Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

“Smash” is one of the new mantras for the Michigan football team under Sherrone Moore. Why wouldn’t this be the case? Michigan has had so much success running the football and wearing down opponents late in games over the last three years, so why change the approach now?

That’s exactly what fans were expecting to see when Michigan took the field for its season-opener against Fresno State. Despite the loss of many starters on the offensive line and running back Blake Corum, Michigan still had pieces in place to instill confidence there would be success on offense.

That is, until there wasn’t success on offense.

For the first half of Saturday’s game, the offense looked somewhat anemic. Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings struggled to find rushing lanes behind the new offensive line, while Davis Warren and the passing attack weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders.

Michigan’s defense did its part in keeping Fresno State off the scoreboard for the most part, but the discomfort set in once the Bulldogs scored at the start of the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 16-10.

The Wolverines badly needed to put points on the board when they got the ball back with just over 10 minutes left in the game, and the offense was able to deliver. The offense did so in a familiar fashion, going 75 yards to score a touchdown, 57 of which came on the ground courtesy of Alex Orji, Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings.

“They just really buckled down and played Michigan football — really grinded it out on the ground,” Moore said. “I was really proud of how our offensive line started to come off the ball.”

The performance of the offensive line was questionable throughout the game and it was tough for the group to connect at times, especially with centers Dominick Guidice and Greg Crippen rotating so frequently. The group came through when it mattered most though, instilling confidence the offense could continue to drive if needed.

“I’m just so proud of the way the guys battled — that last drive, that’s Michigan football right there,” Warren said. “I was praying we got another drive. I felt like if we got another drive we would’ve scored again.”

The offense as a whole came through when it needed to most, especially Warren, who made one of his best throws of the game to tight end Colston Loveland for an 18-yard touchdown to help put Michigan up 23-10.

Colston Loveland just makes things happen.

The star TE puts No. 9 @UMichFootball up two scores.#B1GFootball on NBC pic.twitter.com/Pk4I7ohrNw

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 1, 2024

Perhaps the MVP in the moment though was Mullings, who was responsible for 42 of Michigan’s 57 rushing yards on the touchdown drive. Mullings showed some good contact balance, vision and burst to help get Michigan in scoring position.

“Everyone was just telling me keep throwing gut punches, the guys are gonna soften up eventually,” Mullings said.

Mullings delivered those gut punches during the scoring drive as he broke off runs of 15, 21 and six yards. He finished the game with 92 yards on 15 carries, rather impressive numbers considering he entered the game with only 50 career rushes.

Despite getting the job done when it mattered most, there’s still some improvement that needs to happen before Michigan plays Texas next week. Mullings and Moore were encouraged by the ability of the offense to respond to adversity, but it would certainly be advantageous if it were able to get off to a faster start.

“I’m super excited about this offense. I think it can improve a lot in a week’s time,” Mullings said.

Hopefully that belief is able to come to fruition, as Michigan welcomes in Texas next week, arguably the toughest opponent it will face all season. There will be much less room for error in a big-time matchup like this, so the Wolverines will look to ensure the performances from Mullings and the offensive line were more than just flashes in the pan.

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