OREGON vs. MICHIGAN EDITION
FULL OF OPPORTUNITY
Dan Lanning, Justius Lowe and the formation of an elite program
GAMEDAY
GAMEDAY, the Daily Emerald’s football edition, is published by Emerald Media Group, Inc., the independent nonprofit news company at the University of Oregon founded in 1900.
EMERALD MEDIA GROUP
1395 University St., rm. 302 Eugene, OR 97403 541.346.5511 | dailyemerald.com
NEWSROOM
Editor in Chief
Tristin Hoffman
Print Managing Editor
Mathias Lehman-Winters
Sports Editors
Brady Ruth Jack Lazarus
Copy Chief Alex Woodward
Sports Reporters
Lily Crane
Joe Krasnowski
Owen Murray Beck Parsons
Photo Editors
Molly McPherson
Jonathan Suni
Photographers
Eddie Bruning
Alex Hernandez
Design Editor
Sam Butler
Designers
Eva Andrews
Adaleah Carmen
Gabriela Martinez Contreras
Olivia Hoskinson
BUSINESS
President & Publisher
Eric Henry x317
Vice President, Operations
Kathy Carbone x302
Creative Director Anna Smith x327
ADVERTISING
Director of Sales and Digital Marketing Shelly Rondestvedt x303
Student Sales Manager
Lola Tagwerker
Account Executives
Cooper Gast Elliot Byrne Ysai Hong Nate Ghilarducci
(On The Cover) Oregon running back Da'Jaun Riggs (21) runs the ball before being tackled by Illinois defensive back Saboor Karriem during the game on Oct. 26, 2024. The No. 1 Oregon Ducks beat the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini 38-9.
(Alex Hernandez/Emerald)
(Right) Oregon wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan (11) runs the ball during the game on Oct. 26, 2024. The No. 1 Oregon Ducks beat the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini 38-9.
(Alex Hernandez/Emerald)
OREGON VS. MICHIGAN PREVIEW
THE DUCKS HEAD TO “THE BIG HOUSE” TO TACKLE A WEAKENED, YET FORMIDABLE, OPPONENT
When the Ducks’ 2024 schedule dropped, this was by far the biggest road game of the season and their second-biggest test on the slate, only closely behind hosting Ohio State. Before the start of the season, the idea of facing the defending national champions in their home stadium seemed a lot more daunting than it does now. The Michigan Wolverines currently sit at 5-3 on the season and seventh in the Big Ten standings at 3-2.
Still, one of the most historically-dominant forces in the Big Ten can never be overlooked, especially at home.
The Ducks and the Wolverines will be meeting for the sixth time ever, with Michigan leading the all-time series 3-2. Oregon was shut out in its first three contests against the Wolverines, all of which took place in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Ducks, however, were victorious in their past two meetings with Michigan, winning 31-27 in Eugene in 2003 and 39-7 in The Big House in 2007.
An early-season loss to No. 3 at the time Texas revealed the first cracks in the Wolverines’ title-defense campaign. Later losses to both Washington and No. 22 at the time Illinois exposed that Michigan’s 2024 team is far from the threat it typically is in the Big Ten.
Offensively, Michigan is still a work in progress. The Wolverines are yet to score more than 30 points in a game this season (30-10 win over Fresno State in Week 1), and were limited to 20 or fewer points in all three of their losses. Head coach Sherrone Moore has tried three different players at quarterback this year — Davis Warren, Jack Tuttle and Alex Orji — but nobody in the trio has tallied more than 567 yards (Warren) on the season. For comparison, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel has 2,371 air yards — good for eighth-most
Michigan’s rushing attack has been somewhat of a bright spot on a dull offense. While neither Kalel Mullings (694 rushing yards) or Donovan Edwards (415) have tallied as many ground yards as Oregon’s Jordan James (800), the Wolverines’ duo has accounted for 11 of Michigan’s 18 total offensive touchdowns in 2024. The Oregon defense’s main goal should be to limit the Wolverines’ ground attack and force them to rely on a weak passing game for production. If Oregon can strike first, as it did against both Purdue and Illinois, it can force Michigan’s hand early.
Unsurprisingly, it's been the Wolverines’ defense that’s kept them in games in 2024. Linebackers Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham lead the team in tackles with 56 and 46 respectively, and could cause major issues for the Ducks’ offense.
Senior defensive end Josaiah Stewart has six and a half sacks on the season, good for second in the Big Ten, and Michigan sits fourth in the Big Ten in sacks with 21 on the season. Fortunately for Oregon, the Ducks are second with 24.
Gabriel has been prone to interceptions this season, and will face a secondary that’s forced six interceptions so far. Defensive back Will Johnson has a pair of them, but could struggle with Oregon’s three-headed monster of Evan Stewart, Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden if he’s able to go.
A big key for both teams will be creating or containing momentum by controlling the turnover battle. Oregon boasts a +4 turnover ratio on the season while Michigan will look to chip away at
Michigan will be relying on its home atmosphere. Before the Wolverines’ Week 2 loss to the Texas Longhorns, they hadn’t been beaten at home since a 2020 loss to Penn State. Oregon will look to stay perfect on its Nov. 2, 12:30 p.m. kickoff against the defending champs.
(Left) Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson (15) walks onto the field during the game on Oct. 26, 2024. The No. 1 Oregon Ducks beat the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini 38-9. (Alex Hernandez/Emerald)
WHAT’S THE DAN LANNING’S
RECIPE FOR LANNING’S DEPTH?
Oregon’s
head
BY JOE KRASNOWSKI Sports Reporter
coach has built
its
top-ranked roster in a variety of ways — just ask Justius Lowe
excited for how his role will continue to grow in our offense… he’s done a good job and I’m proud of his performance so far.”
In a position group littered with NFL-caliber talent, the 6-foot-1 Justius Lowe blends in well. He’s accompanied by Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart, both pass catchers who transferred in and have broken out catching balls from (other transfer) quarterbacks.
But Lowe? He went to nearby Lake Oswego High School, redshirted a year and has slowly begun to find his spot in the Oregon offense. He was a part of head coach Dan Lanning’s first Oregon team and one of 22 players who still are Ducks from that squad.
He’s been a part of the Ducks for the major college football realignment, the introduction of NIL and committed to the team under a different head coach. The greatest changes have happened around him, not in him. For years, Lowe chugged along, doing his thing, just knowing and being who he is.
“I just try to execute every play and keep grinding,” Lowe said after practice the week of the Illinois game. “When the game comes my time will come.”
It’s just that now, more people actually see him.
“Justius has continued to prove his ability to help us,” Lanning said in a Monday press conference to GoDucks. “When he’s healthy he can be a really really special player, and he’s been healthy later and I’m
Lowe has recorded 99 yards on eight receptions this season, so he isn’t lighting the world on fire, but some of his intangibles — blocking, being a decoy and always being at the right spot — has opened up things for the rest of the offense. It wasn’t until this past week’s game against Illinois that he had a signature moment. Lowe played the most wide receiver snaps for the Ducks on the day.
“We had a playcall it was just really more so, ‘There’s a dude in front of me, and I just gotta run by him and the ball's going to come,’” Lowe said after the Ducks' win over Illinois.
He continued: “Every play is really your play.”
That’s a significant part of the recipe for head coach Dan Lanning — getting buy-in from everyone, flashiness be damned.
“I just do my best to know every position and make the most of each opportunity,” Lowe said after practice.
Lanning has made it so everybody realizes there’s no supersizing the lineup to accommodate the influx of talent, that only 11 can play at a time. His players have continued to buy in regardless.
“All of the younger guys take pride in our role,” Lowe said after the Ducks win over Illinois. “If you keep your head in the playbook and execute in practice and all that, [Lanning] will play you.”
Following its 35-0 shutout of Purdue the Ducks received the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll. It's another concrete affirmation that Oregon belongs, not just in the Big Ten, in the national title conversation. That much is obvious now.
And Lanning’s motivation, even saying “who cares” when asked about his team’s ranking, is proof of concept for the way that Lanning built his program. He won’t be satisfied until a national championship comes to Eugene.
Lanning has built the Ducks through recruiting without a doubt, utilizing the transfer portal well, but not entirely relying on it. One of the biggest proponents for that practice came with Lanning’s marquee win over then-No. 2 Ohio State. It was a game that called for the Ducks’ best, and everyone on the roster brought it.
Those offseason recruiting wins showed up. Future high draft pick Jordan Burch goes down with an injury? In comes former blue-chip prospect, sophomore defensive lineman Matayo Uiagalelei, who had five tackles (two for loss) and a sack. Traeshon Holden spits on someone? In comes redshirt sophomore Lowe, who has worked his way through the system, earning his coach's trust, one play at a time.
“[I just try to ] execute my plays, when they are handed to me,” Lowe said after practice. “And just not messing up honestly.”
The Ducks' title-worthy depth was built with championship intention. Still, stories like Lowe’s are reassuring amid the turbulent state of college football, in a climate where players are opting out of seasons due to NIL or already announcing their intent to transfer. The Ducks are making different headlines, with their home-grown stars the tip of the sword for their success.
And after the Ducks’ massive win over the Buckeyes, Lanning was sure to stay true to his form.
“If you see any good players, tell them to come here,” Lanning said to end his press conference.
In Lanning’s eyes, the No. 1 ranked Ducks' success is about the players — about running back Jordan James’ dominance and Uiagalelei’s force and Dillon Gabriel’s experience and Lowe’s intelligence. And not about him.
But that doesn’t mean the man who brought this team together doesn’t deserve his flowers, too.
Oregon players run off the field at halftime during the game on Oct. 26, 2024. The No. 1 Oregon Ducks beat the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini 38-9. (Alex Hernandez/ Emerald)
TOP-RANKED DUCKS FOCUSED ON WINS
No.
1 Oregon won its first game as the top-ranked team in the AP poll since 2010, but how do the Ducks feel about it?
BY JACK LAZARUS Sports Associate Editor
Have you heard or seen that Oregon is the No. 1 ranked team in college football? Probably. But even after another resounding victory over another ranked team, head coach Dan Lanning and his squad still won’t acknowledge it.
The Ducks (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) trampled No. 20 Illinois (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) 38-9 in front of a yellow-clad crowd that’s hungry for glory.
“[Illinois] put themselves in position to have that opportunity [to play the No. 1 team], but that’s all that is, it’s an opportunity. Success only matters if you’re satisfied, and I know my team’s not,” Lanning said postgame.
Even after a six reception, 102-yard performance that began with an ankle-breaking, 31-yard touchdown, receiver Tez Johnson remains unfazed as well.
“We don’t care about the No. 1 spot, we just care about going 1-0 at the end of the week. It’s good and all, but we don’t really care that we’re No. 1, we just want to win foot-
was still a 54-yard march down the field capped off by a Noah Whittington truck on the goal line.
That play described the whole game — utter dominance.
“It’s awesome seeing guys play physical, I think it’s something our team prides itself in, and when you get the opportunity to run through a man’s face, there’s nothing better than that,” Lanning said.
The quiet and calm in the face of having the nation’s biggest target on their back seems almost too normal for the Ducks. They know about this pressure, but almost more as if it were someone beckoning far off from the nosebleeds rather than it being right in front of them, as it would seem to lay people like us.
“When you're at the top of the food chain, everybody wants to be that. Everyday we know we got a target on our back, but we don’t care who’s coming after us,” Johnson said.
This team has an unbelievable ability to shrug off national praise, expectation and, even at points, scrutiny. Don’t forget that just two weeks into the season, there was
history and moved up to No. 2 on both the all-time FBS passing yards and touchdowns list.
His reaction? “Who cares?” Lanning said last Monday to Matt Prehm of 247sports.
“I’m chasing wins, that’s where I’m at. To be quite honest, that’s been the goal of mine for a long time, but now more than ever. You play a long career like I did, and you realize a lot of things. I choose winning 100% of the time,” Gabriel said.
With all of the outside noise, all of the national lists having the Ducks on top and all the supposed pressure on this team, they stay consistent by consistently ignoring what is and can be said about expectations for this team.
Yes, the Ducks are No. 1, and deservedly so, but this season is much longer than the eight games Oregon has played. There’s more football to be played, and even some areas where the Ducks can improve.
Simply put, the job is not finished.
Oregon players celebrate a touchdown during the game on Oct. 26, 2024. The No. 1 Oregon Ducks beat the No.
Illinois Fighting Illini
(Alex Hernandez/ Emerald)
Who’s passing for Michigan?
Breaking down the nation’s weirdest quarterback situation
BY BECK PARSONS Sports Reporter
The prototypical quarterback controversy is a fairly common occurrence. Two quarterbacks enter preseason training camp as competitors, and one leaves as the team’s starter. The Michigan Wolverines are doing things differently.
Following its first national championship since 1997, Michigan entered the 2024 college football season as a completely new team. The Wolverines lost their head coach and 17 starters, including starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy. New head coach Sherrone Moore was immediately faced with a decision: Who should he start at quarterback?
Moore had three options. First was Jack Tuttle, who’d served well as McCarthy’s primary backup in 2023 after playing sparingly across five years with Utah and Indiana. Tuttle went 15/17 for 130 yards and a touchdown through four passing appearances during the 2023 regular season.
Alex Orji was another candidate. The 6’3, 236-pound junior appeared in six games across the 2023 regular season and playoffs without ever recording a pass attempt. Instead, Orji carried the ball 15 times for 86 yards and a touchdown.
Also in the mix was Davis Warren, who’d walked onto the team in 2021. Warren went 0/5 with an interception in three backup appearances early last season and didn’t play past September.
Warren defeated Orji in Michigan’s Spring Game and was named the starter a week before the season began. The Wolverines won two of their three non-conference games, their loss a 31-12 Week 2 defeat at the hands No. 3 Texas.
Warren threw three interceptions and no touchdowns in Michigan’s third game, an ugly 28-18 victory over Arkansas State. Orji, who’d attempted six passes across the three games and had primarily run the ball, was called in before the Wolverines’ conference opener against USC.
Orji won that game and the next against
Minnesota by twin scores of 27-24. However, he totaled only 118 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception across the two games. Orji was reduced to his former, more running-focused role before the team’s Oct. 5 game against Washington, who Michigan beat in last year’s national championship contest.
Instead of bringing back Warren, Moore chose to start Tuttle. Despite last year’s success, Tuttle struggled in back-to-back losses at the hands of Washington and No. 22-ranked Illinois. Michigan scored just seven points in each. Across the two games, Tuttle went 30/50 through the air for a touchdown and two interceptions, earning a lowly 32.4 adjusted quarterback rating.
With the team in a two-game skid, Moore made yet another change, bringing Warren back in for last week’s game against Michigan State. "Taking care of the ball, that's going to be the No. 1 priority, the biggest thing," said Moore before announcing Warren as the starter.
Warren had his best game of the season against the Spartans, recording 13 completions on 19 attempts, a touchdown and a season-high 83.3 QBR while leading the Wolverines to a 24-17 win over their instate rivals. Warren did not turn the ball over, just as Moore had hoped.
Then, on Monday night, Tuttle suddenly announced his retirement over social media. The seventh-year senior cited a fifth concussion and an offseason UCL injury, telling fans, “I need to start prioritizing my health.” Tuttle stated his intent to help Michigan prepare for its remaining games and announced he’d pursue a coaching career.
Warren will likely start again when the Wolverines (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) host the No. 1-ranked Oregon Ducks (8-0, 5-0) on Saturday. Orji will likely continue his role as a runner.
The Ducks will look to capitalize on Michigan’s turbulent quarterback situation when they enter one of college football’s harshest environments on Saturday.
BIG TIME IN “THE BIG HOUSE”
Oregon takes its second away trip of the year to Michigan’s esteemed stadium. What can it expect?
BY OWEN MURRAY Sports Reporter
Oregon fans spent the first half of the 2024 season telling Big Ten foes not to judge Autzen Stadium by its size. Now, it’s their turn. Can you underestimate one of the most challenging away trips in a sport?
The Ducks benefit this year from a relatively benign away schedule. A Saturday in Los Angeles. A Friday night in West Lafayette. And one more Saturday in Ann Arbor. They likely won’t face a ranked opponent on its home field this year, and yet this weekend’s matchup with Michigan is potentially the most worrying game left on the Ducks’ schedule. It is a challenge that they’ll savor.
Dan Lanning made that very clear after last Saturday’s victory over Illinois.
“That’s what you sign up for when you’re in the Big Ten," Lanning said. “But traveling there, right? You have the ability to handle travel and go play in a tough environment. It’s going to be a fun challenge for our team.”
The Big House is no joke. Nearly double Autzen’s capacity, it’s an offense-affecting, quarterback-baffling, envy-of-all mire. Oregon can’t afford to get lost.
Part of that will be early explosive plays. If, like the Ducks did in Week 8, the offense can find itself the offensive eruption that won it the last two games, it’ll be a success.
“[Explosive plays are] the biggest indicator of wins in college football, outside of takeaways, right?” Dan Lanning posited in his postgame press conference last weekend.
The Ducks found those explosives against Purdue in Week 7, and quieted a rowdy 57,463 Boilermakers. It was a 49-yard pass that found a streaking Evan Stewart on first-and-10. Two drives later, it was second-string tight end Kenyon Sadiq for 39 yards on second-and-one. Both drives led to first-half touchdowns.
For the Wolverines, the home-field advantage is obvious. Michigan is 4-1 at home this year with a +24 point differential — its one loss came in Week 2 to a then-No. 3 ranked Texas Longhorns squad. It’s 0-2 on the road, with a -24 differential. What is regularly one of
the most renowned defenses in the country benefits too: On the road, they allow 150.5 rushing yards per game. In Ann Arbor, they give up just 84.8.
It’s obvious why. The Big House holds 107,601 fans. When the No. 1 team in the country comes to town, every one of those seats will be full. For a team that needs every possible advantage to overcome the indelible momentum that the Ducks carry cross-country, the crowd could be the largest. It hasn’t been an issue for Oregon this year. For its first year in the Big Ten, it’s been an easier go-around. There’s no trip to Happy Valley, nor one to the Shoe in Columbus. The Huskies come to Eugene in the final week of the regular season. Michigan and a Week 12 trip to Camp Randall and Wisconsin are the only true away matchups that remain.
“We were working on the silent snap (in practice),” offensive lineman Nishad Strother said on Tuesday, “but we’ll see how it goes. We thought that Utah was going to be super loud last year as well, so maybe we can just go out there and quiet the crowd early.”
When the Ducks walk into the largest stadium in North America on Saturday afternoon, it’ll be with an express goal: to keep it quiet. It’ll be good practice for a potential postseason run that could include several neutral-site games far from Eugene. Just the Rose and Fiesta Bowls are west of the Rocky Mountains; Each of the remaining second, third and fourth-round games, plus a potential Big Ten Championship game will mean a cross-country trip.
The opportunity isn’t what it seemed in Week 1. Michigan is unranked, teetering above .500 and not any inch the force it was in last year’s undefeated season. But The Big House is The Big House. Michigan is Michigan — physical, but offensively inefficient. Oregon just has to be Oregon.
Fans line up to watch the Oregon Ducks take on the Ohio State University Buckeyes on Oct. 12, 2024, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. (Molly/ McPherson Emerald)
(Above) Dillon Gabriel (8) throws to tight end Terrance Ferguson (3). The University of Oregon took on Michigan State University at Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oct. 4th 2024. (Eddie Bruning/Emerald)
HITTING A ROADBLOCK
Dan Lanning’s Oregon coaching career is missing a resume-boosting win away from home
BY LILY CRANE Sports Reporter
The 2024 season has started with everything head coach Dan Lanning and his Oregon program could dream of: a No. 1 national ranking, a top-3 win, an undefeated record.
But one thing Lanning doesn’t have in his three seasons with the Ducks is a resume-boosting win on the road.
The first game Lanning ever coached on the Oregon sidelines was against the team he won the national championship with as the defensive coordinator the season prior. Then-ranked No. 3 Georgia obliterated the No. 11 Ducks 49-3 in Atlanta.
The road woes continued and became more heartbreaking as Lanning’s first two seasons progressed. Later that season, Oregon had the opportunity to finish the 2022 regular season on a high note and clinch a spot in the Pac12 Championship Game. Lanning failed his first test against the Ducks’ formidable foes, Oregon State, in Corvallis, Oregon.
Then came what happened to the program one year ago. The difference between Oregon making or missing the College Football Playoff was just two games.
Both games were against Washington. Both were on the road. Both ended in defeat.
A No. 1 overall ranking and an expanded 12-team playoff means one misstep shouldn’t prevent the Ducks from making the postseason this time around. However, for the sake of favorable seeding and maintaining positive morale, this trip to Michigan still matters.
With the Wolverines currently out of the national rankings, a loss would be detrimental to Oregon’s hopes of staying atop the polls. Furthermore, Michigan’s history of winning national titles puts a target on its back — regardless of whether or not it’s had the same success this year.
“Obviously, they have a storied history. It's an exciting game to get to be a part of,” Lanning said. “That's what you sign up for when you're in the Big Ten.”
The first season in the Big Ten already brought an all-time victory against Ohio State. As time expired and the Ducks won 32-31, Lanning appeared more emotional than usual on the sideline.
“In moments like this when you want to be filled with complete joy, the relief is one of the biggest feelings you feel,” Lanning said after the Ohio State win. “Because of how hard your guys worked, how bad you know they wanted it — but it’s never about the team that wants it the most. It’s never about the team that just has great emotion. It’s about the team that executes.”
But that was at home and the Wolverines aren’t a top3 team like the Buckeyes. They aren’t the same team they were last year when they won the national championship. Last week, Michigan dropped out of the Top-25 for the first time since 2021.
Still, the Ducks haven’t had a whole lot of success playing in Ann Arbor. They’ve lost three of four matchups there all-time but won 39-7 the last time they met in 2007. Ore gon didn’t even score at Michigan until that outing.
“To have the ability to handle trav el and go play in a tough environment is going to be a fun challenge for our team,” Lanning said.
For the Ducks to break Lanning’s bad mojo on the road, they’ll need to capitalize on every opportunity for points, something that hurt them against Washington, and not let their foot off the gas, a costly mis take in Corvallis in 2022.
The Ducks still have to conquer Wisconsin and postseason oppo nents away from Autzen. A de fining victory at The Big House, however, would check one of the final boxes Lanning is missing before winning a cov eted national championship.
(Above) The No. 1 Oregon Ducks beat the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini 38-9 in their game on Oct. 26, 2024. (Alex Hernandez Emerald) (Right) Oregon head coach Dan Lanning stands on the sideline at the beginning of the Oregon Ducks vs. Illinois Fighting Illini game. (Alex Hernandez/Emerald)
