For the second year in a row, the largest crowd in America got a chance to watch the nation’s No. 1 team play in southeastern Michigan.

The disappointing difference this time for 110,576 in attendance in Ann Arbor, the team wearing maize and blue wasn’t the hammer; it was the nail. The post-Halloween clash seemed like a bad trick for Michigan football; certainly it was no treat as the Wolverines were dominated in a 38-17 loss to No. 1 Oregon.

Saturday was rough from the start for Michigan (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten) against an Oregon offense that couldn’t be stopped. The Ducks took four of five first-half possessions for touchdowns and racked up 470 total yards on the day. By the end, Oregon had seven plays of 20 yards or more as Dillon Gabriel continued his climb up the Heisman Trophy ranks by completing 22 of 34 passes for 294 yards and one touchdown to go with 23 rushing yards and a score on the ground.

"We got to flip that around, we can't start slow," Moore said. "Especially against the offense we're about to play, another high-powered offense that scores a lot of points. ... For us, we've got to figure out the best plays we want to start the game and continue to go from there."

Michigan’s offense was largely stuck in neutral. It had one possession in the first half that picked up more than 30 yards. Davis Warren, named the starter the rest of the season by head coach Sherrone Moore, couldn’t make enough plays by himself.

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His first completion went for a score to Tyler Morris, but he didn’t have a connection of more than 10 yards in the first 25 minutes. He finished the day 13-for-23 passing for 165 yards and two touchdowns, with Colston Loveland his favorite target with seven catches for a career-high 112 yards.

"Colston is a stud. He’s everything you want in a tight end," Warren said of his leading receiver. "Coach Campbell did a great job calling plays for him, he did a great job getting open. He was incredible for us today and I’m really proud of the way that guy fights. There’s no quit in him and I know I can rely on him."

For the second week in a row, U-M’s rushing offense was a letdown. Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards combined to run 18 times for 68 yards, as the team gained just 105 rushing yards on 28 attempts (3.8 yards per run) more than half of which (56 yards) came in the final quarter while down by two scores.

U-M now has to lick its wounds as it continues its march into a brutal November stretch, which continues next week against undefeated Indiana (9-0, 6-0). The matchup could be the Wolverines' third game against a top-10 team this year.

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Michigan dominated by Oregon in first half

After a U-M three-and-out to start, the Ducks wasted little time, taking their first possession of the game 12 plays and 63 yards, which ended when Gabriel found Evan Stewart in the corner of the end zone for a two-yard score.

While Oregon went up 7-0 after the extra point, replay review clearly showed the ball hit the ground. For some reason, it wasn’t reviewed.

Oregon looked ready to get the ball back again after forcing the second three-and-out in as many possessions, when Michigan’s Joe Taylor forced an Oregon fumble on the punt and CJ Charleston fell on it at the Ducks 28.

Michigan scored five plays later on third-and-goal, when Warren rolled right and extended the play long enough to find Morris in the end zone for a 7-yard score. Oregon responded with a six-play, 75-yard drive that had three plays of 12 yards or more before Noah Whittington scored from 1-yard out.

"They run a lot of quick game and quick screen" said safety Wesley Walker, who started as the unit moved defensive backs around to fill in for missing starting cornerbacks Will Johnson and Jyaire Hill. "Let them get some extra yards they probably shouldn't have got, so just tightening up alignment and pre-snap communication.

"That can play a big part in turning around how we played in the first half."

Tommy Doman’s fourth punt of the day pinned Oregon at its own 6, but the Ducks sliced U-M’s defense on a 10-play, 94-yard touchdown drive. Three different plays went for 12 yards or more, including a deep shot to Traeshon Holden for a gain of 38 when Aamir Hall anticipated a quick-pass on third-and-1.

Jordan James, who finished with 21 rushes for 110 yards, walked into the end zone on the next snap to go up 21-7.

Finally, U-M got a pass play of more than seven yards. Warren found Loveland on a corner route for 18, then a reverse flea-flicker from Warren to Loveland picked up 36 after he broke a tackle and rumbled down the right sideline.

U-M made a field goal after Warren couldn’t find Morris on third-and-11, before the Ducks responded with a demoralizing seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that ended when Gabriel ran 23 yards up the middle untouched with 35 seconds left for a 28-10 halftime lead.

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Oregon had 304-111 edge in yards at the half, which included more first downs (15-5), more tackles for loss (5-0), a better third-down rate (5-for-6 vs. 1-for-6) and more plays (38 to 26).

"There’s not a magical number of yards we need," Moore said of the struggling run game. "We just need enough yards to score enough points to win."

Comeback comes up well short

Michigan didn’t go down without a fight.

It forced a three-and-out to open the second half and the offense clicked. Warren threw his best ball of the day just over the linebacker which hit Loveland in stride for a pickup of 34 yards. A few plays later, he found Morris on a screen pass for 13 to get near the red zone, before the line picked up a blitz and he hit Loveland for a gain of 20 to set up first-and-goal.

Three plays later, Warren extended the play as he rolled left and found Peyton O'Leary for the touchdown in traffic to get within 28-17 with 7:09 left in the third.

Michigan’s defense forced a punt on midfield on the next drive, but Trey Pierce lined up over the long snapper on fourth-and-4, a penalty which moved the sticks for the Ducks.

"I mean, the momentum was huge," Moore said of the play. "Defense stood tall again, held them to a field goal, so just continue to fight to get better. A pivotal point in the game, momentum could've swung the other way for sure."

Instead, it turned into a 15-play, 67-yard drive and though the Wolverines forced a field goal, Oregon took more than six minutes off the clock and made it a 31-17 game with 35 seconds left in the third.

Michigan went three-and-out on the next possession when Warren appeared to find Loveland on a leaping catch near the left sideline, but the ball came out when he hit the ground and it was ruled incomplete. Moore opted to challenge the play, but the call was upheld and it cost U-M’s second timeout.

Michigan forced a punt and had one last gasp. Warren led the offense on an 11-play, 70-yard drive, but facing fourth-and-5 at the Oregon 10, called the play call was a reverse to wideout Semaj Morgan, who threw it back to the other side of the field for quarterback Alex Orji. He was well defended in the end zone and the ball sailed wide and well out of bounds for a turnover on downs.

Oregon responded with an 11-play, 90-yard touchdown drive that took 6:59 off the clock and hammered in the final score with 25 seconds left instead of taking a knee.

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Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X @RealTonyGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football errors no match for Oregon in 38-17 thrashing