Michigan proved it can win ugly against USC. That’s all that matters — for now

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Kalel Mullings’ teammates used to tease him because he didn’t look that fast.

Mullings, a former linebacker, stands 6 feet 2 and weighs 233 pounds. If Michigan’s skill-position players lined up at the goal line and ran a 100-yard sprint, he probably wouldn’t win. He entered this season in the shadow of Donovan Edwards, the star of last year’s national championship game, and wasn’t mentioned among the best running backs in the Big Ten.

Late in the fourth quarter against USC, with Michigan running out of ideas to revive a comatose offense, the Wolverines finally landed on something that worked. They gave the ball to Mullings, who ran through the arms of USC’s John Humphrey for a 63-yard gain. They gave it to him again. And again. And again. With 41 seconds on the clock, Michigan faced fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, needing one more play to take the lead.

Hmm … what to call? Naked bootleg? Philly special? Or how about giving it to Mullings one more time?

!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/HMTgB8YgGI

— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) September 21, 2024

“We all knew what was about to happen,” quarterback Alex Orji said.

Mullings took the handoff and plowed into the end zone, giving No. 18 Michigan a 27-24 victory against the No. 11 Trojans. This was Michigan’s most improbable win in years, sparked by a running back who wasn’t supposed to be the No. 1 option. It’s clear now that every week is going to be a struggle for this Michigan team, but sometimes the struggle ends with a celebration.

“I feel like that’s a representation of who we are, always straining until the very end,” Mullings said. “Throughout that drive, it was just grit.”

Before that last drive, Michigan had the ball five times in the second half without a first down. The Wolverines gained 6 yards in the third quarter and had 32 passing yards for the game. None of this is in the how-to manual for beating a top-15 opponent.

Somehow, Michigan found a way. That was largely because of Mullings, who ran for 159 yards on 17 carries, his second consecutive game of more than 150 yards. Michigan’s offense has very few things it can depend on, but the Wolverines have learned they can depend on Mullings.

“He’s done everything for us,” coach Sherrone Moore said.

If nothing else, Michigan’s attempt to build an entire offense out of linemen, tight ends and former linebackers will be an interesting test of the Wolverines’ offensive ethos. Michigan has been a run-first team for the past several years, but with Orji at quarterback, it’s now a run-second and run-third team, too.

What Michigan did Saturday, beating a ranked opponent while attempting 12 passes, is likely unsustainable. At this point, the Wolverines aren’t looking for sustainability. They’re looking for whatever can help them win on a given Saturday. If that means running the ball 40-plus times per game, Moore will be the happiest person in the stadium.

“That’s my dream,” Moore said. “Yeah, I want to throw the ball, but when you can run the ball effectively, it kind of brings (the defense) down a little bit.”

Saturday was USC’s first conference game as a member of the Big Ten. It delivered exactly what the Big Ten wanted when it added four teams from the West Coast: a great scene, great drama, a clash of two iconic programs with contrasting styles.

Michigan’s advantage in the trenches was significant. USC’s passing game was explosive; Michigan’s was non-existent. The game had wild momentum swings, including Will Johnson’s 42-yard interception return for a touchdown and Kenneth Grant’s fumble recovery that was taken back by USC’s Woody Marks.

Michigan looked to be in deep trouble after Edwards coughed up a fumble and USC scored to take a 24-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The offense stalled in the second half, and the switch from Davis Warren to Orji at quarterback wasn’t looking like a dramatic upgrade.

Warren was reasonably efficient in the short and intermediate passing game but threw six interceptions in three starts. The Wolverines barely tried to throw the ball beyond the line of scrimmage with Orji, but he played turnover-free football and ran 13 times for 43 yards.

“A bunch of people were asking what I wanted out of my first start,” Orji said. “I wanted a ball-secure victory, and we got that.”

Despite its struggles, Michigan is 3-1 with a loss to No. 1 Texas and a win against a USC team that was regarded as a College Football Playoff contender. That’s not a bad first month of the season. Looking at how the Wolverines have won the past two weeks, it’s hard to feel confident that what they’re doing now is going to translate over a full season. But if Michigan can beat USC without a functional passing game, the Wolverines should be able to beat a few other teams, too.

Nothing’s going to come easy for Michigan this season. The Wolverines are going to have to get comfortable with winning ugly. They don’t have a great answer at quarterback, and their best hope is to put their trust in Orji and help him out however they can.

Giving the ball to Mullings is a great way to do that. As good as he’s been, he could still use more touches. The Wolverines are a tough team to play when Mullings is breaking tackles and Michigan’s defense is flying around, as USC discovered in its first taste of Big Ten football.

Beating a ranked team with 32 passing yards isn’t something Michigan is likely to replicate. But success on the ground with Mullings is repeatable, and Michigan’s final drive was perfect repetition.

“Whether you run it, whether you throw it — (people) say you should throw it more — we won,” Moore said. “We beat a good team. For us, that’s what it was all about.”

(Photo: Junfu Han / Imagn Images)