Michigan football embraced its smashmouth mentality when it got the ball back at its own 11 trailing USC, 24-20, with about four minutes left.
The Wolverines had struggled on offense as a 14-3 halftime lead evaporated. Michigan accumulated only 9 yards, with zero first downs, on its first five drives of the second half, as the Trojans stacked the box to stop the run and force new starting quarterback Alex Orji to throw the ball.
But Michigan refused to oblige on the last possession and ran through the Trojans defense on the back of Kalel Mullings on the winning drive. Michigan drove 89 yards in 10 plays, eight of which were Mullings runs for 84 yards, before he scored the game-winning touchdown on a fourth-down run with 37 seconds left.
“That’s just a representation of who we are, always straight until the very end,” Mullings said. “Throughout that drive, it was just grit and grinding ’em. You know, we like to say ‘grinding meat’ and we were grinding meat that whole time.”
Michigan running back Kalel Mullings (20) runs against USC linebacker Mason Cobb (13) during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.
U-M GRADES: Complementary football back on display in gritty win
Michigan kept pounding the ball into the face of USC’s defensive line with Mullings, who broke through once again. After one first down, Mullings broke through the front seven, raced to USC’s last line of defense and bowled through two defenders for a 63-yard gain. His legs churned through the contact as he fought off swarms of Trojans to reach the red zone.
“I’m always, always trying to make plays, but it’s the fourth quarter, not much time left,” Mullings said postgame. “It was now or never.”
The big play took Michigan to USC’s 17-yard line with two minutes left. Michigan kept feeding the hot hand, giving it to Mullings…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-footballs-grit-grinding-pays-013719265.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2024-09-22 01:37:19
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