ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Karel Mullings' teammates often teased him because he didn't look that fast.
Mullings, a former linebacker, is 6-foot-2, 233 pounds and probably wouldn't win if Michigan's skill-position players lined up at the goal line and ran for 100 yards. He started this season in the shadow of last year's national championship star, Donovan Edwards, and was never ranked as one of the Big Ten's best running backs.
Late in the fourth quarter against USC, Michigan was running out of ideas to revitalize its comatose offense, and the Wolverines finally found a way to make it work. They gave the ball to Mullings, and he slipped it 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 left, Michigan faced fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line and needed one more play to take the lead.
Hmmm… what shall we call it? Naked Bootleg? Philadelphia Special? Or maybe we should just give it to Mullings again?
!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/HMTgB8YgGI
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) September 21, 2024
“We all knew what was coming,” quarterback Alex Orji said.
Mullings took the handoff and sprinted into the end zone to lead No. 18 Michigan to a 27-24 victory over the No. 11 Trojans. It was Michigan's most unlikely win in years and came from a running back who wasn't originally the No. 1 choice. It's clear that every week is a struggle for this Michigan team, but sometimes struggles end in celebration.
“I think it shows who we are, that we always try until the very end,” Mullings said. “We just had grit on that drive.”
Before that final possession, Michigan had the ball five times in the second half but didn't get a first down. The Wolverines had just six passing yards in the third quarter and 32 yards in the entire game — none of which are in the manual for beating a Top 15 opponent.
Somehow, Michigan found a solution, and it was mostly thanks to Mullings, who rushed 17 times for 159 yards and his second straight game with at least 150 yards. Michigan's offense has very few things to rely on, but the Wolverines have learned to rely on Mullings.
“He gave everything he had for us,” coach Sherone Moore said.
At the very least, Michigan's attempt to build a complete offensive line with linemen, tight ends and former linebackers will be an intriguing test of the Wolverines' offensive mentality. Michigan has been a run-heavy team the past few years, but with Orji at quarterback, it has become both a run-heavy and run-heavy team.
What Michigan did Saturday — beating a top-ranked opponent while attempting 12 passes — probably can't be sustained. At this point, the Wolverines aren't asking for a continuation. What they're asking for is whatever helps them win Saturday's game. If that means running the ball more than 40 times per game, Moore will be the happiest guy in the stadium.
“That's my dream,” Moore said. “Yeah, I want to throw the ball, but I think if we can run the ball effectively, it weakens (the defense) a little bit.”
Saturday was USC's first conference game as a member of the Big Ten, and the matchup delivered exactly what the Big Ten hoped for when it added four teams from the West Coast: great scenes, great drama and a clash of two iconic programs with contrasting styles.
Going deeper
USC let Michigan escape, giving the Trojans less margin for error.
Michigan's offensive dominance was evident. USC's passing game was explosive, while Michigan's was nonexistent. The game saw wild momentum swings, including Will Johnson's 42-yard interception return for a touchdown and Kenneth Grant's fumble recovery that was stolen by USC's Woody Marks.
Michigan appeared to be in deep trouble after Edwards fumbled and USC scored midway through the fourth quarter to take a 24-20 lead. The offense stagnated in the second half, and switching quarterbacks from Davis Warren to Orji didn't provide a dramatic boost.
Warren was fairly efficient in the short- and intermediate-range passing game, but was intercepted six times in three starts, and while the Wolverines rarely tried to throw the ball beyond the line of scrimmage with Orji, he played turnover-free football and ran 13 times for 43 yards.
“A lot of people have asked me what I wanted in my first start,” Orji said. “I wanted to make sure we had possession of the ball and get a win, and that's what we did.”
Going deeper
Alex Orji is a “one in a million” athlete. Now it's time for him to prove he can play quarterback.
Despite their struggles, Michigan is 3-1, with a loss to No. 1 Texas and a win over a USC team that was considered a College Football Playoff favorite. That's not bad for the first month of the season. Looking at the Wolverines' wins over the past two weeks, I'm not convinced what they're doing now will work for the entire season. But if Michigan can beat USC without a functional passing game, the Wolverines should be able to beat some other teams, too.
Nothing is going to be easy for Michigan this season. The Wolverines are going to have to get used to ugly wins. They don't have a great answer at quarterback and their best hope is to trust Orji and help him out as much as they can.
Getting the ball to Mullings is a great way to do that. He's played well so far, but he needs more touches on the ball. When Mullings is escaping tackles and the Michigan defense is flying around, as USC experienced in its first experience of Big Ten football, the Wolverines are a formidable team to play against.
Beating a top-ranked team by 32 yards passing is unlikely something Michigan can replicate, but Mullings' success on the ground is and Michigan's final drive was a perfect repeat.
“Whether we ran or threw, (people) say we should have thrown more, but we won,” Moore said. “We beat good teams. To us, that was everything.”
(Photo: Han Junfu/Imagn Images)
