What will Michigan Football’s offense look like under new quarterback Alex Orji?
“Hail Yes!” hosts Tony Garcia and Rainer Sabin discuss what the Michigan football team’s offense will look like with Alex Orji at the helm.
All hope seemed lost on Saturday night at Michigan Stadium.
The two-touchdown lead had evaporated and the offense had lost the ball five times in a row or lost it three times early in the second half. Even the highly praised defense, which had made so many timely stops, let a Touchdown on third and 16. to give up the lead in the fourth.
But then Kalel Mullings came to the rescue. After UM had gained only 23 yards in 15 plays in the second half, Michigan’s powerful running back ripped a 55 meter long runfought his way through the USC defenders and reached the red zone with two minutes left.
From there, he fought his way to the eight-yard line with 1:17 left to play and made it to the first and last attempt with the clock ticking down under a minute. Then, with 41 seconds left, Mullings slashed his way home Fourth and goal behind Max Bredeson as Michigan won its Big Ten opener 27-24 in a beautiful late afternoon battle in Ann Arbor.
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Before Mullings’ long run, this moment seemed almost impossible. Only minutes earlier, Donovan Edwards had committed a fumble in Michigan’s own territory, putting USC (2-1, 0-1 Big Ten) in the red zone. Three plays later, Miller Moss found Ja’Kobi Lane on third-and-16 for a 24-yard touchdown with top cornerback Will Johnson in the locker room for an X-ray.
Michigan’s next drive ended with an Alex Orji turnover, a Mullings recovery and then a sack, but UM’s defense made one last stop to get the ball back for the offense.
The Wolverines made a change at quarterback this week, opting for the mobile Orji with the goal of minimizing turnovers, maximizing time of possession and earning a win.
However, the passing game was never successful, as Orji completed 7 of 12 passes over a distance of 32 yards and was sacked twice.
Mullings finished the game with 17 carries for 159 yards (9.4 yards per carry) and two scores.
Michigan (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) hosts Minnesota next week.
Turbulent second half
For most of the afternoon, the game never looked like it was in danger. Michigan led 14-3 early in the third quarter when the Trojans began a 12-play, 75-yard run and scored on third-and-9 from Michigan’s 5-yard line to cut the score to 14-10.
After a three-and-out by UM, USC had the ball and the momentum and a chance to take the lead when it looked like Michigan would turn the game around for good. On third-and-3, Johnson leapt over a curl route and carried the interception 42 yards for a pick-six, giving Michigan a 10-yard lead after the extra point.
Three plays later, the Trojans’ Woody Marks — who had rushed for five yards six times in the first half — ran 65 yards up the middle for first and goal. Marks finished the game with 13 100-yard rushes.
Once again, it looked like Michigan had a stop when Josiah Stewart stripped Moss of the ball on third down and Kenneth Grant ran with the ball. However, Grant had the ball stolen on his return and USC got a new set of downs.
Two plays later, Moss found Jay Fair for a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game at 20-17 late in the third quarter. Moss finished the game completing 28 of 51 passes for 283 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Michigan’s offense is a story of two halves
Things went well for Michigan from the start, even though the game plan was pretty simple. The Wolverines wanted to win the battle for possession, stay in manageable yardage, and keep USC’s powerful attack on the sidelines. So they ran, then they ran again, then they ran some more.
Although the Wolverines didn’t have quite as much traction as they did last year at Penn State when running the game’s final 32 plays, they ran 27 times compared to seven pass attempts in the first half, and pretty much every one was successful at some point.
It started with Mullings, who came within an inch of a 4th-and-1 attempt near the halfway line for a 53-yard touchdown to open the scoring at 7-0 with 3:10 left in the first quarter. Then it was Edwards’ turn. After managing just 12 yards on his first seven carries, he finally found a gap in the second quarter and ran 41 yards almost unchallenged to give the Wolverines a 14-0 lead.
Edwards managed 14 carries for 74 yards and a score, but had a nearly costly turnover.
Even Orji had some early success. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound junior rushed for five yards or more on six of his seven touches and converted four first downs on just seven attempts in the first two quarters. Wide receiver Fred Moore made a 14-yard end-around to spread the USC defense and open up the middle.
That changed after halftime, as USC adjusted. Michigan’s first three drives all ended in three-and-outs and gained just seven yards. The fourth possession was the game-winning fumble, and the fifth possession backfired.
That is, until the sixth and final possession of the second half changed the course of the season for Michigan.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @RealTonyGarcia.
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