Sep 9, 2007, 0:47 GMT
Ann Arbor, MI - One week after suffering a monumental upset to Appalachian State, the Michigan Wolverines suffered their worst loss in 39 years, as the visiting Oregon Ducks cruised to a 39-7 win at the Big House.
Dennis Dixon threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns for Oregon (1-1), and he added another 76 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Jonathan Stewart churned out 111 yards and a score on 15 carries, while Jeremiah Johnson had 89 yards on 13 carries.
'Dennis played extremely good football,' Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. 'He got sick at halftime, threw up a couple of times, and he was not quite as good in that second half and we didn't need that luckily. But overall, I'm very pleased with his development, decision-making, leadership, the whole deal.'
Mike Hart did all he could for Michigan (0-2) by rushing for 127 yards, though he could not prevent the Wolverines from opening the season with back-to-back home losses for the first time since 1959. Mario Manningham had eight catches for 117 yards, while Adrian Arrington added six catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. Chad Henne went 12-of-23 for 172 yards and tied John Navarre's school-record 72 touchdown passes, but a lower-leg injury forced the senior quarterback out of the game in the second half. Following the game, coach Lloyd Carr said Henne is doubtful for next week's game against Notre Dame.
'I don't think we could have a more difficult opening than we've had,' Carr said. 'We had tremendous expectations, yet we're 0-2. We did some positive things I thought today in the first quarter. As I look back at it offensively, we knew we were going to have to score some points because Oregon is an outstanding offensive football team.'
Matt Evenson gave Oregon a 3-0 lead on a 23-yard field goal with 9:46 to play in the opening quarter.
Michigan struck back with a 10-play, 71-yard drive that resulted in a seven- yard scoring strike from Henne to Arrington.
Two plays later, Dixon connected with Spencer Paysinger for an 85-yard touchdown pass, and the Ducks converted a two-point attempt to make it 11-7.
Oregon took an 18-7 lead at the 10:33 mark of the second quarter, when Stewart finished off an 11-play, 74-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown plunge.
Dixon added another score on a nine-yard scamper with 3:41 to play in the half.
Less than a minute later, he found Derrick Jones for a 61-yard scoring strike, as the Ducks took a 32-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Jaison Williams accounted for the only points of the second half with a 46- yard touchdown reception from Dixon at the 2:39 mark of the third quarter.
Dating back to last year, the Wolverines have lost four straight, something that has not happened in 40 years at Michigan. Oregon's 624 total yards were the most allowed by Michigan since Northwestern tallied 654 during the 2000 season. The last time the Wolverines started 0-2 was in 1998, although that team went on to win the Big Ten that season.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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