Michigan’s trip to Eugene comes at a tricky moment, with the Wolverines and No. 16 Oregon both trying to turn seasons that fell short of expectations into something sturdier down the stretch.
The two teams have traveled similar paths in some ways, but they’re arriving here from different directions. Oregon has found momentum after a rough stretch, while Michigan is coming off its worst loss of the season and trying to steady itself after another shakeup on offense.
Last week’s loss to Big Ten cellar-dweller and in-state rival Michigan State pushed Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham to fire offensive coordinator Jason Beck and hand the unit to Jim Harding on an interim basis. Whittingham then drew more attention Monday with remarks about the cost of Oregon’s roster, comments Ducks coach Dan Lanning answered with a quip of his own.
Now the Wolverines head to Eugene for the first time in more than 20 years, and just the second time they’ve met Oregon since the Big Ten expansion. The setting adds weight to a game that already has plenty of it.
Oregon, meanwhile, is playing its best football of the season. The Ducks have won back-to-back games against now-No. 20 Ohio State in Columbus and Northwestern, and the offense has started to look like a different unit after a season-ending injury to quarterback Dante Moore knocked it off course.
The Ducks also made a coordinator change on offense, and the results have been immediate. In the two games since, Oregon has scored 75 points, leaning on a strong rushing attack and better play from quarterback Dylan Raiola.
Michigan’s staff has noticed the difference.
“It’s been different,” defensive ends coach Lewis Powell said Wednesday. “… They settled (at quarterback) with Raiola, and he has a live arm.
He’s still young, but he has a lot of weapons around him that helps them out, and a bunch of good receivers and a strong O-line that’s athletic, and two really good running backs. … It’s for sure a different Oregon from a few weeks ago.”
That’s a problem for a Michigan defense that has been the team’s backbone all year. The Wolverines haven’t allowed more than 20 points in any game and rank second in the Big Ten in scoring defense.
The bigger question is whether Michigan can finally get anything going on offense. The Wolverines have been stuck all season, and the coordinator change is meant to spark a unit that has struggled to move the ball both through the air and on the ground.
Freshman quarterback Tommy Carr has started the last three games after sophomore Bryce Underwood was benched at halftime against Penn State. Carr threw two interceptions and missed several throws in the loss to Michigan State, and Whittingham still hasn’t named a starter for this week.
The running game hasn’t offered much relief, either. Michigan’s ground attack was productive last season, and the Wolverines brought back most of the same pieces up front and in the backfield, but that production hasn’t returned. Junior Jordan Marshall has been almost invisible and got only two carries last game, while senior Bryson Kuzdzal had a few strong runs before losing a fumble in the third quarter.
Even with the coaching change, Whittingham said Michigan can’t afford to reinvent everything now.
“You can’t do major changes at this juncture, and so it will be collaborative,” Whittingham said Monday. “And it had been collaborative.
It’s never just a one man show, but you can only do so much at this point in the season, and there’ll be a few different wrinkles for sure. But to say there’s going to be a complete overhaul, that’s not really feasible.”
Michigan is hoping the same kind of coordinator switch that helped Oregon can do the trick for its own offense. If not, the Wolverines will be leaning hard on their defense again - this time against a Ducks attack that has started to hit its stride.
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