It was going to be a tall task for Michigan football to travel to Oregon and win on Saturday, and that's before even taking into consideration the trajectory of either team.
The Ducks, a College Football Playoff hopeful and a preseason national championship favorite, fired their offensive coordinator weeks ago, and the offense has thrived as a result -- though it took a minute. The Wolverines are hoping for a similar result with the final three-game stretch, but it wasn't meant to be in Eugene.
The offense under interim offensive coordinator Jim Harding featured a lot more downhill runs, a lot more four-wide formations, and a lot less of the rhino (sixth offensive lineman). But without the rhino, the tight ends didn't really become a big part
of the offense. And with star wideout JJ Buchanan leaving the game with injury early, the passing offense -- led by both Tommy Carr and Bryce Underwood -- became that much more one-dimensional. Both often made bad decisions; it was just that Oregon didn't come up with what could have been relatively rote interceptions.
The quarterbacks combined for 71 yards on 6-for-20 passing -- not exactly a passing clinic, but certainly not dissimilar from recent struggles in the pass game. The run game thrived, in large part due to the downhill attack, bolstered by a 70-yard touchdown run by Savion Hiter -- the longest run of the season for the Wolverines, and Hiter's career-best (he finished with 107 yards). But the defensive miscues in the pass game made it too difficult for a still-struggling offense to overcome.
Ultimately, it was just a handful of plays that did the defense in. Cornerback Jyaire Hill had a couple of uncharacteristic plays where he allowed big catches from Duck receivers. Nickel Smith Snowden's miscue allowed for another big pass play. Though the pass defense stiffened greatly in the second half, with 261 yards given up through the air in the first, it allowed Oregon to take a 21-7 lead that held for most of the second half (Oregon scored at the 4:03 mark and the 40-second mark).
It's standard fare for this Michigan team. Turnovers (the Wolverines fumbled twice and got no takeaways), untimely penalties, and a struggling pass game meant the maize and blue had little shot in this one. They lost to the Ducks, 31-7.
The playcalling certainly was improved, but there's not enough quarterback development to take advantage. The run game improvement would be encouraging, but it didn't make enough of a difference, though Michigan outrushed Oregon 215-to-126 (the Ducks outgained the Wolverines 467-to-286 overall, though). Hiter not only managed 100 yards on the day, but he's also the first Wolverine to eclipse 100 yards this season.
Digging deeper into the defense, the Ducks went the long way on multiple drives to score touchdowns (75, 64, and 91 -- though the Wolverines kept them from the end zone on a 60-yard drive). The defense gave the offense opportunities, but eventually, there were too many playmakers -- much like how it was on the other side of the ball.
Up next, Michigan will host undefeated UCLA at The Big House for Senior Day.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football falls to Oregon 31-7 despite improved rushing attack
