Oregon’s trip to face Michigan just got a lot harder to handicap.
A few weeks ago, Dan Lanning was staring at the same kind of problem from the other sideline. Oregon’s offense was sputtering, the Ducks made the move to fire offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer, and the unit has looked much better since. Now Michigan has followed the same path, parting ways with offensive coordinator Jason Beck after a rough loss to Michigan State on Saturday.
Beck had come to Ann Arbor with Kyle Whittingham from Utah and was the highest paid offensive coordinator in college football. But the results never matched the billing. Michigan’s offense managed just 19.6 points per game, which ranked 126th, while averaging 173.9 passing yards per game, good for 226th, and 128.7 rushing yards per game, which sat 109th.
The timing matters for Oregon. A coordinator change this close to the matchup can mean a quick spark, but it also creates uncertainty.
Michigan could keep a lot of Beck’s structure in place with only a week to adjust, or it could introduce enough new wrinkles to make the Ducks’ prep messier than expected. Either way, Oregon won’t have much film to study on the new play caller’s tendencies.
There’s also the quarterback piece. Tommy Carr has been uneven since taking over for Bryce Underwood, and the change at coordinator could open the door to another shift under center. Michigan has a much bigger investment in Underwood, and there’s at least a case for seeing whether a new direction can produce better results before a crucial offseason.
For now, Oregon is waiting on more information as Michigan speaks ahead of the game and reports continue to come out. The Ducks’ best-case scenario is probably that Carr stays in place.
He’s less mobile than Underwood and hasn’t delivered a major boost to the passing game. If Michigan makes more changes before kickoff, the challenge for Oregon’s defense gets a whole lot tougher.
In Other News...
Oregon Suddenly Has A Real Opening After Wild AP Poll Chaos
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season already stirred up the kind of chaos that can ripple through the AP Top 25, and Oregon is positioned to benefit from it. USC landed at No. 20 in the CFP release even though it had been ranked higher in the AP poll, a reminder that the two rankings are not always aligned and that a fresh round of movement is coming after a weekend that saw several highly ranked teams lose, including Miami, Kentucky and Ohio State.
For Oregon, the timing matters. The Ducks are in the mix for a notable jump as the AP reshuffles its list, with USC, Tennessee and Texas all part of the conversation around where the next wave of movement could land. In a season where one weekend can rewrite the middle of the rankings, Oregon suddenly has a real opening to climb into a better spot and strengthen its case as the race tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Just Put The Rest Of Its Season Under A Brighter Spotlight
The win over Ohio State did more than add a marquee result to Oregons resume. It also changed the math around the Ducks season, with ESPNs Football Power Index giving them a clearer path into both the Big Ten Championship race and the College Football Playoff picture. After a statement victory like that, every remaining game carries a little more weight, and Oregon has put itself in position to keep climbing if it handles the stretch ahead.
Michigan, Michigan State and Washington now loom as the next checkpoints, and the projections are favorable enough to keep the Ducks momentum rolling. ESPNs model gives Oregon a 24.9% chance to reach the playoff and a 16.0% chance to win the conference if it wins out, which is exactly the kind of leverage a big November run can create. The opportunity is there now, but so is the pressure to keep turning strong numbers into actual results. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Faces A Michigan Test That Feels Bigger Than Usual
Saturdays matchup in Eugene has the feel of more than just another Big Ten date on the schedule. Oregon and Michigan are meeting for the second time as conference foes, and the Ducks enter with momentum after a run of recent wins, while the Wolverines arrive trying to steady an offense that has struggled and already made a change at quarterback.
The setup points toward a game where every possession matters and points may be at a premium. Oregon is favored by 10.5 points at FanDuel Sportsbook, but the broader question is whether the Ducks can turn that edge into a statement against a Michigan team that still brings the kind of defensive profile and brand name that can make even a rough offensive stretch feel dangerous. [Read more 🡒]