Michigan’s Season Goes From Bad To Worse With Blowout Loss To Oregon

Heading into a home game against the number one ranked Oregon Ducks, the 2024 season for the Michigan Wolverines was a disappointment. Just a few hours later, it’d become a disaster.

Michigan is the defending National Champions, with a suffocating defense and elite skill position talent, especially at running back. The Wolverines had a difficult, but favorable schedule, with most of their toughest matchups, on paper at least, coming at home.

A bad loss to the Texas Longhorns could be excused once it became clear that Texas was one of the best teams in the country. Michigan even rebounded, outlasting the USC Trojans despite a dismal passing game. But it’s been downhill ever since. 

The Wolverines lost in Seattle to Washington, then scored just seven points in a road loss to Illinois. Dreams of a Big Ten Championship Game were likely gone, but the Wolverines could at least salvage a major bowl game and build momentum for 2025 with a win over the number one team in the country.

Not only did they not win, they were never even in the game.

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel makes a pass against Michigan during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Oregon Ducks Dominate Wolverines At The Big House

Oregon scored early, and rarely stopped. After forcing a Michigan three and out to start the game, the Ducks drove 63-yards down the field for an opening touchdown. They scored touchdowns on three of their next four drives, including a Dillon Gabriel 23-yard run to take a 28-10 lead heading into halftime.

Michigan scored just one time in the second half, and Oregon pulled away for an easy 38-17 win. They dominated in every statistical category along the way, racking up 470 total yards on 6.1 yards per play, compared to 270 and just 5.1 for Michigan.

The Ducks went 10/15 on third downs, while the Wolverines were just 4/12. It just wasn’t remotely close. Which raises the question, where does Michigan go from here?

It’s clear that the Wolverines‘ strategy needs to change. The defense isn’t strong enough to dominate games on its own. And the offense is inexcusably bad. There’s no excuse for Michigan not going out into the transfer portal and finding a better solution at quarterback than Davis Warren or Alex Orji.

Michigan’s philosophy has been to build through its own recruits, but that’s clearly not going to cut it in the post-Jim Harbaugh era. Whatever hopes the Wolverines had for the 2024 season are over, with a 5-4 record. And with road games coming up at Indiana and Ohio State, a 6-6 year seems like the best case scenario.

Things are going to have to change, and quickly.