Michigan took an old-school approach in its Big Ten opener. It’ll likely be more of the same on Saturday afternoon when the 12th-ranked Wolverines host Minnesota in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The conference built a “3 yards and a cloud of dust” reputation many years ago. Michigan’s field wasn’t dusty last Saturday, but the Wolverines (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) adhered to that ground-and-pound philosophy, rushing for 290 yards on 46 attempts in a 27-24 win over then-No. 11 Southern California.
Alex Orji, making his first career start at quarterback, amassed just 32 passing yards on 12 attempts. He had more yards on the ground, rushing for 43.
Orji was inserted into the lineup after Davis Warren was intercepted six times in Michigan’s first three games of the season.
Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore would like to get the passing game going, but he won’t stray too far from the successful formula on the ground.
“It was good. Good to get that first experience as a starter and play, especially in a big-time game and great atmosphere like it was on Saturday,” Moore said of Orji’s debut. “So, yeah, there’s a good bit that we can add and things that we can do to complement the running game.
“Obviously the running game was successful, but we want to be balanced, and we’ve had years in the past where we’ve had those games like that and we’ve had to win like that and (we’re) not afraid to win like that as long as we win. So, we’ll definitely just keep rolling.”
Kalel Mullings played a huge part in the victory, piling up 159 rushing yards and two touchdowns while averaging 9.4 yards per carry. He scored the game-winning TD with 37 seconds left.
Not bad for a backup. Donovan Edwards is the starter and scored on a 41-yard run against the Trojans, but so far, Mullings has been the more explosive player for Michigan. Moore is trying to decide if he should make Mullings the lead back.
“Kalel played a heck of a game, and you can’t deny the effect that he had on the game,” Moore said. “So we’ll just have those conversations as an offense.”
The Golden Gophers (2-2, 0-1) dropped their conference opener to Iowa last Saturday, 31-14. Hawkeyes running back Kaleb Johnson rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns.
That doesn’t bode well for Minnesota as it prepares for a road game against a ranked team that nearly rushed for 300 yards last time it took the field.
“We’ve got to be able to stop the run and we know that,” Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said. “They’re going to have things off of that with the play-action pass.”
Minnesota held a 14-7 halftime lead against Iowa before falling apart.
“I thought it was a tale of two halves,” Fleck said. “I thought we did a really good job in the first half, but again, you’re not going to stop Kaleb Johnson. … When somebody is that good, and their offensive line is so good, I don’t think you’re just gonna stop them. I think you can slow them down and I think in the first half, we were able to do that. But truly, it was just a tackling issue.”
The Gophers will rely on quarterback Max Brosmer (836 yards passing, five touchdowns) and top rusher Darius Taylor (6.3 yards per carry, three TDs) to pull off the upset. The Wolverines have won 26 of the past 28 meetings between the teams.
