Michigan
Oregon opponent early scouting report: Michigan
An early look at Oregon’s opponents for the 2024 regular season.
Michigan
Game date & time: Michigan Stadium, Nov. 2 (time to be announced)
2023 record: (15-0)
Coach: Sherrone Moore, first year (1-0)
Returning starters: 2 offense, 5 defense
Most important returning players: RB Donovan Edwards, TE Colston Loveland, DL Mason Graham, DL Kenneth Grant
Most critical departures: QB J.J. McCarthy, RB Blake Corum, WR Roman Wilson, TE AJ Barner, OG Zak Zinter, OLB Jaylen Harrell, DT Kris Jenkins, LB Junior Colson, LB Michael Barrett, CB Mike Sainristil
Oregon storylines:
- Dillon Gabriel’s Heisman candidacy
Presuming Gabriel is performing as well as expected, November road games are where the award can be determined. Playing at the defending national champions, who will have already faced Texas and USC, in the largest stadium in the country with a sellout crowd is about as big a stage as it can get for a regular season game.
- Returning to the Big House
Oregon was last at Michigan Stadium in 2007, a 39-7 Ducks win. The Wolverines won the first three meetings of the series, all in Ann Arbor from 1948-73, all by shutouts.
Michigan had the best run defense in the country last season against winning teams, holding opponents to 84.22 rushing yards per game, and return a lot of talent on the defensive line. Oregon’s run game did not perform as well against better teams last season, though the backfield has changed and Gabriel could end up running more than Bo Nix did in 2023.
The Wolverines were potent on the ground last season but losing Blake Corum leaves a huge hole that Donovan Edwards will need to replace. The Ducks were much improved against the run last season except against Washington. By this point in the second each side will have answers for these aspects of their teams.
UM defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is back in the college ranks after 20 years in the NFL. He’s known for his aggressive play-calling and coached former Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux for the past two years with the New York Giants. Martindale has some weapons at his disposal in the front seven and will have worked out rotations by this point.
- Dante Moore’s trip home
By this point in the season it will be clear how much Moore is going to play and in what role. Regardless, the trip back home for the Detroit native will be significant.
Michigan storylines:
- Donovan Edwards’ place on the national state
Edwards has the potential to be the top back in the Big Ten and an All-American given how Michigan could divvy up the carries. How he performs against what should be one of the top three defenses Michigan faces this season will show where he ranks among running backs nationally.
- Alex Orji’s development
The 6-foot-3, 236 pound Orji is the favorite to take over as the starter. He’s only thrown one pass in college so it’s hard to project what Michigan’s offense will be capable of with so much change. But given his size and running ability Orji could be the best running quarterback the Ducks face all season.
It’s a game with CFP implications for both teams but of the two, Michigan is the more likely to come in with multiple losses. Even if both are undefeated, the loser is still in the Big Ten Championship race but can’t afford another loss. If either or both have a loss, a second could eliminate any margin for error with Oregon still needing to play at Wisconsin and against Washington and Michigan going to Ohio State.
An Oregon win would mean:
Likely staying in the thick of the Big Ten race and CFP conversation. Some of the enormity of such a win will be based on Michigan’s record entering the day. Beating an 8-0 team on the road is different than dropping a 6-2 team that is expected to lose one more regular season game.
An Oregon loss would mean:
As noted, some will depend on what records are. If UO is undefeated or even has one loss, it would not necessarily be crushing to its CFP chances to lose at UM. But given the state of each team entering the season, the Ducks have more matchup advantages and deeper talent so it would likely be an upset.
Michigan
UCLA men are no match for Michigan State
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Jeremy Fears Jr. had 16 points and 10 assists, leading No. 15 Michigan State to an 82-59 victory over UCLA on Tuesday night.
The Spartans (21-5, 11-4 Big Ten) bounced back with a strong performance after losing three of four games and falling five spots in the Associated Press Top 25 this week. Fears scored 11 in the first half to help MSU build a 20-point advantage.
The Bruins (17-9, 9-6) have lost two straight games after winning five of six.
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau scored 22 points but didn’t have much help. None of his teammates were in double figures until Skyy Clark made some late shots to finish with 12 points.
Fears made three three-pointers in the first half and Michigan State took a 43-23 lead into the break. He finished with four threes, a career high.
The Spartans were eight of 14 from beyond the arc in the first half and finished with a season-high 14 three-pointers on 27 attempts.
Coen Carr scored 16 points for Michigan State, Carson Cooper had 12 and freshman Jordan Scott added 11. Jaxon Kohler provided nine points and 10 rebounds.
The Bruins were outscored by 28 points in the second half Saturday at No. 1 Michigan and lost by 30. Then they were routed again Tuesday in the same state.
UCLA center Steven Jamerson, a former Michigan State student, was called for a flagrant foul late in the game for fouling Cooper from behind on a dunk attempt. Bruins coach Mick Cronin then sent Jamerson to the locker room.
Bruins center Xavier Booker, who transferred from Michigan State last April, had two points and two rebounds in 25 minutes.
Michigan
Michigan Football GM Sean Magee, others in recruiting department let go
Kyle Whittingham is parting ways with multiple key figures in his recruiting/personnel department, including General Manager Sean Magee, Director of Player Personnel Albert Karschnia and Director of On-Campus Recruiting Kayli Johnson. This news was first reported by The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb.
Webb also reported that Director of Recruiting Sam Popper will also be leaving.
The moves come three months after the university fired head football coach Sherrone Moore. As a result, Warde Manuel hired Whittingham to take over the program. With the roster now firmly in place for the upcoming season following the transfer portal window and the signing of the 2026 class, Whittingham made the decision to part ways with most of his personnel department.
Magee joined Michigan’s staff as the program’s first football general manager in 2024, providing oversight in all off-field areas, including the management of the player personnel department, football operations and the administration of the budget for all football-related activity.
He was instrumental in flipping Bryce Underwood from LSU during the 2025 recruiting cycle, navigating the NIL space and helping to launch one of the country’s first NIL collectives (Champions Circle). He also worked closely with Manuel on the possibility of in-stadium advertising in the Big House.
As for Karschnia, the Michigan graduate worked as an intern with the program in the recruiting and operations departments in 2015 and 2016 before becoming Central Michigan’s director of player personnel for five seasons. In 2021, Michigan hired him back as director of recruiting operations.
Johnson leaves the program after two years of being the director of on-campus recruiting. Both her and Karschnia were pivotal in leading all recruiting operations, both at the high school and collegiate level.
While the timing is certainly something to ponder, there is a lot to glean reading through the tea leaves. Whittingham has made it apparent he wanted to bring his own staff to Ann Arbor, and one name that should shoot to the top of the replacement board is former Utah GM Robert Blechen. He helped assemble Utah’s best recruiting class in program history in 2023. He spent the previous 12 years in various front office roles at Utah, starting as the recruiting assistant in 2014-15 before working his way up to director of player personnel in 2017. Blenchen is currently on the open market, so it would make sense for him to join his old coach in Ann Arbor.
There’s obviously a LOT to unpack with this news, so stay with Maize n Brew as we continue to learn more about this story.
Michigan
Bloomfield Township residents push back against proposed event center
A controversial high-end event center planned for Bloomfield Township, Michigan, has caused some residents to speak out against the proposal in a planning commission meeting on Monday evening.
One board member said the meeting was the most contentious in over 15 years.
The planning commission decided to table the discussion on both the site plan and changing the zoning to allow the development at Monday’s meeting.
Residents say they found out about this potential event space just weeks ago, and many of them feel that it could mean up to 1,000 people crowding their neighborhood, lowering their home values.
“This is insanity what I’m hearing. I didn’t even come here that upset, but this is making me upset. You’re telling me a basketball venue, a pickleball venue, is the same as a 1,000-person venue in our backyard, drinking alcohol, dancing, getting married in the woods,” said resident Greg Yatooma.
The high-end event center may be coming to the township, just east of Franklin Road, adjacent to two residential areas. People living in those neighborhoods say they are not happy.
“Banquet halls are about noise, alcohol, traffic, lighting,” said John Kalusniak.
Restaurateur Zach Sklar, head of Peas & Carrots Hospitality Group, which is proposing the event center, was at Monday evening’s meeting but had someone else speak on his behalf.
“Again, I think the mitigation we’re proposing right now is above what the state would require due to the quality of the minor wetlands we’re impacting,” said Reid Cooksey, from Stonefield Engineering.
Sklar declined CBS News Detroit’s request for comment.
CBS News Detroit spoke with Brett Northcutt, who lives right next to where the event center would go if approved.
“Hopefully we can get a lot of the things we’re concerned about removed from the plans and then everybody moves forward,” said Northcutt.
Northcutt says he believes this project would be disastrous to the home value for everyone on his street.
“[It will be] about a 20% decrease, so for us it’s gonna be probably 400-500 thousand dollars just for one house alone,” he said.
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