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Michigan Football Saved by Kalel Mullings in Wild 27-24 Rally Against USC

Vaseline September 21, 2024

All hope seemed lost.

Michigan football’s two-touchdown lead had evaporated and the offense had gone three-and-out or lost the ball five times in a row to open the second half. Even the vaunted defense, which had been stopped so many times in time, let a touchdown on third-and-16 to relinquish the lead in the fourth inning.

But then Kalel Mullings came to the rescue. After UM had managed just 23 total yards on 15 plays in the second half, Michigan’s bruising running back tore a 53-yard dashfighting through USC defenders to get into the USC red zone with two minutes left.

From there, he plowed his way to the eight-yard line with 1:17 to play and made it first-and-goal with the clock ticking down under a minute. Then, with 41 seconds left, Mullings bulldozed his way home on fourth-and-goal behind Max Bredeson as Michigan survived the Big Ten season opener 27-24 at Michigan Stadium in a stunning late-afternoon battle in Ann Arbor.

Before Mullings’ long run, the moment seemed nearly impossible. Minutes earlier, Donovan Edwards fumbled in Michigan’s own territory, putting USC in the red zone. Three plays later, Miller Moss found Ja’Kobi Lane on third-and-16 for a 24-yard touchdown.

Michigan’s next drive went by Alex Orji (one-point loss), Kalel Mullings (one-point gain) and then a sack, but UM’s defense was able to stop the ball one more time and get it back to the offense.

The Wolverines made a change at quarterback this week, opting for the mobile Orji. The goal is to minimize turnovers, maximize time of possession and secure a win.

But there was no sign of success in the passing game at any point: Orji completed 7 of 12 passes for 32 yards and was sacked twice.

Second half full of surprises

For most of the afternoon, the game didn’t appear to be in jeopardy. Michigan led 14-3 entering the third quarter, when the Trojans opened with a 12-play, 75-yard drive, scoring on third-and-9 from the Michigan five to pull within four.

After a UM three-and-out, USC had the ball and the momentum with a chance to take the lead when it looked like Michigan would turn the game around for good. On third-and-3, Will Johnson jumped a curl route and took the interception 42 yards the other way for a pick-six to put Michigan up 10 after the extra point was tipped.

That kept USC in the game even more than it already felt, and three plays later the Trojans’ Woody Marks — who ran for five yards six times in the first half — ripped a 65-yard rush up the middle for first-and-goal. Marks finished with 13 carries for 100 yards.

It looked like Michigan might have stopped the ball again when Josiah Stewart stripped Miller Moss on third-and-goal and Kenneth Grant ran with the ball. But it was taken away again and USC was given new life.

Two plays later, Moss found Jay Fair for a 16-yard touchdown, making it 20-17 at the end of the third quarter. Moss finished the day 25 of 45 for 258 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.

Michigan’s offense is a tale of two halves

Everything clicked early for Michigan with a fairly simple game plan. The Wolverines wanted to win the battle for time of possession, stay in manageable down-and-distances, and keep USC’s high-powered offense on the sidelines. So they ran, ran, ran some more.

While the Wolverines didn’t play the ground game as often as they did last year at Penn State, when they ran the final 32 plays of the game, they did run 27 times in the first half, compared to seven pass attempts, and nearly every one had success at some point.

It started with Mullings, who, after converting fourth-and-1 at midfield by just inches, made a 53-yard house call to open the scoring, 7-0, with 3:10 left in the first. Then it was Edwards’ turn. After his first seven carries yielded just 12 yards, he finally found a crease in the second quarter and ran nearly untouched for 41 yards to put the Wolverines up 14-0.

Mullings finished with 17 rushes for 159 yards and two scores, while Edwards finished with 14 carries for 74 yards and a score, but with one nearly costly turnover.

Even Orji had early success. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound junior saw six of his seven touches go for five yards or more, while converting four first downs with his legs in the first two quarters on just seven attempts. Even his wide receiver Fred Moore took an end-around for 14 yards to help spread the defense and open up lanes up the middle.

That all seemed to change after halftime, as Michigan’s first three drives all resulted in three-and-outs and yielded just seven yards. The fourth possession was a fumble, and the fifth possession was a turnover.

Until the sixth offense changed Michigan’s season.