Ann Arbor — Beneath the veneer of Michigan’s win, technically an upset, over USC in the Big Ten opener last Saturday, there remains a fairly critical — and obvious — issue.
Namely, can the Wolverines find a semblance of a passing game?
Michigan coach Sherrone Moore replaced Davis Warren, who started the first three games at quarterback and is the strongest passer of the available options, with Alex Orji, a viable run threat. Warren threw six interceptions in those first three games, so Moore felt he had to make a move before the start of Big Ten play.
The Wolverines ran for 290 yards and needed a Herculean effort from running back Kalel Mullings late in the fourth quarter to pull off the win. In the go-ahead scoring drive of Michigan’s 24-20 victory, Mullings had a gutty 63-yard run on third-and-1 from the UM 20-yard line, and on fourth-and-1 at the goal line, he ran behind strong blocking from Max Bredeson and scored.
Meanwhile, Michigan finished the game with 32 yards passing, the Wolverines’ lowest output since 1987. That season, Michigan averaged 117.3 yards passing with a 46.5% completion rate, and the Wolverines averaged 263.5 yards rushing. So far through four games this season, Michigan is averaging 204.8 yards rushing, which ranks 31st nationally, and 122.8 yards passing, which ranks 128th.
Still, Michigan (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten), grounded out the win over USC in any way possible and faces Minnesota on Saturday in the last of five straight home games before heading on the road to face Washington.
“We’re just trying to be 1-0 this week,” Moore said. “We’re not going to worry about what people say about us, write about us. You win, there’s always a criticism. You lose, there’s criticism.”
The positive for Michigan is they didn’t have an interception on Saturday; however, there were two fumbles, the second of which led to USC’s touchdown to take the lead with 7:01 left in the game.
But Orji was 7-of-12 for 32 yards in the air, including zero passing yards in the second half. Michigan did not have a first down until just more than two minutes left in the game, when Mullings ran 63 yards on third-and-1. It’s head-scratching to wonder how sustainable the lack of a passing game is for the Wolverines.
“There’s always something we can get better at,” Bredeson said. “We’ll play however we have to play, and we’ll win games. We know we can throw the ball. We know we can do anything.”
Running the ball and being physical have been the hallmarks of Michigan teams the last few seasons, including the national championship run in 2023, but there was balance with the passing game, especially last season with J.J. McCarthy in his second full season as the starter. Michigan currently ranks tied for 118th in pass attempts per game (USC is fifth) and the last game, 12% of the plays were pass attempts.
Tight end Colston Loveland, who didn’t play against USC because of an unspecified injury, leads the team in receiving and receiver Semaj Morgan is second with 62 yards on 12 catches and a touchdown. Through four games, Michigan’s receivers have caught 25 passes for 199 yards.
Orji is, indeed, a run threat and defenses will scheme toward that. It wasn’t that Warren was tearing it up as a passer, but he did give Michigan more possibilities in that facet, including, yes, the possibility of interceptions.
“Teams are most of the time going to stack the box,” Mullings said. “They’re going to try to stop the run against us. We know that going in, and we know we still have to run the ball anyway. It’s a big part of who we are. It feels great to do that and dominate another team like that.”
But the Wolverines were not dominant in the third quarter and for a large part of the fourth. Moore referred to the third-quarter lapse as a “little lull,” but USC outgained Michigan, 180-6, and the Wolverines had only four yards rushing. The Trojans dominated time of possession and held the ball for 11:21, while gaining 96 yards rushing and 84 passing and going 4-of-6 on third-down conversions.
Michigan’s first drive of the fourth quarter was a three-and-out, and the second lasted a play before Donovan Edwards’ fumble that set up USC’s score to take the lead. Michigan responded with another three-and-out, and after its defense held the Trojans to a three-and-out, the Wolverines launched the game-winning drive from their 11-yard line, having gained, to that point, three yards of offense.
It was a physical, gritty drive and Mullings reached the USC 17-yard line on his 63-yard gain on third-and-short. Mullings gained another first down on third-and-1 with a 2-yard gain to the 6-yard line. After Mullings reached the 3 on the next play, Michigan, instead of relying on the run that got the Wolverines to that point, curiously attempted a pass on second down that fell short and later gained two yards on the next play, and then the game-winning 1-yard score.
A win is a win, of course, and Michigan has found its offensive identity that was lacking the first few weeks of the season. This is clearly a run-first team, and no one is suggesting the Wolverines should move away from that approach, but balance is critical and now it’s a matter of finding some sort of pass game that can tip the scales.
But can it?
achengelis@detroitnews.com
@chengelis
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Publish date : 2024-09-22 10:05:00
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