Offense Notes: Kalel Mullings bulldozes the Buckeyes in legendary performance

COLUMBUS – It was a familiar sight for the Michigan Wolverines against the Ohio State Buckeyes with a star-making, legacy-defining game for a star running back.

In 2021, it was Hassan Haskins (28 carries, 169 yds, 5 TD), then came 2022 with Donovan Edwards (22 carries, 216 yds, 2 TD), and while the numbers were not gaudy, 2023 saw Blake Corum run the game-winning touchdown in after Zak Zinter’s injury (22 carries, 88 yds, TD).

Kalel Mullings has made a big play in this rivalry before – a jump pass on third down in the the 2022 win – but Saturday was a signature moment. Offense was tough to come by in the 13-10 win over the Buckeyes, but Mullings finished the day with 32 carries for 118 yards and a touchdown.

But his biggest play came on a 27-yard run on 3rd and 6 to set up a game-winning field goal for the Wolverines in the fourth quarter.

“It’s like the USC run all over again,” head coach Sherrone Moore said after the win. “You’ve got people [trying to] tackle him in the backfield, and he’s hard to bring down. He runs angry, runs physical. So, proud of him. A career-high…all you can ask for.”

Mullings explained the play: “I was just pushing it front side. I felt the pressure back side. I knew all week kinda the way they play, their D-line kinda just hangs on blocks, kinda just sits there, so there would be a lot of arm tackles to run through. I knew I had to bounce it front side. I felt an arm tackle. I knew if I could get up out of there, there would be no one left. I just kept bouncing it and, shoot, just playing ball. I don’t know.”

Ohio State has developed a reputation for starting slow and getting outphysicaled, especially against the Wolverines. Michigan knew that if it hung in there, they would have a chance at a knockout blow.

“We knew coming in that they don’t always start fast a lot of the time,” Mullings said. “With some of their wins, teams do stuff to give them the wins or give them a boost, and then they start taking off and getting ahead. So we knew that as long as we didn’t do that it would be a back-and-forth game and people would be throwing punches, they make plays, we make plays. 

“As the game wore on, you could definitely slowly feel them start to lose confidence and lose that energy and lose that faith.”

Davis Warren makes mistakes, but gets the last laugh

Michigan’s quarterback situation has been mocked and made fun of all season long, but like the team on Saturday, it did enough to hang in there and tread water. Saturday was far from Davis Warren’s best outing in a U-M jersey (9-for-16, 62 yards, 2 INT), but he goes into the record books as a starting signal-caller that won the game.

“It’s hard to really put into words what it means to this group,” Warren said after the victory. “We talk about it 365 days a year. We’ve talked about it since I’ve been here. Coach Harbaugh started it, Coach Moore kept it going. This game means everything to us.

“Things haven’t gone exactly how we wanted them to, no doubt. But man, just so proud of this group. The O-line, Kalel, this defense, Makari, they really stepped up and played an incredible football game… Our goal every year is to beat our rivals. Beat Michigan State and Ohio State. We accomplished that goal. So it’s really important to us. To come in here and get a win in this sort of environment, against a good football team? Man, it’s a great feeling.”

Warren put Michigan in some unfortunate spots on Saturday, especially when it had the chance to go up 17-10 late in the game. Facing a 1st and goal from the 3-yard line, Warren threw a bad pick that went right into the extended arms of OSU EDGE Jack Sawyer. Thankfully, the defense atoned for it and got a stop on the corresponding drive.

“The interception at the goal line just can’t happen. That’s inexcusable by me, and they bailed me out. I’m just really proud of those guys. They did so much to win this game for us. I trust in them. They made it happen, and we had to go down and score points to win the game. We were able to do it. A true team effort, but man, those guys really stepped up in key moments.”

Moore said: “People probably tried to criticize him. I’m not going to read anything, but I can tell you this, the student played his heart out for this team and gave everything he could for this team to be the quarterback and go win here. But nobody probably gave him a chance. You know, nobody gave him a chance in life, and he’s where he is now. That’s a success in itself.”

Moore and his team have been dealt a ton of adversity this year, but they developed a callus for it and just keep playing and fighting. The Michigan head coach’s mentality permeated throughout the rest of the team.

“It was huge,” Warren said. “Coach Moore had a term called FIDO. That’s F-it and drive on. That speaks to this group. We always talk about it. Whatever happens, it’s that next-moment mentality. Each play, each day, each game is an independent event. It has no bearing on the last play or the next play. Coach Tress does a great job of that in the weight room, always throwing us off. That helped us when we got in this game, where there are a lot of emotions and a lot of ups and downs. There’s FIDO.”

Miscellaneous Michigan offensive notes

• Mullings’ 100-plus yard performance and a touchdown was his fourth of the season of that variety
• Once again, the team that won the rushing battle won The Game. Michigan finished with 172 yards on the ground compared to 77 for the Buckeyes.
• The scoreless first quarter was the first time since 2016 since that occurred.
• Michigan is now 8-0 in its last 8 games when passing for less than 100 yards since 2015.