Brent Venables eats freshman QBs alive, which means a ‘trial by fire’ for Michigan’s Bryce Underwood

Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood kicked off his collegiate career with a bang, completing 67.7% of his passes for 251 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions in a 34-17 victory over New Mexico in Week 1.

However, things are about to get significantly more difficult for the top-ranked recruit from the 2025 class, as the Wolverines face No. 18 Oklahoma on the road this Saturday.

The Sooners opened their season with a commanding 35-3 victory over Illinois State in Week 1, and the CBS Sports College Football Insiders crew identified several reasons Michigan could struggle in Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

“Venables as a play caller going up against a true freshman is going to be a very interesting watch on Saturday,” Chris Hummer of CBS Sports and 247Sports said Tuesday on College Football Insiders. “Venables is one of the most creative play-callers in the country in terms of generating pressure.”

Venables, in fact, is 21-5 against freshman quarterbacks (true or redshirt) dating back to the beginning of his tenure as Clemson’s defensive coordinator and spanning through his current gig (18-1 at Clemson, 3-4 at Oklahoma). In those games against Venables, the freshman QBs have helmed offenses that averaged 20.2 points per game. Whether they were 18 or 19 years old, the freshman classification is a telling filter: QBs on their first run of extensive college action, with limited experience in various defensive looks, are all the same. 

Freshmen QBs (true and redshirt) against Brent Venables since 2012

Cracks in Venables’ armor, fairly chalked up to personnel and a bad hire of Ted Roof, showed in 2022 — Venables’ first season at Oklahoma — when redshirt freshman Quinn Ewers blitzed the Sooners in Dallas, and again in 2023, when Arizona QB Noah Fifita delivered a sensational Alamo Bowl showing. But those are exceptions, not the rule: To wit, Tulane’s Darian Mensah, on his way to becoming college football’s highest-paid QB, had a season-low QBR of 23.7 against OU in 2024. 

“A trial by fire against this Oklahoma defense is what I expect,” CBS Sports analyst Richard Johnson said, “and that’s not at all an indictment of Underwood’s immense potential, nor does it discount the legitimate good things that Underwood did last week against New Mexico. How does he perform when the bullets start flying?”

Johnson wondered if Michigan would go tempo to combat Venables’ penchant for sign discovery at the line of scrimmage, which figures to be more dangerous in 2025 thanks to Venables reuniting with Wes Goodwin. By many accounts, Goodwin was Venables’ right-hand man as an analyst in near-total anonymity during Clemson’s run of dominant defenses and ascended to the defensive coordinator role after Venables left for Norman. The Tigers moved on from Goodwin last year, creating a path for Venables to bring back his most trusted defensive brain. 

Michigan replaced several starters on its offensive line, and the revamped unit excelled against New Mexico, allowing only three pressures. Underwood was unfazed on those dropbacks, going 2 of 2 through the air for 19 yards.

The Oklahoma defensive line will be a different beast. The Sooners’ defensive line piled up 11 pressures against Illinois State in Week 1, while starting cornerbacks Courtland Guillory and Gentry Williams allowed zero receiving yards on three receptions.

“This is going to be a real test for a true freshman and an offensive line that had a lot of turnover,” Hummer said. “That Oklahoma defense is really good. They have one of the better secondaries in the SEC. They have a very good defensive line led by R Mason Thomas.”

Venables this week compared Underwood to Trevor Lawrence, who also ranked as the No. 1 recruit in his class. Lawrence never lost as a true freshman en route to Clemson’s 2018 national championship, with Venables on the other side dialing up disguises to make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks. 

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