Two weeks into the 2024 season, Michigan welcomed No. 3 Texas to the Big House for a top-10 showdown between college football blue bloods. The Wolverines, then the No. 10 team in the nation, were emasculated by the Longhorns as Texas cruised to an easy 31-12 victory.
The 19-point victory arguably didn't do the beatdown justice. Texas appeared to take its foot off the gas in the second half, and Michigan still struggled to look like it belonged on the same field as its fellow College Football Playoff participant from a season ago.
Losing to a great Texas team would have been acceptable for Michigan, which was still in the process of loading after losing 13 players to the NFL Draft and a handful of others to the professional ranks as well, but Michigan was completely and utterly dominated. It showed just how far the Wolverines had fallen from the apex of college football.
Now, eight weeks later, Michigan will face a similar test. It welcomes No. 1 Oregon to Ann Arbor on Saturday for the first matchup between the two programs since 2007.
Dillon Gabriel leads the Ducks' high-powered offense in a similar fashion that Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers did early on in the season. The Oregon signal caller is currently the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy at +230, according to FanDuel.
Despite being 14.5-point home underdogs, Michigan quarterback Davis Warren, who just recently took control of the job after losing it earlier in the season, feels more confident in his team heading into the Oregon game than he did going into Week 2's matchup against Texas.
"I think we're way more prepared — better equipped — to get a win," Warren told reporters on Monday. "Obviously, Texas didn't go how we wanted it to, but I think as a team, we're just way more mature. Early in the season, just had a lot of new guys in there, and we weren't as far along and developed as a team. And obviously it didn't go how we wanted it to that Saturday, but I think, just as a whole group, and especially as an offense, we're more mature and just in a way better spot to play complimentary football and put ourselves in a position to win a football game."
Oregon features a host of remarkably talented players, led by Gabriel. Running backs Jordan James and Noah Whittington have rushed for more than 1,000 yards on the season, and the three-headed monster at wide receiver of Tez Johnson, Evan Stewart and Traeshon Holden have combined for nearly 1,500 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.
Michigan, though, is building momentum following its 24-17 win over Michigan State on Saturday night. Warren said the team's first win in nearly a month is giving them the confidence they need to take on Oregon.
"Once you do it once, you can rely on that a little bit. And you start to build that momentum of feeling like, 'We can do that.' And the reality is that a lot of it's in my hands. I'm the quarterback. I hold the ball every single play. It's my responsibility to take care of that. Obviously, it's 11 as 1 as an offense, but it's on each individual guy to make that choice to be locked into the details enough. And I think you build that confidence, you build that momentum, and I'm just super excited to see us this week just build off that confidence and for me to build off that confidence."
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