Michigan played host to the #1 team in the AP poll for the first time since 1991 and the game, in the macro, looked about what we expected. The 21 point win for Oregon nearly matched the Vegas spread and the Ducks never trailed, nor was it within one score at any point in the second half. Yet Michigan got some surprising performances and managed to hang around, riding strong QB play from Davis Warren and a great receiving day from TE Colston Loveland to make the game interesting in the second half. But ultimately the better team- and the better coaching staff- won out, much to the ire of Michigan fans on the second point.
The Wolverines received the opening kickoff and quickly went three-and-out. Their starting field position was decent thanks to a good return from Joe Taylor but they couldn’t do anything with it. Oregon star DT Derrick Harmon TFL’d Donovan Edwards on the first play from scrimmage, a toss play to the right, and Davis Warren’s 3rd down pass for Colston Loveland was batted away by Jabbar Muhammad. Michigan punted.
Oregon’s offense set the tone for the game on their subsequent first drive. Foreshadowing the rest of the first half, the Ducks were able to do basically anything they wanted. Oregon dialed up their usual array of screens to take what Michigan was giving them as they moved quickly down the field and picked up a 3rd & 5 on a slant to Evan Stewart against Zeke Berry (Berry was playing outside corner today with both Will Johnson and Jyaire Hill injured). Another screen, this one to TE Kenyon Sadiq, drove Oregon inside the 10 and they needed three “& Goal” plays to score a TD… sorta. On 3rd & G from the 2.5 yard line, Gabriel threw to Stewart against Aamir Hall. Hall covered Stewart well and gave him little room to work with. Stewart appeared to make a great grab for a TD, which is what the referees ruled on the field. However, on second glance, the ball clearly hit the turf, which should have made it incomplete. The referees in the replay room never caught it and apparently neither did Michigan, who didn’t ask for a review and instead let Oregon kick the extra point. 7-0 Ducks.
[Patrick Barron]
Michigan’s second drive went as well as their first, another three-and-out. Michigan started the drive with another TFL, this one on an attempted Colston Loveland jet sweep. Set behind the sticks again, Michigan couldn’t recover and a 3rd down play ended in a Warren fumble forced by RT Evan Link being driven into Warren’s arm. The QB fell on the ball, so Michigan was able to recover possession and punt. Which is where they recovered another fumble, as Oregon punt returner Ryan Pellum had the ball jarred loose and Michigan’s CJ Charleston recovered at the Ducks’ 28 yard line.
Given a needed life line, Michigan’s offense capitalized. On the second play of the drive, Donovan Edwards broke off an 18 yard run down to the 10. An illegal shift moved Michigan back five yards but two runs clawed the Wolverines back to the six. On a big 3rd & G, Davis Warren made his now-signature throw: rollout to his right and throw across his body. This one was fit into a rather tight window to Tyler Morris, with the receiver making a nice catch to secure the TD. 7-7.
If Michigan got a boost from that turnover and score, it didn’t last long. Oregon marched right back down against the Michigan D, hitting a seam shot to Sadiq and getting a boost from a marginal roughing the passer call on Josaiah Stewart, who hit Dillon Gabriel high (though he appeared to be blocked into the QB). The penalty moved Oregon well into Michigan territory and then a run by Jordan James and a dump-off to TE Terrance Ferguson each went for big gains. The Ducks got to the goal line and punched it in from one yard out, Noah Whittington earning the TD. 14-7 Ducks.
[Patrick Barron]
For the third time in four drives, the Michigan offense’s drive went nowhere. They got one first down this time thanks to a pair of Kalel Mullings runs, but Mullings’ next carry was TFL’d and Davis Warren’s 3rd & 7 pass attempt under pressure fell incomplete. Thankfully, the defense picked up the slack for the first time in the game, getting a quick stop of Oregon’s offense. Berry responded with a stellar PBU on a deep shot down the sideline vs. Evan Stewart and the Wolverines got enough reassure on Gabriel to force a throwaway.
Oregon punted and a shanked punt gave the Michigan offense good field position but they couldn’t capitalize. Most puzzlingly, Michigan attempted to pass three straight plays and it went nowhere. A screen for Loveland was blown up, Warren’s second down pass was thrown away, and the third down screen for Semaj Morgan came up short of the sticks. Sherrone Moore opted to punt and a big opportunity to keep the game competitive went to waste.
The Ducks immediately came back with what felt like the dagger drive. Despite a good punt from Tommy Doman pinning Oregon at their own 6, the Ducks drove 94 yards in ten plays to drive the whole field for a touchdown. The crucial play was an early 3rd & 5 conversion, with Gabriel finding Evan Stewart right at the sticks for a first down, despite solid coverage from Makari Paige. From there, they had little resistance getting out towards midfield and then a Gabriel bomb to Traeshon Holden over Aamir Hall got the Ducks down inside the 10. On the next play, Whittington cut it outside the left tackle, broke a Berry tackle, and scored a touchdown. 21-7 Oregon.
[Bryan Fuller]
Michigan now faced their first two-score deficit of the game but did manage to respond by putting together their best drive of the game to that point. Warren began to get in some rhythm, dropping a dime to Colston Loveland for 18 yards down the field. Right after that, Michigan ran the Techmo Bowl flea flicker, Warren finding Loveland again, who broke a tackle of Oregon LB Bryce Boettcher and ran down the sideline for a 36 yard gain. Michigan was now inside Oregon’s 20, but the drive stalled as an attempt to have Alex Orji throw the ball was sniffed out and Tyler Morris couldn’t hang onto a high throw from Warren that went through his hands. Michigan put Dominic Zvada out for a 38 yard field goal, which was good. 21-10.
Oregon received the ensuing kickoff with 1:58 to go in the first half and yet again ripped Michigan’s defense to shreds relatively quickly. The second play of the drive did most of the work, Dillon Gabriel connecting with Traeshon Holden over the middle, followed by Quinten Johnson falling over around midfield, allowing Holden to run untouched until finally being tackled after a gain of 44. It appeared that Oregon would score a touchdown in highlight reel fashion when Evan Stewart made a ridiculous one-handed catch on the next play, but an ineligible man downfield penalty nullified it. Undeterred, Oregon bounced back to get much of the yardage back on a TE screen to Terrance Ferguson and a couple plays later Gabriel ran for 23 yards into the end zone unimpeded. With just 35 seconds left on the clock, Oregon would lead 28-10 at the break.
[AFTER THE JUMP: the second half]
To the credit of the maligned Wink Martindale, his defense came out of the break much stronger than it had finished. They quickly forced a three-and-out on Oregon’s opening drive of the second half, which allowed Michigan’s offense to regain the ball quickly and flip the feel of the contest. Warren picked up where he had left off on the last drive of the first half and was dealing. A great blitz pickup from Donovan Edwards on the second play of the drive gave Warren the time needed to find Loveland on a 34 yard strike down the seam. A WR screen to Tyler Morris picked up a first down on 3rd & 5 and then a 20 yard completion to Colston Loveland got Michigan down to the 6. They’d need three plays to punch it in as a pair of runs went nowhere, but Warren came to the rescue again. On 3rd & G, Warren showed great patience to wait, wait, wait, then backpedal and fire a TD to Peyton O’Leary. Michigan was back in it, down just 28-17.
[Fuller]
That drive ate up 6.5 minutes of the remaining time and Oregon’s next drive would eat up 6.5 minutes itself. Though, for the first time in the game, Michigan would bend but not break on defense. Yes, Oregon drove the field yet again, but Michigan got a stop when they needed it. Well actually, they got two. Michigan forced a punt very quickly into the drive when Makari Paige nearly intercepted a short throw Gabriel intended for Terrance Ferguson. However, an illegal formation penalty on the 4th & 4 punt gave Oregon a fresh set of downs, as Trey Pierce lined up over the snapper (which is not allowed). A crushing mistake, it gave Oregon’s offense new life and they marched deep into Michigan territory, a 22 yard run for Jordan James the highlight. But once in a goal-to-go situation Michigan slammed the door again, Gabriel overshooting Justius Lowe in the end zone on 3rd down. Atticus Sappington went out for a FG and banged it through. 31-17.
The Wolverine offense was unable to respond on their next drive, Warren completing a ball to Loveland on 3rd & 8 but the tight end was not able to survive the fall to the ground. Michigan oddly challenged the play despite it not seeming in question and lost the challenge and timeout. Michigan punted but the defense did their part, clamping down and forcing an Oregon punt when good rush from Mason Graham forced an completion with great pass rush up the gut.
Michigan’s offense thus got the ball back, still trailing by 14 points with 12:23 to go… but only one timeout remaining. A touchdown was necessary on this drive. They got a great drive, as Warren remained in a groove. He fired a dart to Tyler Morris in a tight window for 19 yards on 3rd & 12 to get the drive going. Donovan Edwards then rushed for 16 yards into Oregon territory and an Alex Orji keeper cutting outside took the Wolverines all the way down to the Oregon 15. With 9 minutes to go in the game, a touchdown would cut the lead to one score and make the Ducks sweat for the first time all day.
[Fuller]
That’s where things went haywire. Warren’s first down pass attempt was thrown away because no one was open and then Kirk Campbell took Warren off the field for Orji. It made some sense given that Orji’s last run was successful, but many of his previous carries hadn’t been and this one wasn’t either, a three yard gain. Now in 3rd & 7, Michigan realistically had two plays to get a first down yet they bafflingly handed it off to Kalel Mullings, gaining only two yards. The situation was now 4th & 5 with 8:11 remaining, game quite possibly on the line. Campbell decided to call a Philly Special type play with Orji at QB, asking Semaj Morgan to throw back to Orji… who wasn’t open. Morgan’s pass fluttered incomplete and Orji went veering off the field and banged head first into some metal equipment in the corner, requiring assistance to get back up.
Michigan turned it over on downs and that was basically it. All the air left the balloon and Oregon ran out the remaining time, plodding down the field mostly on the ground, with a couple of dimes from Dillon Gabriel on 3rd downs to keep it going. Michigan had just the one timeout and couldn’t stop the clock and the drive ended with James surging into the end zone for a cherry-on-top score with under 30 seconds left. Final score: 38-17 Ducks.
In the grand scheme, this wasn’t a surprising result, nor was it a result to really bemoan. Oregon is unequivocally the better football team than Michigan and that was clear. Yet Michigan’s effort was admirable for large stretches, the players fighting hard to try and make this a game. They didn’t throw in the towel down 18 at halftime, which is why it was so disappointing to see the team undone by coaching fiascos yet again. Refusing to ask for a review on the obviously incomplete touchdown was a failure of Michigan’s replay coaches up in the booth. The illegal formation penalty was a lack of knowledge of the rules that ought to fall on the desk of special teams coordinator JB Brown. And most of all, the decision to take the football out of the hands of Michigan’s red hot QB in the red zone (taking him off the field on 2/4 plays!!) in the fourth quarter is unforgivable from Kirk Campbell.
[Fuller]
Speaking of that QB, we should praise Davis Warren for a stellar performance. He followed up last week’s strong game against MSU with the most complete game any Michigan QB has played this year, 13/23 for 165 (7.2 Y/A), no turnovers and two TD passes threaded into tight windows. Several of his biggest passes were dimes, with precision, arm strength, and accuracy that had the look of a legitimate B1G QB. It may well be fleeting, but he deserves a shoutout for two strong weeks in big games.
On the ground, Kalel Mullings didn’t have a great game (16 yards on 8 carries) but Donovan Edwards provided a bit of a spark with 52 carries on 10 yards. Oregon run blitzed aggressively against the Wolverines, which constricted their abilities to move the ball on the ground and stacked TFL’s up, but Michigan did okay considering the circumstances. They didn’t get much from their receivers outside Colston Loveland, but the star TE put up a highlight reel day of 112 yards on 7 catches. Altogether, Michigan gained 270 yards on 5.1 YPP against the #16 SP+ defense with no turnovers. Given the context of this season, most everyone would’ve taken that performance every day of the week.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough because Michigan’s defense allowed 470 yards on 6.6 YPP and 38 points. Yes they were better in the second half, but the first half performance was not good enough and it buried Michigan’s offense in a hole they couldn’t dig out of. They were hamstrung by the injuries in the secondary, but familiar flaws that Wink Martindale’s defense has shown were ruthlessly exploited by Oregon OC Will Stein. Dillon Gabriel was 22/34 for 294 yards and 1 TD, while James rushed for 117 yards on 23 carries. Traeshon Holden led the Ducks with 149 yards on 6 catches and it says a lot about the quality of the Oregon offense that they were able to have the success they did despite star WR Tez Johnson going out of the game early with a shoulder injury.
[Fuller]
In the special teams department, Dominic Zvada was perfect on his kicks on the day and I thought Tommy Doman had a bounceback day punting the ball. They got a good kick return from Joe Taylor to start the game, but the entire picture is overshadowed by another special teams mishap in the formation penalty. It feels like nearly each week there’s something that goes very wrong on special teams, be it a blocked kick or a fake punt given up or a penalty gifting the opponent a fresh set of downs. Too many mistakes for a unit that has a full-time special teams coordinator.
In the end, this was an odd game, a game Michigan was never going to win against an opponent much better than them, yet it still managed to make much of the fanbase mad at the coaching staff in the process. The players battled really hard but it didn’t feel like the coaching staff set them up for success as much as they could’ve today and that’s disappointing. Michigan falls to 5-4 as a result and has a tough matchup next week with the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington. Indiana obliterated MSU in East Lansing today, so the Hoosiers will be heavily favored. We don’t yet know the time of that game, but it will be scheduled tomorrow.
