Michigan football picks vs. No. 1 Oregon Ducks

November 2, 2024 Vaseline blog 0

Michigan football picks vs. No. 1 Oregon Ducks

Win or lose, Michigan football will host a bit of history on Saturday when No. 1 Oregon comes to Michigan Stadium: It’s the first visit from a national No. 1 at the Big House since Sept. 14, 1991, when top-ranked Florida State rolled over a third-ranked Michigan squad, 51-31. (UM’s last game against a No. 1, on the road, also didn’t go the Wolverines’ way, as they fell to Ohio State in Columbus as the No. 2 team on Nov. 18, 2006.

For the Wolverines’ last upset of a No. 1 team at the Big House, we have to go all the way back to Sept. 8, 1984, when 14th-ranked UM slid by No. 1 Miami (Florida), 22-14. Will history repeat itself 40 years (and change) later? Five Free Press sports writers have some thoughts on that:

SCOUTING THE GAME: No. 1 Oregon: Can UM pull off upset?

Tony Garcia

Michigan avoided going 0-for-October by beating MSU, but its issues are far from solved. UM fell to Illinois and went toe-to-toe with MSU, two teams which were handled by at least three scores by Oregon. For the first time since Week 2’s game vs. Texas, UM will be at a disadvantage in the trenches. That didn’t go well then, and it’s hard to see how this goes all that differently. The pick: Oregon 31, UM 16.

Carlos Monarrez

The top-ranked Ducks are going to flex their muscles (or wings?) with a powerful offense and an overpowering defense. This one’s gonna make Wolverines fans long for that Texas game. If you can stick around the Big House long enough to hear “Mr. Brightside,” considered it a moral victory. The pick: Oregon 33, UM 10.

Rainer Sabin

Oregon, in many ways, looks like the undefeated juggernaut that called Ann Arbor home last fall. The Ducks have a productive offense, a staunch defense and a head coach, Dan Lanning, who likes to play a physical brand of football. Ranked No. 1 in both polls, Oregon is a complete team. These Wolverines are not, which explains why they’re not even ranked.

Michigan has deficiencies in all three main sectors, and Oregon is the kind of opponent that can expose all of them. Much in the same way Texas did in September, expect the Ducks to squeeze the life force out of the Wolverines and silence the home crowd. The pick: Oregon 31, UM 13.

Jeff Seidel

Once upon a time, this sounded like it was going to be a great game. Now? Ugh, it just sounds like a blowout waiting to happen. Oregon is everything Michigan was last season — one of the best teams in the land, loaded with talent and racing toward the playoffs. Meanwhile, Michigan looks like… a six-win team. The pick: Oregon 31, UM 14.

Shawn Windsor

The Ducks are the best team the Wolverines have faced since Texas, and their defensive line will make it tough to consistently run. But UM found a little something platooning Davis Warren and Alex Orji at QB, and that will keep the game competitive for a while. The pick: Oregon 29, UM 16.