Coaches as costly as anything vs. Oregon

November 3, 2024 Vaseline blog 0

Coaches as costly as anything vs. Oregon

Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia grades Michigan football’s performance Saturday in its 38-17 loss to Oregon in their first meeting as Big Ten foes at Michigan Stadium.

Offense: C

After all that concern with the passing attack, who would’ve thought it would be the lack of a rushing game that proved costly. The running backs were bottled up for a second straight week as Kalel Mullings (eight carries for 16 yards) and Donovan Edwards (10 carries for 52 yards) had their least effective day of the season. Even QB Alex Orji was largely bottled up, running six times for 39 yards. In all, Michigan averaged just 3.6 yards per attempt.

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Although it wasn’t always pretty, the passing offense was acceptable. Outside of a fumble that he recovered in the first quarter, Davis Warren didn’t put the ball in harm’s way. He finished the day 13-for-23 for 165 yards and two touchdowns, but he wasn’t the reason UM lost. He had a mid-game stretch in which he completed nine of 10 passes, four of which picked up 18 yards or more, after UM went the first 25 minutes of the game with just 7 passing yards. Colston Loveland continues to cement himself as the nation’s top tight end; he caught seven passes for a career-high 112 yards.

Tyler Morris also had his best day of the year, with three catches for 38 yards and a nice touchdown reception in the first quarter on third-and-goal. Payton O’Leary also had his second career touchdown grab in the third quarter on a tough third-and-goal catch in traffic.

The second half was much better with two long drives, but an anemic first half was too much to overcome.

Defense: C-minus

SHAWN WINDSOR: Michigan football gets a moral victory, which isn’t anything against No. 1 Oregon

Much like the offense, the second half was better, but not enough.

The tone was set when Oregon took four of its first five drives for touchdowns. Each of those possessions was a lengthy march, as all four took at least six plays and covered more than 60 yards. Three went at least 75 yards.

The Ducks did just about all they wanted on offense, as Dillon Gabriel completed 22 of 34 passes for 294 yards, even with star receiver Tez Johnson leaving the game with injury in the first quarter. Oregon had six passing plays of at least 15 yards and five rushing plays of at least 10 yards or more, en route to 470 yards of offense. Michigan knew it had to win the third-down battle and did not, allowing the nation’s top team to convert 10 of 15 third downs.

While the second half was an improvement — Oregon’s first three drives resulted in two punts and one field goal — a game-ending 11-play, 90-yard touchdown drive left a sour taste with 25 seconds to play. Yes, UM was down its two starting corners, but there was little resistance. UM had three tackles for loss, all in the second half, and no sacks.

Special teams: B

There was one special teams blunder, but let’s put that under coaching. Generally, the unit was good.

Joe Taylor opened the day with a 29-yard kick return and then made what was temporarily a game-changing play when he forced a fumble on Michigan’s second point attempt. It set the Wolverines up at the Ducks’ 28, resulting in a touchdown five plays later.

Meanwhile, the kicking game was clean. Dominic Zvada drilled a 38-yard field goal and also made both of his extra point attempts on the afternoon. Punter Tommy Doman, who has struggled this year, had perhaps his second-best performance of the season: five punts for a 45.2-yard average while pinning the Ducks inside their 20 twice (including eleven at the 6).

Coaching: C-minus

Michigan was going to need a clean game from its players and coaches to win this one and even though the Wolverines didn’t turn the ball over, the coaching staff didn’t put it in position to win the game.

It started early on Oregon’s first touchdown, when Evan Stewart was credited with a score when replay showed he clearly dropped the pass. For some reason, the play wasn’t challenged or reviewed: Moore said postgame all scoring plays are supposed to be reviewed, so he will need to talk to the league to see what happened.

Later, when Sherrone Moore did opt to challenge a result, it seemed questionable. Loveland attempted to haul in a high third-and-8 pass near the left boundary when he was ruled to have not completed the catch. The play was close, so Moore opted to challenge, but the call was confirmed. “I thought he caught the ball, got a knee down, then went down and rolled out of bounds and then the ball came out,” Moore said postgame. “The kids were fighting, I was going to fight with them. It looked to me like it was a catch, so that’s why I challenged it.”

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But perhaps the worst moment was in the third quarter. UM’s defense had forced an Oregon punt, but on fourth-and-4 the Ducks lined up in an odd formation and Trey Pierce aligned directly over the snapper. UM was flagged for a 5-yard penalty, which gave Oregon a first down and ultimately led to a field goal.