It’s a funny thing. Just when you think you know somebody – they pull out a curveball that makes you turn your head and go, “Where on earth did that come from?”
Last night, on a two-game skid in a high-strung environment against their rivals down the road, Michigan won a game that – just looking at the boxscore, you’d have to at least pause and ask yourself, “How the hell did they pull this off?”
In the 117th meeting between the two programs, the Wolverines welcomed Michigan State to the Big House in a matchup that saw both schools fighting to maintain their bowl eligibility and, arguably of greater concern, deciding whether the Paul Bunyan trophy would remain in Ann Arbor or make a return to East Lansing.
Roughly 24 hours before Saturday’s matchup, word got out that Michigan was handing the starting quarterback role back to the man who earned it at the start of the season – Davis Warren. It’s a decision that sparked a healthy debate leading up to kickoff. In his first three starts before getting benched, Warren threw six interceptions – including three in his last matchup against Arkansas State before being spelled in favor of Alex Orji late in that game, to only two touchdowns.
Believe it or not, it was a decision that made some degree of sense at the time. For all his faults in the early part of the season, Warren, by far, was the closest in terms of appearing up to the task of making Michigan a functional passing offense both in and out of the pocket. And yes, that is saying a lot about the Wolverines talent at the position this year, but when you’re struggling to muster six yards per attempt through the air and we’re more than halfway through the schedule – the time to have your head in the clouds has surely passed.
This version of Michigan isn’t winning games by running the ball every play for an entire half. They need to, at least at times, show an ability to throw the ball more than five yards past the line of scrimmage. Warren, prior turnovers aside, is the man on this roster who has proven he can do it.
So, with all that out in the open, it would be remiss not to address just how flat and unprepared Michigan looked in the first 28 minutes of this game on both sides of the ball. This is football, and we don’t put asterisks on an honest win. But, if anything, the Wolverines were very lucky that Michigan State struggled with execution on scoring opportunities when they could have dug their ‘big brother’ a much deeper hole to climb out of.
With less than 10 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Spartans had outgained Michigan to the tune of 135 yards to 1. Both of State’s drives to open the game would get down to the Wolverines 2-yard line, but it was the first of the pair that would prove costly for the visiting side. By several accounts, Michigan State came into Ann Arbor and unleashed what many would call a very ‘Michigan’ game script against the reeling Wolverines.
Michigan State running back Nate Carter tries to get by a Michigan defender. (Tony Patroske/The Pit Media)
Led by feature back Nate Carter, who might have been the best singular performer of the evening, the Spartans ran for 47 yards on 11 attempts in their opening drive, but facing a 4th down at the 2 yard line of Michigan, they suffered an unforced error – a delay of game penalty. Then, on a 25-yard field goal attempt to give them an early lead, the next stumble. Jonathan Kim, who entered Saturday’s affair 16-for-17, missed the easy chip shot, depriving State of value points that would punish the Wolverines for their poor tackling.
For all the good things Michigan did that ultimately won them this game, their tackling – both through the gaps and in the open field, was spotty at best. Just as surprising, the Spartans were not ailed by the same issues facing the vaunted Wolverine backfield.
To say this victory was a curveball from the Ann Arbor side, let’s distill it to the simplest terms possible. Michigan’s fearsome duo of Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards mustered a combined 42 yards on 22 attempts running out of the backfield, while Carter ran for 118 yards on 19 attempts. Meanwhile, Sparty won the time of possession battle by a staggering 14 minutes and outgained Michigan in total yards by nearly 100.
So again, in a game that only had one turnover by either side, how on earth did the Wolverines pull this off?
Well, it’s kind of simple, actually. Michigan, against all odds, found a way to get more production from the QB position than their opponent – and they did so when and where it mattered most: on scoring plays.
On 3rd-and-5 on the other side of the two-minute timeout, Davis Warren – for the first time in the game, was unleashed. Rolling out of the pocket, he converted on a pass to Semaj Morgan that drew the Wolverines within breathing distance of Spartan territory (another first to that point). On the next play, Warren hit Peyton O’Leary on a shallow dig route that the receiver ran upfield to move the chains again. Now in rhythm, Warren threw another completion to put the State defense on its heels – and vulnerable to run.
Michigan’s backfield, led by Edwards, went on to march the ball another 21 yards to the Sparty 10 yard line before ending the drive with a touchdown pass by Warren to his tight end, Colston Loveland (who found the endzone untouched under the guise of a blocker on the play). Michigan would miss the extra point attempt, but caught yet another fortunate break before the half. With less than 20 seconds remaining, Aidan Chiles was forced out of the pocket by the Wolverines pass rush, and ultimately strip-sacked by Josaiah Stewart.
The man who recovered the ball inside the Spartan’s 35? Big DT, Kenneth Grant. But, unlike in their win over USC, Grant learned his lesson from that outing and erred on the side of caution by not attempting to return it.
“I have to go down. I learned my lesson from last time.” Grant chuckled about the fumble recovery. “But yeah, we were already on the plus side of the field, so I was like, ‘We’re gonna get some points regardless,’ so I just went down.”
A couple plays later, Michigan claimed their first lead of the evening via a 37-yard FG from Dominic Zvada – and they never looked back.
Getting the ball to start the second half, the Wolverines unveiled the new standard of what opposing defense should likely expect for the remainder of the season, deploying a change up/committee approach between Warren and Alex Orji, with the latter providing a change of pace through his ability to run along the sidelines for big gains. Getting the snap with Mullings motioning in the backfield, Orji bounced to the outside with blockers in the open field for a 29 yard run, easily Michigan’s biggest offensive play to that point. Shortly after, Warren got a downfield look on a flea flicker play with Mullings – finding Tyler Morris open for 23 yards. The offense hammered in their second touchdown via another Orji designed run – this one for just two yards, giving Michigan a 16-9 lead.
If we’re trying to decide who deserves the game ball in this much-needed win for the Wolverines, you have a lot of options to choose from – and they all lead the Michigan offense. Colston Loveland caught two TDs on the day. Kirk Campbell, operating in a matchup where some of his most familiar weapons weren’t working, called a hell of a game in the middle portion of the evening, resulting in points on 4 out of 5 consecutive drives (three went for touchdowns). Michigan’s last scoring possession was arguably the OC’s best work of the season.
Michigan tight end Colston Loveland celebrates a touchdown against Michigan State. (Tony Patroske/The Pit Media)
Looking to give the home side a two-TD lead early in the fourth quarter, Warren has Donovan Edwards in the backfield at the snap. The halfback starts rolling to his quarterback’s right to receive the pitch – appearing to be a runner. But Edwards, in stride, has a streaking Loveland running open along the sideline, and throws to the tight end for an easy score. It’s the kind of disguise and creativity that the Wolverines have felt bereft of for over a month now, and it ultimately proved the difference between victory and defeat on a night when the run game (aside from a few Orji plays) was uncharacteristically muted.
After the victory, head coach Sherrone Moore spoke about how important this (and every) win is to his team, while also being celebrated as the first Michigan HC to win in their debut against State since 1948.
“Every win means so much to me. To win anything for this program – but it means a lot to be able to have that record. But really, the most important thing is that we got the win, and we’ll be ready to play next week.”
Moore also didn’t hesitate to praise the dude who’s been the engine for his offense all season, his starting tight end, Colston Loveland.
“Yeah, he’s just a dude. He just does dude things all the time. We try to give him the ball as much as we can and when we can. He just does great things, but his work ethic matches it. Who he is as a person matches it.”
But truly, the star of the night was the comeback kid. Discarded by the pundits and benched by his head coach just six weeks prior. Davis Warren, albeit after a rocky start through the opening half, was efficient, composed, and – most importantly, played clean, error-free football on a night when his teammates needed nothing short of it. And it says a lot when you hear your teammates speak up for you on a night like that, too.
“Last thing I do wanna hit on about this guy right here,” Edwards said, embracing his quarterback. “I think that if you go through a lot of adversity – adversity defines who you are, and this guy didn’t flinch one bit, and that’s somebody in our huddle that we respect because of the resilience that he’s had.”
Edwards added, “I truly respect and appreciate him, and he deserved the game that he had.”
Final score: Michigan 24, Michigan State 17.
