ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Top-ranked Oregon is expected to roll past Michigan, favored by BetMGM Sportsbook to win by more than two touchdowns on Saturday at the Big House.

Despite being a heavy underdog, the defending champion Wolverines sound very confident about their chances.

“This is a big-time program and we’ve got a lot of great players in this building,” quarterback Davis Warren said. “I’m confident that we’re more than capable of beating any team in the country.”

The Ducks (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) have routed five of their last six opponents and Michigan (5-3, 2-2) might be the next team to suffer a lopsided loss.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning is looking forward to the next chance for his team to show what it can do.

“We’re getting an opportunity to play the reigning national champions,” Lanning said. “In this conference it’s hard every single week. We know we’ll get their best.”

Advantage, Oregon

The Ducks seem to have a clear edge at quarterback with Dillon Gabriel, favored by BetMGM Sportsbook to win the Heisman Trophy.

The sixth-year player is four touchdowns away from breaking the NCAA record held by former Houston star Case Keenum.

Gabriel ranks No. 2 in NCAA history with 175 career TDs, 143 passing TDs and 18,401 total yards.

“He’s elite in every way, reading coverages, making plays, making throws down the field, controlling the offense with his feet,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said. “You’ve got to do things to confuse him and make him uncomfortable.”

Michigan, meanwhile, plans to start Warren and to give Alex Orji some snaps as a change-of-pace option as a running quarterback.

Warren won the job in the preseason and lost it after three games. Orji had an opportunity to start the following three games and was benched in favor of Jack Tuttle, who announced his retirement from football earlier this week due to concussions and an elbow injury.

Warren was given a chance to start again in last week’s win over Michigan State and kept the job in large part because he played turnover-free football.

Planning to peak

Oregon’s six-game stretch has included only one team game that was close, a one-point win over then-No. 2 Ohio State.

The Ducks might not get tested in November, playing at Michigan and Wisconsin and hosting Maryland and Washington.

“At the beginning of every year everybody asks me what success looked like, to me it looks like us playing our best football at the end of the season,” Lanning said.

Business decision

Michigan cornerback Will Johnson did not play in last week’s win over Michigan State due to an injury and even though the team is relegated to playing for pride, Moore fully expects the junior to return this season instead of focusing on preparing to be a top pick in the NFL draft.

“Will has no plans to shut it down or anything like that,” Moore said. “There’s zero doubt in my mind that he’s a competitor that wants to be out there with his teammates.”

Compact back

Oregon’s Jordan James, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound running back, is averaging 100 yards rushing a game and had one of his best games, a 115-yard performance, in a one-point win over then-No. 2 Ohio State.

“He’s a smaller guy, but he’s a violent runner,” Moore said.

Another chance

The last time Michigan played a highly ranked team, it was not a good day for the maize and blue. The Wolverines were dominated by then- No. 3 Texas 31-12 and the game didn’t even seem that close.

“We’re way more prepared and better equipped, especially as an offense,” Warren said.

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DETROIT (AP) — Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes and David Montgomery was the first of five players to score in the first half for the Detroit Lions, who romped past the Tennessee Titans 52-14 on Sunday.

The NFC North-leading Lions (6-1) have the conference’s best record after winning five straight games, averaging 40-plus points over the last four.

Detroit had its highest-scoring game since a 55-point performance against Chicago in 1997, and scored at least 50 for the fourth time in franchise history.

The Titans (1-6) were routed for a second straight week and have already signaled this is a rebuilding year by trading veteran receiver DeAndre Hopkins and starting linebacker Ernest Jones Jr.

Detroit has been on a roll lately by leaning on Goff, but it had more points (42) than he had passing yards (28) early in the third quarter. He finished 12 of 15 for 85 yards.

The Lions didn’t need Goff to very productive because they made big plays in every phase and pulled off a trick play as they do in most games — this time, a touchdown pass by running back Montgomery, who took a pitch from Goff and found Sam LaPorta from 3 yards out to give the Lions a 35-14 lead and their highest-scoring half since 1970.

Jahmyr Gibbs had a 70-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Khalil Dorsey had a 72-yard kickoff return to set up Goff’s 8-yard TD pass to Brock Wright early in the second.

Kalif Raymond’s 90-yard kickoff return early in the third put Detroit ahead 42-14.

Mason Rudolph made an ill-advised pass on Tennessee’s first drive, throwing while defensive end Levi Onwuzurike was hitting him, and linebacker Trevor Nowaske intercepted it.

The Titans extended their streak of throwing an interception in every game and Detroit took advantage, taking the lead on Montgomery’s 7-yard touchdown run. Rudolph later floated a pass that Kerby Joseph picked off, setting up Goff’s 1-yard TD pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Goff was taken out with a 38-point lead early in the fourth quarter to give second-year pro Hendon Hooker some experience. Gibbs had a season-high 127 yards rushing and a score on the longest run of his career.

Rudolph helped receiver Calvin Ridley have his most productive game of the season and rushed for his first touchdown, an 11-yarder that fooled Detroit’s defense and tied the game late in the first quarter.

Rudolph, starting for the injured Will Levis, finished 22 of 38 for 266 yards with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine early in the second quarter and two interceptions. Ridley matched a career high with 10 receptions for a season-high 143 yards. Tony Pollard ran for a season-high 95 yards on 20 carries.

Injuries

Titans: Levis (shoulder) missed a second straight week and CB L’Jarius Sneed (quadriceps) was also inactive.

Lions: LB Malcom Rodriguez (ankle) was ruled out in the first half. DE Josh Paschal (illness) was inactive.

Up next

Titans: Host New England next Sunday.

Lions: At Green Bay next Sunday.

 

LANSING, Mich. (AP) Armorion Smith pressed his palms together over the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes and leaned against the kitchen sink.

The 21-year-old Michigan State defensive back needed a moment in the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home he shares with five younger siblings. He has a lot on his plate, more than most college students and certainly more than most student-athletes.

His mother, Gala Gilliam, died of breast cancer a month ago and without a father in the family's life, Smith has become the head of the household while studying criminal justice and playing major college football. He became the legal guardian for four siblings on Sept. 11.

My cards were given to me," Smith said softly with a steely gaze, standing on a small porch behind the home as the sun set on a recent evening. "I didnt choose my deck of cards.

His 19-year-old sister, Aleion, is in charge while he is gone for about 12 hours most days to be a student and athlete. Appreciating her selfless sacrifice, Smith said he hopes to help her find a way to start taking classes next semester while juggling her role with the family.

Smith looks and sounds determined to help his siblings be happy, healthy and safe. His teammates watch in awe.

I couldnt even begin to imagine if I was in his situation," linebacker Jordan Hall said. Hes in a tough spot, but he is one of the strongest guys I have ever known.

The family

Smith grew up in in Detroit, recalling how he was homeless at times and hopped from house to house to find places to sleep. He was a three-star prospect at River Rouge High School and attended the University of Cincinnati for two years.

After Smith's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022 during his sophomore season with the Bearcats, he transferred last year to be closer to home. The life lessons from his mom continued.

When Smith, holding his 2-year-old sister, arrived at a recent fundraiser, each of his other siblings introduced themselves to people there to support the family and shook their hands while making eye contact.

That's from my mom, he said.

She was trying to prepare him for what was to come before she died Aug. 19. She was 41.

She used to tell me everything: Get hard and all of that, he recalled. And I see why she was under a lot of stress.

Smith keeps notes on his phone to help manage busy days that start before dawn, when he is up to make sure his two sisters and three brothers are awake before he leaves for school. Smith gets a lift from a teammate or a ride-hailing service to make the 4-mile trip to campus for therapy on his surgically repaired shoulders and meetings with the football team before going to classes and practice.

His eldest sister gets their 16- and 15-year-old brothers, Armond and Avaugn, and 11-year-old sister, Arial, ready for school. There are two varieties of Capn Crunch atop the refrigerator in a kitchen that didn't have a table or chairs during a recent visit.

The school-age brothers rely on a ride-hailing company to get them to school and back while their oldest sister cares for their toddler sister, Amaira.

Me and my sister got to work together to keep this all afloat, he said. While Im in college sports, shes got to be able to take care of everything that I cant do, like pick up where I left off, while Im taking care of business.

He and the siblings he is now responsible for at least have a home thanks in part to a GoFundMe campaign.

Student caregivers

While Smiths story is unusual in college sports the NCAA does not track the number of athletes whose day-to-day activities include caring for a dependent a 2020 study from the National Center for Education Statistics found 19.5% of undergraduate college students had a dependent and 5.5% of them were responsible for non-child dependents. Other research shows student-caregivers are disproportionately from historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups.

Ray Ray McElrathbey was a 19-year-old freshman at Clemson in 2006 when he took over custody of his 10-year-old brother because of his mothers drug problems and his fathers gambling addiction. Initially, they lived solely off McElrathbeys scholarship and later the NCAA approved a plan where donations were administered by a local bank and distributed to Ray and Fahmarr. His story was the subject of Safety, a Disney movie.

When McElrathbey was a child and saw Angels in the Outfield, it inspired him because he felt there were other children out there like him. These days, he does speaking engagements and shares his message of hope with young people.

Just kind to speak to those kids in a similar situation like I was growing up and have them have something to inspire them is the greatest gift, he said.

Tufts University professor Emma Armstrong-Carter, who has done research on children caregivers, said these young people show amazing strength and dont want to be pitied.

Isn't it incredible that these young people are able to overcome so many challenges and support their families in ways that are necessary and meaningful? Armstrong-Carter said. There's a need for more institutional support to help them thrive.

Smith and his family are able to afford renting a house in the state capital, paying for utilities, bills, food and ride-hailing services thanks to waves of financial support. The GoFundMe effort has raised more than $60,000, and he makes some money through name, image and likeness deals. Michigan State has helped through a student assistance fund. Two fundraisers were hosted at a McDonald's in Lansing and an IHOP in Livonia set up by former Michigan State football players Jason Strayhorn and Sedrick Irvin and promoted on their This is Sparta MSU podcast.

Road trips are part of the calendar and the Spartans don't play two home games in a row until the end of the season in November, though two bye weekends will give Smith more time at home.

One of his mother's close friends, Yolanda Wilson, whose son, Nick Marsh, is a standout freshman receiver and former high school teammate, has been a source of support.

Im going to be there no matter what," she said. "Thats a promise I made to their mother. And they have everybody here backing them up. So, its going to be a hard transition as it is, but were going to be that tight-knit community and have their back.

The love is not lost on Smith.

Me and my family are very happy, very appreciative and grateful," he said. "Theres a lot of love Spartan Nation has shown us these past few months. Its been a rough time, but to be able to take some of the stress off of my shoulders and show me a lot of love is a blessing and has warmed my heart.

When Smith gave The Associated Press access to his home one recent evening, three siblings were upstairs in their bedrooms while a teenage brother was napping on a sectional couch in a living room without a TV or table. His toddler sister giggled between drinks from a sippy cup.

It just puts a smile on my face to see them happy," he said while watching video clips from practice on his phone.

Smith's sadness comes and goes, but he knows his mother would want him to carry on.

I can feel her living through me," he said. "Almost like I hear her voice telling me how proud she is of me.

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AP Sports Writer Pete Iacobelli contributed. Follow Larry Lage at

https://twitter.com/larrylage

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