ANN ARBOR, MI — One quarterback looked like a salty veteran, a fifth-year senior who played with confidence and led his team to a gripping marquee nonconference victory.

The other quarterback looked like an overhyped youngster still trying to find his way in the superstar life, a promising but unsteady sophomore lacking confidence in a demanding loss. 

And yet, John Mateer and Bryce Underwood’s roles indeed felt reversed on Saturday in The Big House.

As Michigan started fast and finished strong, Oklahoma stumbled early and wilted late. 

And their quarterbacks reflected that.

In last year’s meeting in Norman, Mateer was a first-year Sooner but a fourth-year college football player when he beat Michigan and Underwood. Mateer threw some terrific balls and ran tough and accounted for three touchdowns in Oklahoma’s 24-13 win in Norman.

Underwood was the can’t-miss 5-star, the young prodigy who just needed time to grow, so a shaky passing performance last year at Memorial Stadium wasn’t entirely unexpected.

But this year, It was Mateer who looked green, inexperienced, unsure of himself as he overthrew one receiver after another, a if he didn’t trust the receiver, or perhaps the play call. And it was Mateer who made the critical mistake with the game on the line and turned the football over to the home team.

“I thought John did some really good things with both his arms and legs,” OU coach Brent Venables said, “and did a good job managing the game, you know, as well from the line of scrimmage.”

And it was Underwood who played with endless self-assurance and decisiveness early, confident in his coaching, his preparation and certainly his teammates. And, in the end, it was Underwood who made just enough plays to walk out of Michigan Stadium with the victory.

“He's actually exactly who we thought he was,” Venables said. “Really talented guy. He's big. He's strong. He's hard to get down one on one. He fell forward too often on the quarterback run game, but you know he's got a great future in front of him.”

Michigan took a 10-0 lead at halftime as Mateer went 7-of-16 through the air for just 52 yards. He had a couple of receivers open across the middle but floated uncatchable throws both times. 

“I think two or three of them kind of sailed on him a little bit,” said offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. “ … Those are high-intense moments right there, and for him to be the player we know he is, he’s got to be able to deliver in those moments.”

Mateer dialed in in the third quarter as he completed 7-of-7 passes for 125 yards, including a third-and-long completion for 16 yards to Rocky Beers and a 23-yard touchdown zip to Mackenzie Alleyne to cut Michigan’s lead to 10-7.

But after Tate Sandell’s field goal tied it at 10-10 early in the fourth quarter, Mateer reverted.

He connected on just 3-of-10 passes in the final period — only one of his last eight — for 12 yards. 

“What did I think of John’s play? I thought it was maybe a little bit shaky early,” Arbuckle said. “He really came out and responded in the second half.” 

Mateer also finished with a team-leading 13 rushing attempts for 44 yards — including a 22-yard pickup on the Sooners’ final, desperate drive.

OU’s last four possessions resulted in an underthrown interception that immediately produced a Michigan touchdown, a 12-yard drive, a 3-yard drive and a 10-yard drive.

Underwood, on the other hand, was steady if not spectacular.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes for us to win,” Underwood said.

He completed just 9-of-17 throws for 111 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions.

But he was easily the game’s leading rusher, with 87 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts. His 38-yard TD up the left sideline showed his strength, agility and speed, and it sent a message to the Sooners, and to his counterpart: not this time.

“The thing that concerned me most going into the game was they had not let the quarterback run the football for a ton of yards,” said Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham. “And Bryce actually doubled him up — actually rushed for twice as many yards as the Oklahoma quarterback.

“Absolutely part of the game plan, and it should have been more. We had some reads that were pull reads and the young running back was clamping down on the ball so Bryce couldn’t get it out of there. But it was part of the plan.”

“Love to get a call back on the long touchdown run that Underwood had that caught us in a bad call,” Venables said.

Underwood fumbled once, but got it back. He frustrated Venables by juking his defenders over and over. He ran for 7 yards on third-and-5, picked up 3 yards on third-and-4, then converted a fourth-and-1 with a 3-yard run, got 5 yards on first-and-goal from the 6 after the interception.

“Didn't tackle great in the first half,” Venables said.

In the end, last year’s No. 1 recruit in the nation took a major step forward in his college football career, while this year’s early Heisman frontrunner took a step back.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.