Michigan needs one more win to gain bowl eligibility and the Wolverines will look to make magic happen this weekend in Eugene. The Wolverines made a major change heading into the game, firing Jason Beck, and Kyle Whittingham promoted Jim Harding as the interim offensive coordinator.
But we wouldn’t expect many drastic changes this late in the season. Tommy Carr is expected to start again this week, but reports have indicated that Bryce Underwood could also see some snaps. If Michigan has any chance to win this game, the Wolverines’ offense has to come alive and establish the run.
Here’s how Michigan on SI sees the game going.
Trent Knoop
Michigan still has one of the best defenses in the country and last week was a major disappointment by their standards — and they didn’t even allow a touchdown. But five field goals were too much with how poorly the Wolverines’ offense has played. Firing Jason Beck was the right move, but it was too late in the season.
Michigan isn’t going to have wholesale changes and I just don’t see a way for the Wolverines to score enough points to win a game like this on the road. The Wolverines’ defense will play tough, but Oregon finds a way to break away in the second half.
Final score: Oregon 24, Michigan 10
Justice Steiner
The Michigan football season is officially a disaster. Anytime you fire a coordinator midseason, you know things aren’t going well. Now, the Wolverines have to travel across the country to play nationally-ranked Oregon. I don’t see this going very good for the Maize and Blue.
Firing Jason Beck was the correct move, but that doesn’t mean it is going to fix all or any issues on the offensive side of the ball. Oregon is coming off a big win against Ohio State and I would expect them to handle Michigan this week.
Final score: Oregon 28, Michigan 10
Lucas Reimink
Michigan will be traveling to Oregon to take on Dan Lanning and the Ducks. Kyle Whittingham and Dan Lanning took shots at each other this week via the media, so I have a feeling this game will be a little extra chippy. Oregon is coming off a big win in Columbus over the Buckeyes, and Michigan is coming off arguably the most disappointing loss in recent program history to the previously 2-6 Michigan State Spartans. I expect Oregon to be highly motivated in this game, and Michigan has nothing left to play for except pride at this point. I just don’t see how this game will be close given the circumstances
Final score: Oregon 23, Michigan 10
Jacob Westendorf
Call me broken, but I think this team is too. Michigan is in turmoil. They’ve lost every trophy game. they fired their offensive coordinator. They’ve spilled into a season where they’re looking at finishing 5-7.
Now they have to head out west, where they’ve never played well. Oregon, meanwhile, is rolling. Their offense has found something after firing their coordinator. What a concept.
Ultimately, I don’t think the players are quitting, but I think they know they’ve been let down and they are simply playing out the string here of a miserable season.
Final score: Oregon 31, Michigan 6
Jason B. Hirschhorn
While Michigan stumbles toward its first losing season with a non-truncated schedule since the Brady Hoke era, Oregon has fought its way out of the darkness to at least keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive. The Ducks responded to losses against Oklahoma State, UCLA, and Illinois with wins, and did so mostly without starting quarterback Dante Moore. Conversely, the Wolverines have let bad games snowball and have notched a single multi-score victory all year (Week 3 versus UTEP, a team that currently has a 1-8 record).
Michigan still has one of the nation’s best defenses at its disposal, but the sheer volume of errors in the other phases has negated that advantage in too many weeks to ignore. The Ducks might not have a unit as dominant as that defense, but they don’t have a weakness as obviously exploitable as the Wolverines’ offense or special teams.
Oregon also doesn’t have to overcome a head coach with a penchant for creating roadblocks for his own team. Dan Lanning says he respects Michigan’s Kyle Whittingham, but the final score of Saturday’s game will probably undercut that claim.
Prediction: Oregon over Michigan
Sign up for the Michigan Wolverines on SI newsletter for more free coverage
Add us as a preferred source on Google
