Defensive back Marlin Jackson and the Wolverine defense have allowed 10 total points in the first three game.
Even though Central Michigan lost by 38 points to in-state rival Michigan in both team’s season openers, the Chippewas still have plenty to brag about.
Central Michigan is the only team in Michigan’s first three games that has managed a touchdown against the strongest defense in the Big Ten.
No. 3 Michigan, the team that ranks top five nationally in pass efficiency, passing defense, total defense and scoring defense, has outscored its first three opponents by an average of 41 points, while allowing just 10 points in three games.
After shutting out previously ranked No. 15 Notre Dame, the Wolverines take to the road for the first time this season to play No. 22 Oregon at Autzen Stadium Saturday.
Although, despite Michigan’s success thus far, head coach Lloyd Carr is taking nothing lightly, especially the Ducks.
“Anytime you’re successful in stopping the run, you put teams in the position where they’re one-dimensional,” Carr said in a press conference Monday. ” … So I think our success in doing a good job against the run the last two weeks has put them in the position where they’ve had to throw the football, but Oregon is going to be a much different deal here. They have tremendous skill.”
And even though Michigan Stadium averages 110,648 fans a game — nearly double that of Autzen Stadium’s 56,471 — the Wolverines are pumped about the opportunity of playing in Eugene.
“One of the comments that was made to me this morning is it’s an exciting place to play,” Carr said. “The coach that I was talking to said the players really got excited to play there because it is so loud.”
Michigan has faced Oregon three times before — most recently in 1973 — and has outscored the Ducks 59-0. All three matchups were played in Ann Arbor, Mich.
So what is Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti’s take on Oregon trying to score against the Wolverines for the first time and just a week after Michigan blanked the Fighting Irish?
“There’s not a lot of weaknesses that you see that are very apparent to the eye and even more so when you look at them on film,” Bellotti said. “They do a great job, they’re very well coached, they play hard, they play fast and they have great athletes.
“Obviously, we’re going to have to work very hard. I think we’re going to have to take some chances and roll the dice a few times.”
Michigan’s defense has been given a lot of credit lately, but with the Wolverine offense averaging nearly 45 points a game and ranked second nationally with a 530-yard average on total offense, the offensive by no means is the junior varsity to the defense.
Quarterback John Navarre and tailback Chris Perry are two who can take a bow and receive the recognition for such offensive prominence. Perry enters the Oregon game currently tied nationally in scoring at 16 points per game.
Navarre’s name can be seen in several all-time career categories for Michigan quarterbacks. The fifth-year senior ranks fourth with a 24-8 record among his 32 starts, and is second in career passing touchdowns with 52.
He also needs to only pass six times against Oregon to become the Wolverines’ first quarterback in history to throw 1,000 times.
But Navarre’s prominence is viewed no different by the Oregon defense than Arizona’s Nic Costa or Nevada’s Andy Heiser ever was.
“We try to come out every game and play hard,” defensive tackle Igor Olshansky said. “We won’t treat this game any differently except that it gives us an opportunity to show that we have national recognition against top-ranked opponents.”
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