The Michigan Wolverines invited USC to the Big Ten with a complete 4 quarter fistfight on Saturday, winning by a rating of 27-24. It ended up being clear from the extremely starting that the Wolverines’ tactical plan focused around playing quick and physical defensively, while leaning greatly on the hurrying attack offensively. To put it simply, it was traditional Michigan football.
The most significant concern mark heading into Saturday’s video game was what the offense would look like with junior QB Alex Orji behind. Going into the video game, Orji had simply 7 profession passing efforts as a Wolverine. It was anticipated that he would continue to be made use of as a runner in his beginning function, the basic belief was that Michigan would have to open the offense and toss the ball more in order for it all to work. As it ends up, that wasn’t the case.
Michigan running back Kalel Mullings (20) runs for a goal versus USC throughout the 2nd half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024./ Junfu Han/ USA TODAY NETWORK by means of Imagn Images
Drive after drive, the Wolverines pounded the USC defense into submission. Michigan ran the ball 46 times and ended up with 290 backyards on the ground, balancing 6.3 backyards per bring. Veteran Kalel Mullings blazed a trail with another outstanding efficiency, ending up with 159 backyards and 2 goals on 17 brings. Senior running back Donovan Edwards ended up with 74 backyards and one goal on 14 brings, while Orji included 43 backyards on 13 brings.
When it comes to the passing attack, Michigan completed with simply 32 backyards through the air on Saturday – the most affordable output for the Wolverines in a video game because the late 80’s.
Following the video game, head coach Sherrone Moore was inquired about Michigan’s design of play versus USC.
“Well that’s my dream to see it,” Moore stated after the video game. “And, yeah, I wish to toss the ball, however when you can run the ball successfully, it type of breaks you down a bit. And for us, our guys, the appearance in their eyes today, how they prepared, how they practiced. We changed some things in practice to make it a bit more competitive, more physical. And the guys reacted, and they liked it. They liked it. They actually took it to heart. And I believe the O-line … I’m so pleased with that, since I’m so tough on them, however so pleased with what they did and how they played today.”
There’s no concern that it operated in Michigan’s favor versus the Trojans, however will it continue to work progressing? Taking a look at some essential stats from the video game, you would have believed that the Wolverines lost by 3 goals or more. They didn’t win the time of belongings, they turned it over two times, they punted or fumbled on 9 offending ownerships, and they completed with simply 32 backyards through the air. It’s difficult to picture a situation where that formula causes success moving on.