So much for Michigan solving its problems from last week. Again, the Wolverines struggled to contain a spread-option offense as Oregon compiled 624 yards of total offense against Michigan en route to a 39-7 victory in front of 109,733 fans in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Dennis Dixon, as some predicted, eluded Michigan defenders, running 16 times for 76 yards and a touchdown while completing 16 of his 25 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns.
For the second week in a row, the Oregon running game ran for more than 300 yards, this time with running backs Jonathan Stewart (111 yards, 1 TD) and Jeremiah Johnson (89 yards) leading the way. Dixon was the Ducks’ third leading rusher. The Ducks finished with 331 yards on the ground.
And while the Wolverines’ defense was embarrassed by a I-AA school last week. Oregon showed what a I-A school can do against it — run the Statue of Liberty play, twice. Early in the second quarter, Dixon dropped back pretending to pass the ball as Stewart ran behind him and grabbed the ball behind Dixon’s back for a long gain.
Later in the quarter, Oregon ran the play again from nine yards away from the end zone. Stewart ran behind Dixon, except no exchange was made. Dixon nearly jogged into the end zone untouched to put the Ducks up 24-7.
In his postgame interview, Michigan running back Mike Hart didn’t offer much to describe the troubles the Wolverine defense has faced the past two games.
“The spread offense is hard to stop,” he said.
While Oregon’s offense put on a show, that wasn’t as much of a surprise as the defense holding Michigan to a single touchdown and 365 yards of offense, a significant improvement from last week’s effort against Houston when the Ducks let Cougars pile on more than 500 yards of total offense.
Although Michigan’s Hart ran for 127 yards, the Ducks held the Wolverines to 3.3 yards per carry, again, an improvement from last week’s game when Oregon surrendered more than 300 rushing yards to Houston.
The defense was opportunistic too. The Ducks picked off two passes, one in the end zone by free safety Matt Harper, and recovered two fumbles.
It was Michigan’s worst loss since losing 50-14 at Ohio State in 1968. The Wolverines have opened their season with two straight losses for the first time since 1959 and have dropped four straight, including the final two last season, for first time in four decades.