Mullings to the Rescue!

Wolverine tailback ran 63 yards to set up his 1-yard touchdown run, clinching 27-24 win over Southern Cal. Coach Moore: 'He can take it the distance. He can run you over.'

Photo Courtesy of University of Michigan Photography

Wolverine tailback Kalel Mullings (No. 20) broke one tackle and then sprinted past blockers Evan Link (No. 71), Josh Priebe (No. 68), Tyler Morris (No. 8), Dominick Giudice (No. 56) and Giovanni El-Hadi (No. 58). Trojan defensive lineman Braylan Shelby (No. 34) couldn’t catch up on Mullings’ 63-yard dash.

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Kalel Mullings saved the day when it looked so bleak for the Wolverines. And he just might have saved the season, too, in a wild 27-24 victory here Saturday over Southern Cal.

Mullings picked up the one yard needed on a third-and-1 play deep in Michigan territory, but then put the icing on the cake in a very big way. He broke the tackle attempt of defensive back John Humphrey and was off to the races for 63 yards before being taken down 17 yards from the end zone.

Then, on fourth-and goal at the one-yard line, Mullings followed the blocks of fullback Max Bredeson and his jumbo package of linemen over the goal line to win the game.

Wolverine coach Sherrone Moore said of Mullings: “There was a will to not give in. A will to want it more than them – to want it more than the man who was trying to tackle him. On the big play, the guy’s on top of him, dragging him, and he just runs and breaks another tackle and another tackle.

“And then the fourth-and-one to win the game, it was just challenge the O-line: ‘It’s on you.’ ”

Mullings sat down at the post-game press conference with quarterback Alex Orji on his right and Bredeson – his left knee and calf still bloody after the battle – on his left. It was hard for Mullings to stop smiling – just as it was difficult for the Trojans to bring him down.

I asked Mullings to recall that long run to glory.

“You know, I got up through the middle and I honestly don’t even remember the first part of the play,” said Mullings. “I kind of spun off the safety, and really I just kept my feet after I broke the safety’s tackle, and I was like, ‘Shoot. There’s no one else in front of me.’

“So, it’s kind of hard for me. I space out when I’m running and playing. I’m not going to lie. I don’t remember too much.”

His teammates will never forget any of it.

Orji said, “The view as great. I handed off. So, all I’m looking at is No. 20 streaking down the field. But I think it really felt like divine intervention. God was really on the field with us right there. We couldn’t have done it without Him. And then, like, the big guys up front.”

Bredeson added, “It was a great feeling because we knew we were close. We just had little details we had to clear up, and we knew it was right there and just had trust in everybody on that team that when we got the ball, something was going to happen. So, we were excited to see it really click. We knew it was right there. We just had to go do it.”

With the game on the line at the goal line seven plays later, Orji said, “We knew we were going to get it. That was just confidence. It’s do-or-die, backs against the wall. But we’re not just dogs. We’re wolves. ‘Let’s go do this thing.’ We all knew what was about to happen, and we called one of our favorite plays down there.”

Wolverine coach Sherrone Moore said the run off left tackle was strongly suggested by offensive line coach Grant Newsome. Moore said that conviction shown by Newsome convinced him to go with that play, and a jumbo O-line package featuring starting tackle Myles Hinton, guard Josh Priebe, center Dominick Giudice and Andrew Gentry as an added tackle.

Moore was asked for the blocking details on the winning play, and said, “We had an extra lineman on that side to kind of cave the whole side. Didn’t see the whole play, but know that there was a lot of movement – enough to get the touchdown.”

The extra offensive tackle is something Moore – the offensive coordinator and O-line coach last year for Jim Harbaugh – broke out in the 2023 win at Penn State, when the Wolverines ran the Nittany Lions into the ground.  

Mullings was met by two defenders at the goal line, but reached the end zone before being pushed back too late to matter.

It was time to “grind the meat,” as Mullings noted.

“We live for that,” said Bredeson.

“Yeah, we do, man,” added Mullings.

Mullings, a graduate student from West Roxbury, Mass., who started here as a linebacker, finished with 17 carries for 159 yards. He got the ball rolling with a 53-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and finished with a showing that will be remembered for years to come.

“He can take it the distance,” said Moore. “He can run you over [at 6-foot-2, 233 pounds]. He’s just done everything for us. He’s a great pass protector. He’s been incredible…When the game’s on the line, he wants the ball in his hands. And big plays happen.

“He’s a star. He’s a game-breaker.”

Moore added, “Kalel obviously showed that he should be the No. 1 guy, but they’ll both play a tremendous amount.”

Senior Donovan Edwards has been the starter, but now Mullings has rushed for 429 yards and four touchdowns (8.1 yards per carry) while Edwards has 224 yards and two rushing touchdowns for a 4.5-yard average.

Edwards also scored on a beautiful 41-yard run that was reminiscent of his long scoring scampers against Washington in last year’s national championship game and at Ohio State in 2022. But his lost fumble at the Michigan 18-yard line set up USC’s go-ahead touchdown with 7:01 remaining, giving the visitors a 24-20 lead.

And for a team that did not have a second half first down until Mullings ran those glorious 63 yards, it seemed close to hopeless. After all, how can you expect a team with no offensive momentum whatsoever to cover 89 yards with 4:02 remaining?

However, Moore recalled the confidence shown just before that drive by Orji, who ran for 43 yards in his first start but passed for only 32 yards.

“We’re about to go score,” the quarterback told the coach.

And, so, No. 18 Michigan – without superstar tight end Colston Loveland in this game and minus Saturday pick-six hero Will Johnson down the stretch (Moore said Johnson could’ve returned after his second-half injury) – found a way to win its 23^rd consecutive Big Ten regular season game against the No. 11-ranked team.

“That was just a representation of who we are – always straining until the very end,” said Mullings. “Throughout that [final] drive, it was just grit and grinding out. You know, we like to say ‘grind the meat.’ We just grinded meat the whole time – killing the clock and getting down there.

“Shout-out to the O-line. Shout out to Bred. Shout-out to everyone, man. Clearing up holes, and we were able to execute. And at the end of the day, a lot of football is about what you do when you’re facing adversity. So, it feels good to face some adversity and be able to overcome it. It’s the fourth quarter, not much time left, and we knew it was now or never.

“We were all able to make some plays. So, it was beautiful.”

Orji threw a 10-yard pass to tight end Marlin Klein, and Mullings ran the other 79 yards on the winning drive.

The Wolverines rushed for 290 yards and passed for 32 yards to account for 90 percent of their total offense on the ground.

“I mean, if we threw for a million yards today, and we lost, I’d be sitting here crying,” said Orji. “So, whatever it takes to win. If it’s 32 yards, if it’s 10, if it’s 100. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“We’ve just got to keep trusting in God, and trusting in each other.”

And giving the ball to Mullings when it matters most.