Michigan needed only 32 yards passing (and a pick six) to outmuscle USC 27-24. It was the exact type of game you’d expect someone like Michigan coach Sherrone Moore would love. And he did.
“I love it,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said postgame. “It’s my dream.”
The Wolverines made a quarterback change from Davis Warren to Alex Orji during the week, but it was Kalel Mullings (159 yards, 2 TDs) and Donovan Edwards (74 yards, TD), and the offensive line in front of them, who created the headaches for the No. 11 Trojans.
The lineage of quarterbacks developed under USC coach Lincoln Riley makes him one of the most respected offensive minds in college football, but the No. 18 Wolverines beat the Trojans in the Big House without much of a need for a traditional quarterback. Its ability to dictate the game in the trenches was in stark contrast to the Texas loss.
Welcome to the Big Ten, USC.
Mullings’ go-ahead touchdown run was clearly coming. It comes down to a battle of execution, physicality and will. The Wolverines ran out of the old school I-formation. They flowed to the left. USC met them at the point of attack, but no one managed to get hands on Mullings as he ran headfirst into a wave of USC defenders in the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown.
Last season, the Wolverines rode winning in those margins all the way to their first national championship since 1998 by building a monster in the trenches. And on Michigan’s final drive Saturday, Mullings’ second efforts were among the game’s defining moments.
This Michigan team is diminished from its national championship predecessor, but there are certainly playmakers. They bullied the Trojans with 199 yards rushing in the first half alone; Will Johnson’s historic pick six was the…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/usc-has-clearer-picture-of-big-ten-work-ahead-after-wolverines-issue-stiff-conference-welcome-to-trojans/
Author : Shehan Jeyarajah
Publish date : 2024-09-22 02:40:00
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