Oregon Ducks Dominate Michigan Wolverines: Stats Show 'Big House' Not A Factor

The Oregon Ducks beat the Michigan Wolverines 38-17 in the Big House. The Ducks kept their undefeated season alive and improved to 9-0 on the season with a 38-17 win.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning watches a play against Michigan during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks showed why they are ranked No.1 in the country. The Ducks went to Ann Arbor and never trailed in a 38-17 win over the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines.

The 110,756 fans at Michigan Stadium, also known as The Big House, is the largest crowd Oregon has played in front of ever.

The Ducks committed just two penalties for 10 yards in the entire game: One false start, and one illegal man downfield. While the Big House is historic, it was not a factor in this game.

Oregon Outlasts Michigan

Nov 2, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Oregon Ducks wide receiver Traeshon Holden (1) runs the ball chased by Michigan Wolverines defensive back Aamir Hall (12) in the second half at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks had a perfect start to Saturday afternoon's game. The Ducks' defense immediately forced a Michigan three-and-out and scored a touchdown on their opening drive to take a 7-0 lead. Unfortunately, Oregon star receiver Tez Johnson left the game injured on the punt return.

Things got a little weird after a muffed punt gave the Wolverines life. Michigan capitalized on the turnover and tied the game at 7-7 late in the first quarter.

The Ducks responded on the ensuing drive, aided by a roughing passer penalty on quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Running back Noah Whittington finished off the drive with a touchdown run. 

Oregon ended the half with a couple more touchdowns and held Michigan to only three more points. It was 28-10 at halftime.

Oregon's third quarter struggles in 2024 continued vs. Michigan. The Wolverines came out hot and scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 28-17. Oregon was only able to muster up one field goal, and it was 31-17 heading into fourth quarter. 

Nov 2, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Oregon Ducks wide receiver Traeshon Holden (1) runs the ball chased by Michigan Wolverines defensive back Aamir Hall (12) in the second half at Michigan Stadium. / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The Wolverines had a real chance to cause a big scare as they were driving down the field to cut the lead to one score in the middle of the final quarter. The Ducks should be thanking the Michigan coaching staff for pulling quarterback Davis Warren when they got the red zone. It made no sense to take him out for the run first option of Alex Orji. 

Michigan failed to convert, and the game was essentially over. The Ducks got the icing on the cake on a Jordan James touchdown run with under a minute to go to up the lead to 38-17. That would be the final score. 

Oregon took their bumps and bruises in their 38-17 win. The status of wide receiver Tez Johnson and offensive lineman Marcus Harper II are both unknown moving forward. 

The Ducks showed resilience and quieted the 100-plus thousand in attendance in the win. 

Dan Lanning: “I Love Our Team” 

Ducks coach Dan Lanning was proud of the resiliecy of his team. After the game, he spoke about how they were able to overcome so many obstacles. 

“We faced some adversity there, early the game,” Lanning said. “For nobody to even flinch or blink and then go ahead and say ‘Hey, the next play’s the most important.’ Saw that consistently show up tonight.”

Lanning was asked how much fun he has had this season as coach of the Ducks.

“I love our team,” Lanning said. “I love everybody in that locker room. That makes this a lot of fun.”

Lanning is in his third year at the helm for Oregon. With Saturday’s win, he improved his record as Oregon coach to 31-5. There’s still a lot of work to be done for Oregon to achieve the goal they set out for this season, but they could not have asked for a better start in 2024.

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