A trick play gone wrong in Ann Arbor provided a microcosm of Michigan’s 2024 season.
The Wolverines are now unranked at 5-4, less than a year after completing a 15-0 season for the national championship.
They were hoping to pull off an upset against No. 1-ranked Oregon, but what they drew up backfired.
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Michigan quarterback Alex Orji runs out of bounds trying to make a catch against Oregon during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (Junfu Han/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
The Ducks were up 31-17 when Michigan faced a 4th and 5 from Oregon’s 10-yard line. A touchdown would have made things interesting.
Backup quarterback Alex Orji took the snap, faked a handoff to Donovan Edwards and tossed it to wide receiver Semaj Morgan.
Morgan was running right when Orji ran a wheel route on the near side of the field. Morgan cut back, stepped up and threw, but it went way over Orji’s head, falling incomplete.
Michigan quarterback Alex Orji runs against Oregon during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (Junfu Han/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Orji, without much room out of bounds, then ran into a CBS camera, falling to the turf.
Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in another efficient performance by the Heisman Trophy frontrunner, leading Oregon to a 38-17 win over the defending national champions.
Gabriel finished 22 of 34 for 294 yards with a touchdown and sprinted up the middle for a 23-yard touchdown run to give Oregon an 18-point halftime lead.
Alex Orji (10) of the Michigan Wolverines runs with the ball during the first half of a game against the Oregon Ducks at Michigan Stadium Nov. 2, 2024, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
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Michigan is now fighting to finish at .500. The Wolverines head to No. 13 Indiana next week, then host Northwestern before taking on No. 4 Ohio State, which is fresh off a huge win in Happy Valley over No. 3 Penn State.
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