ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan just kept hitting and hitting the ball. And when it mattered most, No. 11 USC couldn’t stop it.

Led by running back Kalel Mullings, who scored the winning touchdown in the final seconds, the reigning national champion Wolverines won 27-24 on Saturday night in their Big Ten season opener.

“That’s a representation of who we are,” Mullings said of Michigan’s run-heavy game plan. “Just keep going and grinding … grinding meat all the time.”

The Wolverines rushed for 290 yards, including 79 on the final drive. Mullings caught all eight carries and broke through a pair of tackles for a 63-yard run that put Michigan in the red zone. He capped the drive with a 1-yard scoring dive on fourth-and-goal with 37 seconds left.

“A will to not give in,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said of his senior back. “A will to want it more than they do. To want it more than the guy that’s trying to tackle him.”

The No. 18 Wolverines (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) won despite allowing just 32 yards passing, their fewest in a game since 1987, according to ESPN Research. Michigan’s 32 yards through the air were the fewest by an FBS team in a win over a top-15 opponent since 2014, when Florida defeated Georgia by 27 rushing yards.

“I think it’s great,” said Moore, a former college offensive lineman at Oklahoma. “You want to throw the ball, but if you can run the ball effectively, you’ll take (the defense) down.”

Mullings finished with a career-high 159 yards on 17 rushes and scored another touchdown in the first quarter with a 53-yard dash through the middle of the USC defense.

Donovan Edwards added 74 yards on the ground, including a 41-yard touchdown run. But his fourth-quarter fumble gave USC (2-1, 0-1) the ball deep in Michigan territory, and Miller Moss’ 24-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Kobi Lane gave the Trojans their first lead of the game with just over seven minutes left.

Michigan turned the rest of the way back to Mullings. And Moore said the Wolverines put the game in the hands of Mullings and the offensive line, especially on fourth-and-goal.

“The game is on the line,” Moore said, “what are you going to do?”

Mullings followed fullback Max Bredeson, who blocked the kickout, clearing the way for Mullings to score the winning goal.

“We knew we were going to get it,” quarterback Alex Orji said. “It was just confidence. Do or die, backs against the wall.”

The Wolverines switched starting quarterbacks this week, from Davis Warren to Orji. Warren had thrown six interceptions in three games, including three last week against Arkansas State. Orji had just seven career passing attempts before the game began, and attempted just 12 passes against USC, completing seven. But Orji rushed for 43 yards, giving the Wolverines an offensive identity they had been lacking, especially in a 31-12 loss to Texas in their second game.

Michigan rushed for 199 yards in the first half alone, the most USC had allowed in a first half since Lincoln Riley became coach in 2022.

“Schematically, we knew they were going to run the ball,” USC linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold said, “and it was just man-to-man to see who could win — and they just did.”

With an inexperienced quarterback, Moore said, he challenged his team to be more physical against the Trojans. The Wolverines were without All-America tight end Colston Loveland, who missed the game with an undisclosed injury. That put even more pressure on the running game.

“The boys responded,” Moore said. “So proud of what they did and how they played.”

ESPN’s Paolo Uggetti contributed to this report.