Underwood looks to pass first test, join notable true freshman QBs - ESPN

True freshman Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood's first start is in the books, having helped the Wolverines to a 34-17 win over New Mexico in Week 1 of the college football season.

In Week 2, though, the road gets tougher.

This Saturday, Michigan will travel to Norman, Oklahoma to take on the No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners. Between the Sooners' ranking, the 80,000-odd hostile fans who will be making noise at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and the opposing coach — Brent Venables is one of the top defensive minds in the sport — it's fair to call this the first true test of Underwood's career.

Underwood's position as a true freshman starting quarterback is rare, but not entirely unprecedented. A number of notable current NFL signal-callers also rose to the role of QB1 in their true freshman seasons.

As Underwood prepares for his first major test, we looked back at the most successful such outings from those now-NFL starters in their first true freshman starts against power conference foes.

Year: 2021

Opponent: TCU

Williams entered his first collegiate start on the back of a thrilling relief appearance the week prior, in which he helped Oklahoma storm back to win its rivalry showdown with Texas at the Cotton Bowl. He didn't slow down against the TCU Horned Frogs — throwing for 295 yards and four touchdowns (and adding 66 yards and another score on the ground) in a 52-31 victory.

Year: 2019

Opponent: Michigan State

Starting right out of the gate for Arizona State, Daniels' first power conference test came in Week 3 of the 2019 season against the Michigan State Spartans. It wasn't the flashiest performance for either Daniels — who completed 15 of 26 passes for 140 yards and totaled 12 carries for 37