Best and worst from Michigan's win over USC
Michigan Wolverines football ran all over USC and won 27-24 in the Big Ten opener at The Big House. Here are the best and worst from the game.
‘Best goal line play’
During the timeout ahead of Michigan’s fourth-and-goal play from the 1-yard line, head coach Sherrone Moore asked his coaching staff what the team’s best goal line play was.
Offensive line coach Grant Newsome had a response, and the Wolverines used his idea. Moments later, graduate running back Kalel Mullings was smashing into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
I-formation. Pulling guard. Physical running back. Getting the job done.
That’s Michigan football, and that’s what won the Wolverines the game.
Player of the game
Mullings was the reason the Wolverines got down to the goal line in the first place, darting 63 yards on third-and-1 from his own 20-yard line, spinning off a would-be tackler and staying up before turning on the jets.
The 6-foot-2, 233-pounder led the Wolverines with a career-high 159 rushing yards (and 2 touchdowns) on 17 carries. He put the Wolverines up 7-0 with a 53-yard scoring run in the first quarter, and six of his carries went for first downs.
Senior running back Donovan Edwards contributed, too, even though his lost fumble midway through the fourth quarter was costly, leading to a USC score off a short field. The starter ripped off a 41-yard touchdown to put the Maize and Blue up 14-3, which was the score at halftime.
Throwback
Michigan’s largest gain on a passing play was 42 yards … by junior cornerback Will Johnson on an interception that he returned for a touchdown.
The Wolverines’ real longest pass was for 10 yards to junior tight end Marlin Klein. The Wolverines threw for just 32 yards in junior quarterback Alex Orji‘s first career start — the fewest U-M has passed for in a game since at least 1996, per ESPN.
Welcome to the Big Ten, USC.
Michigan ran for 290 yards — its second-highest mark of the season behind the 301 it put up against Arkansas State — and had enough long runs to allow the offense to put up some points despite having five three-and-outs and a lost fumble on the first play of another drive.
Best defensive play
About Johnson’s pick six …
Biggest disruptor
Michigan senior EDGE Josaiah Stewart was phenomenal, registering 3 tackles for loss, including 2 sacks, to set the tone for a Wolverine pass rush that tormented USC quarterback Miller Moss.
Michigan took Moss down for 4 sacks, but the pressure came early and often even when the Wolverines didn’t get home. He was demoralized while down on the turf multiple times, including once when the official felt bad enough for him to help him up.
Craziest play
Michigan junior defensive tackle Kenneth Grant picked up a Stewart-forced fumble and ran. Grant, who weighs 339 pounds, is fast for his size, but he wasn’t going to run it back 91 yards for the score.
USC running back Woody Marks — a savvy veteran — knew that and went for the strip instead of the tackle, jarring the ball free and recovering it.
The original play was on third down, so an incomplete pass would’ve forced a USC field goal attempt. Instead, though, the Trojans got a whole new set of downs at the U-M 27-yard line and scored two plays later.
Best script
Michigan absolutely had to get up early to win this game with essentially no passing attack, and it did. The Wolverines took a 14-3 halftime lead.
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That allowed the Orji-led offense to continue keeping it on the ground, chewing clock and “grinding meat,” as they called it, while the defense held serve (for the most part). The defense stayed fresh because the offense controlled the ball and put together some early drives — the exact opposite of what transpired in the 31-12 loss to Texas just two weeks earlier.
USC also became one-dimensional because of the deficit and the dominant Michigan defensive line, rushing for only 96 yards.
Unsung hero
Michigan senior punter Tommy Doman pinned USC back at its own 1-, 13- and 8-yard lines to begin first-half drives. He allowed Michigan to win the field-position battle, especially early on. Doman also had a 56-yard bomb and another over 50 yards. USC has a dynamic punt returner in Zachariah Branch, but he only had 19 total return yards on 3 attempts with an 8-yard long. He was held in check.
Low point
Michigan didn’t have a second-half first down until the aforementioned 63-yard run by Mullings. Frustration — and concern — was growing inside the stadium, and the team’s fourth three-and-out of the second half actually elicited boos from the Wolverine faithful. Michigan was down 24-20 at that point.
No Michigan fan felt good when the Wolverines had to go 90 yards in four minutes with Orji behind center, but again, the Mullings run got the Wolverines out of that jam.
Michigan’s offense will have to improve mightily if it wants to continue winning big games. But two weeks ago following the Texas loss, everyone was asking what this team’s offensive identity was. Now, it’s clear they are working toward one — smash-mouth football. The 290 rushing yards and the victory speak for themselves.
Biggest fluke
Michigan junior placekicker Dominic Zvada has been outstanding early in his career, but he missed an extra point after Johnson’s pick six that would’ve proved crucial had the Wolverines not been able to score a touchdown to take the lead at the end.
Zvada made all 41 of his extra point attempts as an Arkansas State player last season. That was his first missed PAT since his freshman season in 2022, when he went 30-of-31 on those chip shots.
Worst decision
In a move seemingly to try to catch USC off guard, Michigan threw a dangerous pass to the end zone on second-and-goal from the 3 on its final possession (not counting the kneel-down), two plays before the Mullings score.
At that point, USC had a timeout remaining but didn’t have to burn it because of the incomplete pass. And if you’re Michigan, you had to be confident you were going to be able to punch it in with three straight runs. That call was confusing, but the Wolverines got the job done.
