How U-M Put Together TD Drive When Needed Most, Beat Fresno State, 30-10

QB Warren, TB Mullings, TE Loveland carry the load. New starting signal caller, a leukemia survivor, visited young hospital patients on game week for inspiration.

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – This Michigan football team is going to be compared to the 2023 national champions all season long. There’s no avoiding that.

And while the defense played up to last year’s standards in Saturday night’s 30-10 win over Fresno State, the offense had very little in common with the J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan steamroller with style.

That is, until it mattered most.

When the Wolverines absolutely, positively needed a scoring drive, they got one.

The Bulldogs – who won nine games last year including wins over Purdue and Arizona State – had cut the lead to six points with 10:06 remaining in the fourth quarter.

But just when Michigan fans were convinced the running game was dead, it was revived.

Kalel Mullings ran up the middle to good holes, juked for more yards and bounced off defenders for even more. He had consecutive runs of 21, 15 and 6 yards on the heart of the drive, and was the leading rusher with 15 carries for 92 yards.

Starting quarterback Davis Warren threw a bullet pass down the middle off a play fake for an 18-yard touchdown pass to All-America tight end Colston Loveland with 5:43 left to play.

“They just buckled down and played Michigan football,” said Michigan coach Sherrone Moore. “Really grinded it out on the ground. So, very proud of how the O-line started coming off the ball. And then I knew we could go to [No.] 18 in the red zone, and he did a really good job of making a play. It was a great throw by Davis.”

Mullings said, “It was definitely great, and it came at a time of need.”

Loveland had eight catches for 87 yards, and wide receiver Tyler Morris was next with three receptions for 15 yards.

Davis was told earlier in the week that he was the starter, but Alex Orji also played and got the scoring started with a 3-yard pass to tailback Donovan Edwards (who also had 11 carries for 27 yards) for his lone completion. Davis ran down the sideline, shouting joy for Orji.

Of Edwards and Mullings, Moore said, “We think we have two guys that are starters. So, we’ll play both of them. You’re going to need all of them.”

Ever since last season ended, it was anticipated that Orji (five carries for 32 yards and a key third-and-one pickup on that much-needed TD drive) and Edwards would lead the way. It’s still a long season, but it was Davis and Mullings in this one.

“I thought Kalel was running extremely hard,” said Moore. “He averaged 6.1 [yards] a carry. So, that’s pretty good. And he had three kick returns for 74 yards.”

Davis, a leukemia survivor from Los Angeles, and Mullings, a converted linebacker, were one-time long shots now getting big shots. Davis completed 15-of-25 for 118 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

“Him and Alex had a good training camp,” said Moore. “But, ultimately, he won the job the last week, really. He was consistent, took care of the ball, made plays against that defense. They played hard for both players, but he ultimately took the job and won it.”

Davis said, “I was excited when [Moore] pulled me in and let me know. I felt proud of the way I’d played in camp, but once the next morning came, I was like, ‘It’s time to really win football games.’ And that switch came pretty naturally for me. I knew I had to be a guy they could count on. Now it’s time to go, and I’m proud of how the guys battled.

“The guys trusted me and rallied around me, but we have a lot of work to do.”

He said he reflected this week on just how far he’d come, and the support of his family and friends. And he continued to give back by visiting Mott Children’s Hospital patients this week.

“I was meeting the kids yesterday before practice – kids with leukemia and also Down syndrome,” said Davis, “and me and Coach Moore had a great time with them. It just keeps putting things in perspective for me, and it reminds me of my why – why I want to be out there every day. Work my tail off for these guys and this team, and I think it helped with the nerves a little bit.

“Just knowing I’m ready for this opportunity – ready to make the most of it. And I’m proud of us.”

And the defense added to the memorable finish by eventually stopping one of the oddest drives you’ll ever see.

Quentin Johnson’s interception was called back after a video review showed he trapped the ball on the grass.

Makari Paige’s interception was called back on a questionable roughing the passer penalty.

And on a drive fueled by 45 yards of Michigan penalties, the Bulldogs had driven to the Wolverine 10-yard line.

Then All-America cornerback Will Johnson jumped a sideline route and took the ball 86 yards down the sideline for the fourth-longest pick six in program history.

Dominic Zvada, a transfer from Arkansas State, was another big star. He kept the Wolverines ahead when the touchdowns weren’t coming – nailing kicks from 45, 53 and a career-long 55 yards.

Questions aplenty after opening 30 minutes

The first half was disappointing after a great start.

Zeke Berry, the replacement at nickel back for the great Mikey Sainristil, intercepted Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene’s third-down pass on the first drive. He returned it five yards to the Bulldog 31-yard line for great field position.

Warren hit Loveland for 13 yards, receiver Semaj Morgan came around to take the handoff for nine yards, and Orji finished the drive by rolling right and hitting a wide-open Edwards for that 3-yard touchdown.

This was how the 2023 national champs played. The defense made a big play and the offense made the opponents pay.

However, the rest of the half was saved only by the defense continuing to play reminiscent of last year’s FBS national leaders in scoring defense (10.4 points) and yards allowed per game (247).

Warren was intercepted on a ball he threw over 50 yards in the air. It was a perfect spiral that came up just short of the goal line and receiver Fredrick Moore, and was picked by Cam Lockridge – who just happens to be the nephew of baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr.

He returned it 33 yards, but again the defense shut the door.

Warren appeared to go into a shell after that. He didn’t go deep again but picked up passing yards with short stuff to Loveland.

He often felt heat because of the running game woes. Short runs resulted in third-and-longs, and the pass protection wasn’t up to the challenge.

Jack Miller, the former Wolverine O-line standout, said of the blockers at halftime on the Michigan radio network: “It looked new. It looked a little sloppy at times. They’re not really at a high level. They can’t get that run game going.”

The line had tackles Evan Link and Myles Hinton. The guards were Giovanni El-Hadi and Northwestern transfer Josh Priebe. Dominick Giudice started at center but gave way to Greg Crippen before eventually returning.

It’s an entirely new Block M, and they have big shoes to fill. The Wolverine O-Line won the Joe Moore Award as the nation’s top blocking unit in 2021 and 2022, and then won a national championship and third consecutive Big Ten championship in 2023.

And the offensive line coach, Grant Newsome, is new, too. He’s a rising start assistant who had been coaching the tight ends, and now replaces Moore.

The timing by blockers on the front is difficult to master, and this group obviously needs time to come together.

“It takes time,” said Moore. “We’ll be better next week. So, it’s going to take time for them to jell, and I think we needed that last drive to get that feel and feel what it feels like to be together and grind through a game. It’s going to help them and prevail for us for sure.”

The No. 9 Wolverines get No. 4 Texas in Ann Arbor next Saturday afternoon.

All the talk was about which quarterback would replace J.J. McCarthy, but that quarterback doesn’t have a chance unless he leads an offense that can run effectively and pass protect efficiently.

The pivotal drive late in the fourth quarter was night-and-day different in terms of blocking and execution. So, that’s a start. It’s a step in the right direction.

Davis smiled when recalling the seven-play, 75-yard drive that put Michigan in control with the Loveland touchdown catch.

“That last drive – that’s Michigan football right there,” said Davis. “That’s just the momentum we needed. I kept telling the guys, ‘Hey, we’re going to get this thing rolling.’ And that brought us all closer together – gave us more confidence.”

Mullings kept repeating his mantra: “Just keep throwing the gut punches.”

Mullings grinned and added, “When we were able to soften them up, I was able to crack some big runs. On that drive, they didn’t seem like guys [who] wanted to tackle as much as they did earlier. So, we were able to take advantage of that and score. I used to play defense, and I know you don’t want to tackle over and over again.”

The Wolverines eventually wore down the tough Bulldogs, winning their 16^th straight game overall and 23rd consecutive at Michigan Stadium.