Saturday, November 2
Ann Arbor, Mich.
12:30 PM
University of Oregon
at
Michigan
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
5 Things To Watch: Oregon-Michigan
11/01/24 | Football
The No. 1 Ducks will be on the road to face the defending national champs Saturday (12:30 p.m., CBS).
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The stretch run of the 2024 regular season begins for the Oregon football team at an historic venue.
The top-ranked Ducks kick off November by facing defending national champion Michigan on Saturday at "The Big House," Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines will host the UO football team at 12:30 p.m. PT.
Oregon enters the final month of the regular season 8-0 overall and 5-0 in Big Ten Conference play. The Wolverines are 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten; both teams have a win over Michigan State, while Illinois beat Michigan before losing to the Ducks.
Michigan leads the all-time series between the two, 3-2, with wins at Michigan Stadium in 1948, 1960 and 1973. Oregon swept a home-and-home series in 2003 and 2007, the latter of which is featured in the latest "Turn Back the Flock" hosted by former UO defensive back Verone McKinley III.
Saturday's game will be televised by CBS, with Brad Nessler on play-by-play, Gary Danielson providing analysis and Jenny Dell reporting from the sidelines.
Some storylines to watch when the game kicks off …
1. Oregon did an outstanding job of shouldering the attention of being college football's No. 1 team last week, and the Ducks will look to maintain that same focus this week against the defending champs.
Yes, Michigan has lost two of its last three. But the Ducks will be on high alert regardless.
"We're getting an opportunity to play the reigning national champions," UO coach Dan Lanning said. "And in this conference it's hard every single week, so we know that we'll get their best. We've gotten to play some games that are fun for us so far this year and challenging, and this will certainly be a challenge."
2. Running the ball will be a challenge for the Ducks, against an elite Michigan defensive front.
The Wolverines boast the No. 15 run defense in the FBS, allowing just 101.0 rushing yards per game. Their front is anchored by outstanding tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant.
"You watch them and they're game wreckers," Lanning said. "They're guys that you have to have a game plan for."
3. Michigan could present some challenges for the Oregon defense given that the Wolverines can go a couple different ways at quarterback.
The expected starter Saturday is Davis Warren, who has started four previous games and is completing 67 percent of his passes. But the Wolverines can also turn to Alex Orji, who was their leading rusher against Michigan State.
"It's different based on who's in the game," Lanning said. "They're both capable, and they can win in different ways."
4. One of the best stories for the Ducks in October was the emergence of receiver Justius Lowe, a Portland native who stepped into the starting lineup in place of Traeshon Holden the last two weeks.
Lowe caught two passes at Purdue and two more last week against Illinois, one of those for his first career touchdown. Injuries have slowed Lowe's development the last two years, but he's been making up for lost time in recent weeks.
"He's playing tough — more than anything, I'd tell you that Justius Lowe's playing tough football," Lanning said. "He's become one of our best blockers in that room, but he also runs really precise routes. He's a guy you can line up at any position and trust that he's going to do his job. So again, I think he's stepped up and grown every single year, every single week, and become one of the guys that we all have a lot of faith in when he's out there on the field."
5. The Ducks bring a No. 1 national ranking into Saturday's game. Coming out of it, the first College Football Playoff rankings will be announced early next week.
That's a lot of outside noise. Lanning's goal is to keep Oregon focused, and keep the Ducks on the trajectory they've been on since early September.
"At the beginning of the year, everybody asked me what success looked like," Lanning said. "And to me, it looks like us playing our best football at the end of the season. So that's our goal, is to put ourselves in position to play our best football and focus on the process, not the result."
The top-ranked Ducks kick off November by facing defending national champion Michigan on Saturday at "The Big House," Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines will host the UO football team at 12:30 p.m. PT.
Oregon enters the final month of the regular season 8-0 overall and 5-0 in Big Ten Conference play. The Wolverines are 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten; both teams have a win over Michigan State, while Illinois beat Michigan before losing to the Ducks.
Michigan leads the all-time series between the two, 3-2, with wins at Michigan Stadium in 1948, 1960 and 1973. Oregon swept a home-and-home series in 2003 and 2007, the latter of which is featured in the latest "Turn Back the Flock" hosted by former UO defensive back Verone McKinley III.
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— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) November 1, 2024
You don't want to miss this conversation between @vmckinley23 and @Jonathanstewar1. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/l6rPiG1mO3
Saturday's game will be televised by CBS, with Brad Nessler on play-by-play, Gary Danielson providing analysis and Jenny Dell reporting from the sidelines.
Some storylines to watch when the game kicks off …
1. Oregon did an outstanding job of shouldering the attention of being college football's No. 1 team last week, and the Ducks will look to maintain that same focus this week against the defending champs.
Yes, Michigan has lost two of its last three. But the Ducks will be on high alert regardless.
"We're getting an opportunity to play the reigning national champions," UO coach Dan Lanning said. "And in this conference it's hard every single week, so we know that we'll get their best. We've gotten to play some games that are fun for us so far this year and challenging, and this will certainly be a challenge."
2. Running the ball will be a challenge for the Ducks, against an elite Michigan defensive front.
The Wolverines boast the No. 15 run defense in the FBS, allowing just 101.0 rushing yards per game. Their front is anchored by outstanding tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant.
"You watch them and they're game wreckers," Lanning said. "They're guys that you have to have a game plan for."
3. Michigan could present some challenges for the Oregon defense given that the Wolverines can go a couple different ways at quarterback.
The expected starter Saturday is Davis Warren, who has started four previous games and is completing 67 percent of his passes. But the Wolverines can also turn to Alex Orji, who was their leading rusher against Michigan State.
"It's different based on who's in the game," Lanning said. "They're both capable, and they can win in different ways."
4. One of the best stories for the Ducks in October was the emergence of receiver Justius Lowe, a Portland native who stepped into the starting lineup in place of Traeshon Holden the last two weeks.
Lowe caught two passes at Purdue and two more last week against Illinois, one of those for his first career touchdown. Injuries have slowed Lowe's development the last two years, but he's been making up for lost time in recent weeks.
"He's playing tough — more than anything, I'd tell you that Justius Lowe's playing tough football," Lanning said. "He's become one of our best blockers in that room, but he also runs really precise routes. He's a guy you can line up at any position and trust that he's going to do his job. So again, I think he's stepped up and grown every single year, every single week, and become one of the guys that we all have a lot of faith in when he's out there on the field."
5. The Ducks bring a No. 1 national ranking into Saturday's game. Coming out of it, the first College Football Playoff rankings will be announced early next week.
That's a lot of outside noise. Lanning's goal is to keep Oregon focused, and keep the Ducks on the trajectory they've been on since early September.
"At the beginning of the year, everybody asked me what success looked like," Lanning said. "And to me, it looks like us playing our best football at the end of the season. So that's our goal, is to put ourselves in position to play our best football and focus on the process, not the result."
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