Michigan’s Sherron Moore challenges Big Ten officiating in loss to Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks beat Michigan in front of 110,576 fans in the Big House, the largest crowd the Oregon Ducks had ever played in front of. What’s funny is that this surpassed Oregon State’s previous record, set at Michigan Stadium by a score of 39-7 back in 2007, when Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon made his mark on college football with the “Statue of Liberty” game.

Returning to Oregon State’s announcement today in Ann Arbor, the No. 1 Ducks didn’t show many weaknesses in their 38-17 win over the Michigan Wolverines. Ducks coach Dan Lanning has a lot of love for his locker room, and it shows when you have that much depth on the roster. Michigan coach Sherron Moore has a different approach to his team’s play.

The Oregon Ducks could have gotten a break when Big Ten Conference officials ruled wide receiver Evan Stewart’s touchdown catch completed early in the first quarter. After the CBS camera crew replayed the scoring play, it appeared that the ball was loose as Stewart attempted to make the catch. The touchdown gave the Ducks a 7-0 lead.

“Every landing is supposed to be reviewed. So I think that’s something we need to talk about with the Big Ten – just every touchdown has to be looked at. So it definitely should have been announced and then reviewed.”

– Michigan coach Sherron Moore

The big loss for the Ducks came when wide receiver Tez Johnson left the game on just his third offensive play. He eventually went to the locker room and returned to his street clothes with his arm in a bandage. At best, this may be a minor shoulder injury of just a few weeks. In a worst-case scenario, the collarbone injury would have sidelined the star for a much longer period of time, putting him out of the College Football Playoff.

Lanning made the decision to put Ryan Pellum in place of Johnson for the punt return late in the first quarter, and the freshman ultimately fumbled it. The Wolverines eventually scored their first touchdown of the day with the ball. Stewart has since had to return the punts.

Then Oregon’s ground game picked up the slack, especially from Heisman favorite quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the first half. His opponents Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Miami’s Cam Ward are hard to tell apart, but voters do take Gabriel’s undefeated record into account against a tough Big Ten schedule.

Going back to the second half of the Oregon-Michigan game, Coach Moore’s decision to challenge his tight end Colston Loveland in the fourth quarter was questionable, to say the least. Even the CBS crew didn’t understand why Moore made that choice, because it cost the Wolverines a valuable timeout.

“Yeah, I just thought he caught the ball, got it, took a knee and then fell, then rolled out of bounds and then the ball went out. So the kids were fighting, and I was going to fight. I was going to fight them with all my might. Yes, it seemed like a trap to me, so I challenged him.”

– Michigan coach Sherron Moore

A few open opinions from both the Big Ten officiating staff and the Michigan coaching staff shouldn’t take away from what Lanning has already done this season. This group clearly enjoys playing for him as the Ducks move to a 9-0 overall record and 6-0 in Big Ten Conference play.

A trip to the conference title game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Dec. 7, as well as the top spot in the College Football Playoff, are entirely in Oregon’s control. Only the Indiana Hoosiers now remain undefeated after the Ohio State Buckeyes traveled to Happy Valley and beat the Penn State Nittany Lions 20-13.