season

There is no shortage of exciting showdowns early in the 2025 college football campaign, including a matchup between Michigan and Oklahoma. On Monday, FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt explained how the face-off between the Wolverines and Sooners could impact the rest of the upcoming season.

“[Michigan] needs a bounce-back here desperately,” Klatt said. “Defense was fine last year. Offense was not. They need to figure out the quarterback position. They spent a lot of money. They did a lot of work in the recruiting process and got Bryce Underwood, one of the most attractive and sought-after recruits that we’ve seen in a long time. They landed him.”

With the help of a massive NIL deal, Michigan landed the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle, Bryce Underwood. The talented QB should provide a breath of fresh air for Wolverines fans after they suffered through the team’s lackluster offense last season.

In the 2024 campaign, Michigan only averaged 129.1 passing yards per game, the least of any Power Four team in the country. With Underwood leading the way, Michigan will look to remedy this issue from last season.

Alas, Michigan isn’t the only program looking to reverse course in 2025. Oklahoma finished last season with a 6-7 overall record, a significant regression from the team’s 10-3 record in the 2023 campaign.

In turn, head coach Brent Venables examined his program this offseason and made some serious changes. Namely, Venables hired Ben Arbuckle as the team’s new offensive coordinator. Quarterback John Mateer followed Arbuckle to Oklahoma from Washington State.

Experts expect Mateer and Arbuckle to provide the Sooners’ offense with a major boost this fall. Klatt emphasized that Oklahoma needs it.

“On the opposite side, let’s face it, Oklahoma needs this for a bounce-back,” Klatt said. “Granted, they played a horrifically difficult schedule last year, but Brent Venables also needs a bounce back. He needs to gain a foothold.”

“As the head coach for OU, everybody was excited when he came in. They all felt the sting when Lincoln Riley rode off into the sunset, literally to the West Coast and USC, and they brought back Brent Venables, who won a national championship as a coordinator at OU, is an Oklahoma guy, and everyone felt good about it. But now they need something to feel good about on the field.”

This game won’t only affect each individual program. Additionally, the game’s winner will serve as an early statement for which conference between the SEC and the Big Ten is superior in 2025.

“Both of these programs are in desperate need of a bounce game, and this could provide that for either program,” Klatt said. “Winner of that game gets a major bounce forward, and now all of a sudden establishes, really the depth of that conference.”

Michigan and Oklahoma will meet at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sept. 6. The game will air live on ABC.