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Kalel Mullings saves the day

Posted on by Vanessa
Kalel Mullings saves the day

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Free Press sportswriter Tony Garcia evaluates the Michigan football team's performance in Saturday's 27-24 win over USC in Ann Arbor to open the Big Ten:

Attack: C+

Let's start with the good. That was Kalel Mullings in the first half and the final minutes. The first two quarters were UM's ideal formula, with 27 carries for 199 yards, with three ball carriers – Mullings, Alex Orji and Donovan Edwards – all scoring 47 or more yards by halftime. In the end, Michigan ran 46 times for 290 yards and three touchdowns, but it was Mullings' 62-yard run, the longest of his career, that changed the game.

UM was down four points with less than three minutes left in the game when Mullings broke through the USC defense and turned the field over. Six plays later, he found himself in the end zone with 41 seconds left to score the opening goal. Mullings finished the day with 17 carries for 159 yards and two scores, Edwards had 17 carries for 74 yards, a score and a fumble, and Orji ran 13 times for 43 yards.

RAINER-SABIN: With Michigan's season-deciding 27-24 win over USC, everything is back on the table

But the fact that this grade is lowered to just above average by a passing offense is a real problem. Orji only managed five of eight passes over 32 yards and not one was even 10 yards further. Yes, he didn't have his best option (tight end Colston Loveland), but without Mullings' big run, this passing offense would have fallen short in the final minutes. UM will absolutely take the win, but if better passes don't come soon, there will be little room for error.

“I mean, if we had thrown a million yards today and lost, I'd be sitting here crying,” Orji said. “So whatever it takes to win, whether it's 32 yards, whether it's 10, whether it's 100, I don't care. People asked what I was hoping to do in my first start — I wanted an All-Pro win with ball security and that's what we got.”

Defense: B+

USC started with an average offense average of more than 495 yards per game and Michigan held the offense to 379 — a solid overall performance. It started early, forcing three consecutive three-and-outs to start the game. Although the defense stagnated in the middle of the game — allowing five offenses in the second and third quarters that either resulted in points or went 65 yards or more — the unit made enough timely plays. The highlight of the day was cornerback Will Johnson peeling off a curl route on third-and-3 and running it 42 yards the other way for a third-quarter pick-six to increase the lead to 10. Overall, though, it was the unit making life difficult for USC quarterback Miller Moss (who impressed nonetheless) that made the difference. Overall, the unit had 10 QB hurries, eight pass breakups, eight tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Jyaire Hill, who allowed one touchdown, had the most tackles of the game with six, including two breakups and one for loss. Mason Graham also had six tackles with a sack in the fourth quarter, but the spoiler was Josaiah Stewart, who had four tackles, including three for loss and two sacks.

“Coach Wink Martindale did a great job of giving him the game ball in the locker room,” said head coach Sherrone Moore. “The mix of coverage, blitz, looks, turns, gains, anything and everything to keep that guy and seven guessing, because Miller Moss is a good player and we hit him a lot. The guys took a lot of pride in the four-man rush… great job, great game plan by the defense, proud of them.”

Special teams: B-Minus

It was a good time for Tommy Doman to find his form again, as Michigan's punter had by far his best game of the season, turning the field over and over again for the Wolverines. Doman punted seven times for a total of 335 yards (47.8 per attempt), pushed the Trojans inside their 20 three times (twice inside the 10) and had two passes of 50 yards or more.

Semaj Morgan was also decent on punt returns, managing 19 yards on three attempts and would have had 37 yards had an 18-yard return not been flagged back early. The main problem on special teams was a missed extra point by Dominic Zvada that appeared to deflect; that was the difference between UM ending up down by three points and needing a field goal and UM ending up down by four points and needing a touchdown. In the end, it didn't matter.

Coaching: One minus

It takes an insane effort to win a game with just 32 passing yards – the Wolverines' fewest passing yards in a win since 1987. Sherrone Moore has used her “smash” mentality to success before – last season, Michigan didn't attempt a single pass in the second half of a top-10 road win at Penn State – and relied on it again Saturday.

The Wolverines' offense deserves credit for its early success on the ground, rushing for 199 yards in the first half alone. Graham said that helped the defense stay fresh, which proved to be crucial in the end. The offense also deserves credit for not forcing the issue. Michigan could have started to stretch the game when they were down by four points, but Moore said his guys knew they had to stay collected.

On the final drive, Mullings ran eight times for 80 yards, including a fourth-down play that will last for the ages. According to Moore, it was offensive line coach Grant Newsome who made the big decision.

“That's a key play on fourth down: 'What's the best play?'” Moore recalls asking his assistants. “Grant knew exactly what the play was. When someone responds with that assertiveness and confidence, it's like, 'OK, let's do it.' Then you look at the guys and the guys wanted to do it, so you knew we were at our best.”

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