The Wolverines went three and out on their first drive. The Ducks scored a touchdown on theirs. That set the tone Saturday in Ann Arbor as No. 1 Oregon rolled over Michigan, 38-17.
The visitors finished with 200 more yards and walked off the field to chants of "Let's Go Ducks!" at the Big House.
Michigan's offense spent too much time going nowhere. Its defense didn't spend nearly enough time getting stops. Oregon had more first downs than Michigan had positive offensive plays in the first half. The Ducks led 28-10 at the break and didn't look back.
The Wolverines did stiffen up defensively in the second half and had a chance to make it a one-score game midway through the fourth, but a trick play on fourth down from Oregon's 10-yard line failed when quarterback Alex Orji was well-covered in the end zone on a pass from receiver Semaj Morgan.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel tossed one touchdown and ran for another and threw for 294 yards. Traeshon Holden made six catches for 149 yards, and sealed the game with a 47-yarder on third down with a little over three minutes to play. Noah Whittington rushed for two first-half touchdowns and fellow running back Jordan James went over 100 yards.
Tight end Colston Loveland had another big day for Michigan with seven catches for 112 yards, but the Wolverines didn't have the firepower on either side of the ball to keep up with the undefeated Ducks. They also committed five penalties, and appeared to be baited into an illegal alignment on fourth down that extended a long field-goal drive in the third quarter for Oregon.
The loss drops Michigan to 5-4 in year one under Sherrone Moore, with three games remaining against No. 13 Indiana, Northwestern and No. 4 Ohio State. The Hoosiers routed Michigan State on Saturday, while the Buckeyes took down No. 3 Penn State.
The motivation from here on out, said Moore, "is that you’re at Michigan, that you wear the winged helmet, that you have the block 'M' on your chest and that you gotta play really good teams the rest of the way.
"These guys have a lot of pride," he said. "Nobody's more disappointed about the losses than these kids and these coaches, so they’re going to continue to fight."