Kalel Mullings rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns, including a go-ahead score on fourth down with 37 seconds remaining, and No. 18 Michigan held off No. 11 Southern California, 27-24, on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich., in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.
Trailing for the first time all game after USC quarterback Miller Moss found Ja’Kobi Lane for a 24-touchdown strike that put the Trojans ahead 24-20, Michigan (3-1, 1-0) leaned on Mullings to jumpstart its sputtering offense.
The Wolverines had not scored on offense in the second half; 5 of their 6 drives ended in punts, and in the other drive, they lost a fumble that set up the Trojans’ go-ahead touchdown. But Mullings delivered when Michigan needed it most, breaking tackles to go 63 yards and set up the Wolverines in the red zone.
Mullings got the call on five of the next six plays, hammering into the end zone on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line.
His performance paced Michigan to 290 rushing yards on the day. Quarterback Alex Orji, who finished just 7-of-12 passing for 32 yards, contributed 43 yards on the ground.
Donovan Edwards carried 14 times for 74 yards and a touchdown on a 41-yard run in the second quarter that gave Michigan a 14-0 lead.
USC (2-1, 0-1) chipped the lead to four points in the third quarter, getting its first touchdown just after intermission when Moss found Duce Robinson on a nine-yard score. But the Wolverines pushed the lead back to two scores with Will Johnson’s 42-yard pick-six of Moss.
Michigan nearly scored another defensive touchdown when Josiah Stewart jarred the ball loose from Moss on a sack inside the Wolverines’ 10-yard line. Defensive lineman Kenneth Grant recovered the fumble and began breaking for daylight, but Trojans running back Woody Marks stripped the ball from Grant to give possession back to USC.
The sequence culminated in Moss throwing a 16-yard touchdown to Jay Fair.
Moss went 28-of-51 passing for 283 yards and three touchdowns. The USC run game was held by Michigan to 96 yards. Marks finished with 100 yards on just 13 rushes, but 65 came on a single rush.
Michigan sacked Moss four times, two of which were by Stewart.
–Field Level Media