Even on a good day, Michigan is not a program that inspires many warm and fuzzy feelings among casual fans of college football.Michigan fans love their team. Everyone else … not so much. The reasons are complicated, but they have to do with a perception that Michigan too often benefits from favorable treatment it doesn’t deserve.So what happened in Week 1? Michigan benefited from a favorable ruling it didn’t deserve. And fans can’t stop talking about it.Michigan’s upcoming game against Oklahoma should be the biggest story in town. Instead, the past week has been spent relitigating the final nanoseconds of the Wolverines’ 13-12 victory against Western Michigan.Unlike Bryce Underwood’s final pass, the MAC’s Hail Mary to get the outcome overturned was destined to fail. But by laying out why the officials erred by putting one second back on the clock, the MAC crystallized a different outcome that transcended the final score.Michigan won the game but lost the public relations battle in a landslide.Western Michigan wants the Michigan Hail Mary overturnedChris VanniniWestern Michigan handled its heartbreak with equanimity and class. Michigan came away looking like the greedy usurper that stole Western Michigan’s moment of glory, even if the Wolverines had nothing to do with the Big Ten replay procedure.While the Broncos played their hearts out, Michigan looked overconfident and underprepared. Worst of all, Michigan associated itself with a four-letter word that goes against everything Kyle Whittingham stands for.“We just went out there and played soft, simple as that,” safety Rod Moore said.If the game had ended with Underwood’s pass sailing out of the end zone, Michigan might have gotten at least a modicum of sympathy. Not much, but maybe a little. At the very least, a loss would have quelled any desire to inflict further consequences on Michigan. The embarrassment of losing to a MAC team for the second time in school history would have been punishment enough.Now, a substantial portion of the country will be rooting for Michigan to take its medicine against Oklahoma. The No. 11 Sooners are talented enough to hand Michigan a thrashing that feels like two losses in one.“If you come out how we came out soft against Western Michigan, it’s going to be way more embarrassing than that was,” Moore said.Michigan linebacker Markel Dabney reacts after Michigan’s last-second win. (Photo: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty Images)Public opinion is so down on Michigan that fans are almost begging someone to make a contrarian argument for why the Wolverines aren’t as bad as they looked. So, fine, here it is. This is the same Michigan team that many smart people pegged as a sleeper heading into the season. It’s not that uncommon for teams to have one awful game in September and go on to have good seasons, even great ones.Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois in 2024 and won its next 13 games en route to the College Football Playoff championship game. The past two times Oregon played Boise State, the games went down to the wire. The Wolverines aren’t as good as either of those teams, but last week’s game wasn’t indicative of Michigan’s potential.Michigan’s defense kept Western Michigan out of the end zone and limited the Broncos to 3.3 yards per play. The Wolverines offense ran just 48 plays, barely enough to get to the second page of the gameplan. That’s partly because they hurt themselves with turnovers and penalties, mistakes they aren’t obligated to repeat against Oklahoma.The Wolverines have spent all week hearing how disappointing they are. Even if they mostly succeed in tuning out the noise, it’s natural to play angry when there’s so much negativity in the air.“Not that any of that matters, but yeah, you see stuff like that and you’re like, ‘Damn, they did write us off,’” defensive end Dominic Nichols said. “That’s all right, bro. It’s Week 1. You’ve got to keep loving your brothers and everything will come together.”Michigan needs serviceable quarterback play to have a shot at salvaging this season, and that’s where things get dicey. Whittingham essentially put Underwood on notice this week, saying Underwood’s hold on the starting job wasn’t “infinite.” Underwood didn’t seem thrilled when a reporter informed him of those comments, responding simply, “That’s cool.”This isn’t the vibe any team wants before one of its biggest games of the season. As rocky as things appear, it’s not too late for Underwood to reassert himself as Michigan’s quarterback. Underwood threw for 251 yards in his first collegiate start, before any of his assorted coaches could work their magic. His apparent regression is not all on him. If he can find a way to channel that again, there’s still a talented quarterback inside that 6-foot-4 frame.The easy thing to do right now is to pile on Michigan. The Wolverines earned that. If nothing changes this week, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables’ defense will eat Michigan alive, and the goalposts will shift from making the CFP to making a bowl game as a realistic measure of success.Whittingham’s Utah teams didn’t win 177 games by folding when things got difficult. Don’t be shocked if the Wolverines look much more competent and competitive when they take the field against Oklahoma.“We’re Michigan,” Moore said. “We’re not (some) lay-down, soft school. Even though we may have played bad last week, it was the first game. First-game jitters are out the window.”Good luck, Michigan. I’d say America is pulling for you, but we all know that’s not true.