ANN ARBOR, Michigan — It certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Wolverines proved they still have something left in the tank after coming out of the Big House with a 27-24 win over the USC Trojans. It was a tale of two halves for Michigan. The Wolverines couldn’t make a mistake in the first half and went into halftime with a 14-3 lead — and it felt like even more than that.

But the second half was mostly USC. The Trojans marched up and down the field against Michigan, and the Wolverines didn’t get a first down until late in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines made a few mistakes that led to two touchdowns for USC, but on Michigan’s final drive, Kalel Mullings put the team on his back. The workhorse back led Michigan down the field and capped it off with a touchdown on fourth down in the final seconds.

The Wolverines are now 3-1 on the season and have added a key win to their resume.

Here are my Michigan players from the game.

What a performance from Mullings. He finished the game with 159 yards on 17 carries (9.4 YPC) and two scores. Mullings broke off a 63-yard run in the final minutes to set himself up with the final touchdown of the game. Mullings broke three tackles on that 63-yarder and he continues to run extremely hard. Michigan will need to treat him as the lead back going forward while Donovan Edwards is used as a change of pace back.

Speaking of Edwards, he made a huge mistake dropping the ball in the fourth quarter, leading to a USC touchdown. But the senior back had a solid game outside of that mistake. Edwards had 74 yards on 14 carries (5.3 YPC) and a score. Edwards broke loose for a 41-yard touchdown in the first half. He also caught a pass for nine yards. I really wish Michigan would adjust to using him more in the passing game. The Wolverines need some kind of spark through the air and Edwards could be that.

If it weren’t for Kalel Mulling’s final drive, Josaiah Stewart would have a strong argument to be Michigan’s player of the game. Stewart was a stalwart defender for the Wolverines and was all over the field. He was constantly in the backfield keeping Miller Moss on his toes, connecting with him multiple times. Stewart had four tackles, two sacks, three TFLs, four QB hurries and one forced fumble. The Wolverines needed their front four to have a big game and they did just that with Stewart leading the way.

Will Johnson left the game and headed to the locker room, but Johnson’s impact was felt in this game. At times, Johnson would give up five or more yards and hold things in front of him, where Miller would throw Moss his way for a completion. But Johnson made Moss pay dearly. In the third quarter, Moss threw to the flat to his left and Johnson closed like a rocket to grab an interception and take it to the house for a 42-yard interception return for a Michigan touchdown. Great players make big plays in big games and that’s exactly what he did.

Mason Graham and his teammate Kenneth Grant have been quiet this season, but they both played well, and Graham was really, really good. He missed a tackle in the second half, but he made up for it with several key plays. He tied for the team lead with six tackles, Graham had one sack, one TFL, and one QB hurry. Graham stepped up in a big game.

Tommy Doman has had a rough start to 2024, but he was one of the unsung heroes in Michigan’s win on Saturday. Doman punted seven times for 335 yards. He averaged 47.9 yards per punt, had a long punt of 56 yards and three times had USC inside the 20-yard line. Doman has always been a reliable punter, and he showed that again against the Trojans.

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Takeaways: Final-game heroics help Michigan Football surpass USC

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