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    • Michigan Football Beats Arkansas State 28-18, But QB Issues Remain
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    Michigan Football Beats Arkansas State 28-18, But QB Issues Remain

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    Michigan’s football program vowed to return to its roots as a primarily running program after suffering its first regular season loss in three years.

    At least that part happened. Yes, Arkansas State is a lesser opponent, but after two weeks of a struggling rushing attack, Saturday’s ground performance was welcome as the Wolverines ran for more than 40 times and as a team gained more than 300 yards on the ground in a 28-18 victory.

    After rushing for a combined 75 yards in the first two halves, UM ran for 60 yards on its opening drive Saturday when Kalel Mullings plowed into the end zone for a career-long 30-yard touchdown. He finished with a career-high 153 yards and two touchdowns. After being held for weeks, Donovan Edwards also got in on the action as he set season highs with 17 rushes for 82 yards and a TD of his own.

    CHANGE BELOW THE CENTER: Who is Alex Orji? Michigan Football Makes QB Change, Benches Davis Warren

    However, the passing game was brutal.

    The biggest problem: Star tight end Colston Loveland left the game with an injury just before halftime. UM preached ball control, but Warren threw three interceptions for Arkansas State, one in each of the first three quarters, which took away from the positive vibes in the rushing game.

    Warren finished the day completing 11 of 14 passes for 121 yards and three interceptions before being benched late in the third quarter in favor of Alex Orji. Orji completed two of four pass attempts for 12 yards and a touchdown.

    Meanwhile, the defense did its job by stifling the Red Wolves’ offense early in the game, limiting them to a loss of 6 yards on 11 attempts in the first half and just 58 rushing yards on the day.

    The schedule expands as the Big Ten begins next week and UM hosts its fourth straight home game to open the season, hosting newcomer Southern Cal in Ann Arbor (3:30 p.m., CBS).

    Attack attack finds rhythm

    Michigan got the ball on a missed field goal by A-State and then went on an 11-play, 76-yard drive that included nine rushes and a span of more than 6½ minutes before Mullings scored a 30-yard touchdown.

    After a Warren pick on the game’s third drive, UM opted to get Edwards into a rhythm. The senior back — who had just three carries of 6 yards or longer in two games — had five such carries, including a 7-yard touchdown rush to take a 14-3 lead with 6:41 left in the first half.

    The next drive was almost all Mullings, who, after a 7-yard carry and a 13-yard reception by Fredrick Moore, broke off his second 30-yard rush of the game to get to the Red Wolves’ 5. He then scored almost untouched on the next play. By halftime, UM had 25 carries for 175 yards — an average of 7 yards per carry — and three scores.

    Arkansas State entered the game with 199 rushing yards per game, but UM’s improved rushing was notable. Michigan used Andrew Gentry as the sixth offensive lineman on a handful of plays, while wideouts like C.J. Charleston were key in blocking situations, such as Mullings’ second 30-yard dash of the day.

    The second half, however, was largely a different story. A hold on the first drive of the quarter forced a UM punt, then an interception on the next marked the end of Warren’s day. From there, Orji came in and UM went to work on the ground again with eight straight runs, capped by a 38-yard rumble by Mullings to set up first-and-goal.

    On the next play, Orji Hogan found Hansen on a 9-yard play-action pass, giving the freshman the first score of his career.

    Defense recovers

    The first drive looked worrisome. After Arkansas State converted a third-and-9, UM gave up a free first down with a penalty on third-and-long, then allowed another conversion on third-and-8. It was only because of a missed field goal that the Red Wolves didn’t open with points.

    From there, however, Wink Martindale’s unit seemed to find its groove. After forcing a three-and-out on its second drive, UM held Arkansas State to a field goal after an interception put the Red Wolves near the UM red zone.

    Michigan forced two more straight three-and-outs before Arkansas State mounted a 10-play, 58-yard drive in the closing moments of the first half, but again the kick was missed – off a post – leaving the score 21-3 at halftime.

    UM held Arkansas State quarterbacks Jaylon Raynor and Timmy McClain to a combined 26-of-44 passing for 222 yards and two touchdowns as the Red Wolves piled up yards on their final two drives to largely decide the game.

    Enough to clean up

    While the game had some positives, that doesn’t mean the Wolverines didn’t make any mistakes.

    The passing game, which had looked decent at times, fell apart completely late in the game. Warren was intercepted for the third straight game — this time by Charles Willekes, a Michigan State transfer and the younger brother of former Michigan State DL Kenny Willekes — on the second drive of the game, keeping things close early on.

    It appeared to happen due to a miscommunication on a handoff with Edwards on a play-action, who was then out of position on a block and allowed a free rusher to come from the left side, forcing Warren to get off his back foot and fade away. The same mix-up occurred between Warren and Edwards on the following drive, resulting in a sack.

    Later in the game, with UM up 21-3 and looking to make a move before halftime, Warren threw a stunning interception, but it appeared an edge rusher had bumped his elbow to change the course of the throw.

    But perhaps the worst was the third, when he forced a pass on a cross route to Semaj Morgan on first-and-10. The pass was knocked over and easily intercepted, prompting a roar from the crowd.

    There were even a few baffling penalties, like a personal foul on Quinten Johnson that kept Arkansas State’s first drive alive, as well as an illegal formation that nullified a 20-yard pass to Loveland and an illegal hand to the face on Derrick Moore that looked like an attempted stop on fourth down in the third quarter.

    Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him at X @RealTonyGarcia. He’s a co-host of “Hail Yes!”, your favorite Wolverines podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify

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