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Oregon opponent early scouting report: Michigan

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Oregon opponent early scouting report: Michigan


An early look at Oregon’s opponents for the 2024 regular season.

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Game date & time: Michigan Stadium, Nov. 2 (time to be announced)

2023 record: (15-0)

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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:

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  • 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.

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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.



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College basketball roundup: No. 6 Michigan hits 90 for sixth time, routs Oakand

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College basketball roundup: No. 6 Michigan hits 90 for sixth time, routs Oakand


Ann Arbor – Olivia Olson had 23 points and No. 6 Michigan rolled past Oakland 97-54 on Sunday.

Syla Swords had 18 points and Brooke Quarles Daniels scored 11. Te’Yala Delfosse and Ashley Sofilkanich had 10 points apiece. Mila Holloway had seven assists to surpass 200 for her career. The Wolverines (10-1) reached the 90-point mark for the sixth time this season.

Michigan scored 29 points off 27 Golden Grizzlies turnovers. Wolverines opponents are averaging 25.8 turnovers per game. The Wolverines also converted 21 offensive rebounds into 31 points and their reserves outscored Oakland’s bench 26-0.

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Lianna Baxter led the Golden Grizzlies (3-9), who have lost five straight, with 14 points. Angie Smith had 13 points and eight rebounds and Makenzie Luehring also scored 13.

Olson and Swords combined for 25 first-half points as Michigan built a 54-27 halftime lead.

The Golden Grizzlies committed turnovers on their first three possessions. The Wolverines forced 15 turnovers before the break, converting them into 17 points. They also scored 18 points off 11 offensive rebounds.

Michigan has won nine straight against Oakland.



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Epstein files reveal ties to Michigan

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Epstein files reveal ties to Michigan


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Justice Department released thousands of pages on the Epstein files including letters, transcripts and images. 

Court documents show that a 13-year-old girl was Epstein’s first known victim. The allegations against him trace back to a summer camp at Interlochen in 1994.

A lawsuit filed in New York in May 2020 accuses Epstein and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell of years of abuse.

The victim, Jane Doe, claims she met the two at Interlochen Arts Camp in 1994, an area about 20 minutes southwest of Traverse City.

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The lawsuit outlines Epstein and Maxwell would take her to movies and shopping and eventually started making sexual references.

When she was 14, she visited Mar-a-Lago, where she was introduced to Donald Trump. Records allege Epstein elbowed Trump and asked him in reference to the girl “This is a good one, right?”

Abuse continued to escalate over the next few years. The girl eventually moved to New York. When she was 17, she alleged Epstein raped her and on multiple occasions after that.

Epstein’s ties to Interlochen was highlighted in testimony from the group’s vice president of finance.

A letter from the group to Epstein thanked him for his $200,000 donation. It was money that went towards building a two-bedroom home known as the Green Lake Lodge, formerly known as the Epstein Scholarship Lodge.  

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An Interlochen spokesperson sent News 8 a statement Saturday.

“Interlochen is committed to ensuring a safe, nurturing environment in which our students can excel. We currently have a wide range of measures in place to ensure a safe, supportive environment for all students,” part of the statement read.

“To learn more about our comprehensive safety protocols, please visit our dedicated webpage, where you’ll find detailed information about our practices and approach. The well-being of our students will always be our highest priority.

“As has been previously publicized, Jeffrey Epstein attended Interlochen in the summer of 1967, and he was a donor to Interlochen Center for the Arts from 1990 to 2003.

“When Interlochen administrators learned of Epstein’s conviction in 2008, Interlochen conducted an internal review and found no record of complaint or concern about Epstein. All donor recognition in his name was removed from campus at that time. Subsequent to Epstein’s second arrest in July 2019, we again reviewed our records and found no report or complaint involving Epstein within our records. 

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“In keeping with our commitment to child welfare and to candor with our community, we have issued prior public statements about Epstein’s connection to Interlochen and cooperated with prosecutors and several inquiries by the media. And we encourage anyone who may have been impacted by sexual abuse, by Epstein, or any member of the Interlochen community, to report their experience and seek assistance.”



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Big Ten program to hire Alabama QB coach Nick Sheridan as OC

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Big Ten program to hire Alabama QB coach Nick Sheridan as OC


Michigan State is expected to hire Alabama QBs coach Nick Sheridan as its next offensive coordinator, On3’s Pete Nakos reported. Sheridan also serves as the Crimson Tide’s co-offensive coordinator.

Sheridan arrived at Alabama in 2024 as offensive coordinator and took on co-offensive coordinator duties this season as Ryan Grubb arrived in Tuscaloosa. He previously worked with Kalen DeBoer at Washington as tight ends coach after spending time on the staff at Indiana from 2017-21.

A Michigan alumnus, Sheridan started his coaching career at nearby Saline (Mich.) in 2010. His hire is notable for Pat Fitzgerald as he takes over at Michigan State.

After his season as the quarterbacks coach at Saline, Sheridan broke into college football as a graduate assistant at Western Kentucky in 2011. He then became the pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at USF in 2013 before three seasons as a graduate assistant at Tennessee from 2014-16.

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In 2017, Sheridan became Indiana’s quarterbacks coach and moved to tight ends coach in 2019, which is when DeBoer joined the staff. He then took over as offensive coordinator from 2020-21 after DeBoer’s departure for Fresno State and joined him at Washington in 2022.

Nick Sheridan would be the latest high-profile hire for Fitzgerald, who’s preparing for his first year at Michigan State. The Spartans are also adding Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods, Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz confirmed. Woods is expected to stay with Iowa through the bowl game before becoming MSU’s special teams coordinator and assistant head coach.

“I know it was a tough decision for him, and it was a really good opportunity for him to consider,” Ferentz told reporters this week. “We’ve had several coaches have that opportunity, as well. Just first and foremost, just want to congratulate him on that and just share a couple words about LeVar.

“He was on the team when I got here in December of ’98 and was a veteran player, one of the good veteran players that we had, and was a really big part of helping try to build this thing when we got started. Obviously a good player but more importantly a real leader and a guy who had helped set tempo and was really responsive to the way we were doing things.”



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