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.
Caleb Williams
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.
Jayden Daniels
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 yards -- or the Sun Devils, but ultimately the now-Washington Commanders quarterback & Co. got the job done on the road with a 10-7 win.
Bo Nix
Year: 2019
Opponent: Oregon
Another 2019 freshman who started immediately at quarterback was Bo Nix, who took the reins for Auburn. Nix was challenged early as well -- the Tigers opening game was against the then-No. 11 Oregon Ducks at AT&T Stadium. Though Nix' overall game was up-and-down (13-of-31 passing with a pair of touchdowns and interceptions apiece and 42 rushing yards), he ended in as memorable of a fashion as possible: throwing a game-winning touchdown to Seth Williams with nine seconds remaining.
Brock Purdy
Year: 2018
Opponent: West Virginia
After entering the game off the bench to lead Iowa State to a win on the road against Oklahoma State the week prior, Purdy got his first collegiate start against a West Virginia Mountaineers squad that was ranked No. 6 in the country. Purdy wasn't fazed, though, throwing for 254 yards and three touchdowns against one interception (as well as adding 39 yards on the ground) as the Cyclones pulled off the upset in Ames.
Jalen Hurts
Year: 2016
Opponent: Ole Miss
Hurts beat out Blake Barnett in an early-season competition for Alabama's starting quarterback job, and his first matchup as starter against a power conference foe came on the road in Oxford, Mississippi against the Ole Miss Rebels. Remarkably, Hurts never found the end zone in the high-scoring game, despite throwing for 158 yards and rushing for 146 more. The Crimson Tide withstood a late Ole Miss push to win 48-43.
ESPN Research contributed to this story.