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
Football and politics: Michigan governor sneaks in jab at Vikings
Politics and football go together like fire and water but Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s entrance into the 2024 election as the vice-presidential candidate alongside Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has made the pairing slightly more palatable — while also opening the door for cheap shots.
On Wednesday, while the Harris-Walz ticket was campaigning in Detroit, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recognized the fact that Walz was once an assistant coach on a high school football team that won a state championship in Minnesota 25 years ago. Then she springboarded off the football fact into a Vikings-Lions joke.
“He’s a former solider and a state championship-winning football coach,” Whitmer said of Walz. “I mean, maybe he should help out the Vikings since we smoked them twice last year.”
Whitmer’s quip drew a roar of laughter from the crowd. And, yes, it is true that he Lions beat the Vikings twice last season, though we’d be hard-pressed to say they “smoked” Minnesota. Detroit won by scores of 30-24 and 30-20 in Weeks 16 and 18.
Minnesota owns the all-time series against Detroit with a record of 80-43-2, with the next meeting between NFC North rivals set for Oct. 20 in Minneapolis.
Michigan
Michigan fans react to Jim Harbaugh's NCAA suspension
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ — On the streets of Ann Arbor, reaction is mostly what you’d expect as fans learn the NCAA came down hard on former Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh, banning him from coaching on a college football sideline for the next four years.
“I think the NCAA has it out for Jim Harbaugh a little bit,” Tom Pokorney of Ann Arbor said.
“I thought it was honestly stupid,” Fisher Johnson said. “He’s gone from the NCAA.”
Harbaugh left Michigan after last season for a job with the LA Chargers in the NFL, but the punishment comes from recruiting violations, which according to the NCAA, turned into a Level 1-Aggravated violation during the investigation because of Harbaugh’s “unethical conduct and failure to cooperate.”
VIDEO: NCAA hands former Michigan coach Harbaugh a 4-year show cause order
NCAA hands former Michigan coach Harbaugh a 4-year show cause order
Steve Culp is an assistant coach at the high school level, who has also coached players being recruited in the past.
“The head coach has to know every rule. The head coach is responsible for everything in the program,” said Culp, who also acknowledged the rules can change and be complicated. “The rules change more than I can keep count. You would have to study it. For a parent or prospective student athlete, you would have to dive into the rules.”
Harbaugh’s violations stem from the COVID-19 dead period, but the punishment comes down on the cusp of a national title.
“I don’t think it’s going to get revoked, but it does put a pretty big stain on it,” Johnson said. “They did play good football. That’s all that matters to me.”
RELATED VIDEO: Jim Harbaugh: ‘I do not apologize;’ Coach again denies knowing about Michigan sign-stealing scheme
Jim Harbaugh: ‘I do not apologize;’ Coach again denies knowing about Michigan sign-stealing scheme
How Michigan students feel about that depends on perspective.
“They won last year because of the recruiting violations? OK, OK,” graduate student Jocelyn May said poking fun at Michigan. “Yeah, I went to Ohio State undergrad.”
“I’m sure what’s coming to them will eventually come. I think we’re all sitting here waiting for the final hammer to fall or not fall,” said Culp, who’s also an MSU alum and Spartan fan. “But I try to just worry about Michigan State and our kids and how we’re doing.”
While Harbaugh’s suspension lasts through 2028, he’s under contract with the Chargers also until 2028.
Michigan
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