Michigan scores late to beat USC in physical Big Ten opener

At first, it looked like exactly the kind of old-school Big Ten welcome that would have made Bo Schembechler pale. Two defenses that rushed the ball. Two rushing attacks that chomped away at the bit one yard, two yards, three yards at a time. Two coaches who were wary of forward passes. And amid the rubble was USC, the Big Ten’s newest team on the block, forced to adopt a foreign style of football at the start of a new era.

It wasn’t the kind of game Lincoln Riley had hoped to find himself in for USC’s Big Ten debut, however, with his new quarterback being subjected to heavy attacks and his new defense hanging on for dear life and every rhythm of the game dictated by the defending national champions.

Still, a forced fumble in the fourth quarter gave the Trojans a late lead, one that seemed, for a moment, insurmountable for a one-dimensional Michigan offense that couldn’t muster more than a few dozen yards through the air. But then Michigan’s Kalel Mullings took a pass on third down and kept running, through one tackle, then another, then another. He rumbled and rumbled his way into scoring position on a 63-yard run, erasing any hope that USC had had just minutes before.

Instead, Michigan, a team that could barely get more than five yards downfield, was inside the two-yard line with 37 seconds left. And the USC defense, the victim of another big play, was gasping for breath before Mullings burst into the end zone once again, handing the Trojans a 27-24 defeat.

“We had a couple of chances to close the door,” Riley said. “But we ended up down a game.”

It all changed so quickly. Just minutes earlier, it seemed like a Herculean second-half effort might be enough for USC to survive its first conference test. Until Mullings broke through the second level on that final drive, the Trojans had limited Michigan’s offense to seven total yards after halftime.

USC receiver Duce Robinson (2) is brought down by Michigan linebacker Jaishawn Barham after a catch in the first half Saturday.

(Paul Sancya/Associated Press)

Linebacker Eric Gentry had even managed to break up a fumble on the previous drive, allowing USC to recover the ball in the red zone to cap its 12-tackle performance. The Trojans quickly took advantage, when Miller Moss found Ja’Kobi Lane with a bold pass between two defenders for a seemingly game-ending touchdown.

But a crushing run once again derailed a defensive performance that could have been stifling in the second half. Mullings had already sprinted 53 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, followed shortly by fellow senior Donovan Edwards, who scored from 41 yards out in the second quarter.

The three explosive runs were nearly all of Michigan’s offense. The average was just three yards on the other 55 plays.

It turned out that was all they needed.

“It was just better execution on their part,” linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold said. “We had the whole battle. It’s not that they wanted it more than we did. It was a four-quarter battle. But when it comes to big games like this, you have to execute.”

It didn’t help that USC’s offense started the game unable to move the ball more than a few inches, simply following Michigan in its attempt to spoil the game and run away with it. One team did better, with Michigan rushing for 199 yards to USC’s -16 at halftime.

Riley certainly should have known the game was going to go this way, having had five days to prepare for a new quarterback who had thrown just seven passes total before Saturday. Alex Orji ended up throwing for just 32 yards in his first start, while Michigan punted eight times.

USC failed to capitalize. After three possessions, including two behind, the Trojans had just three total yards.

“The defense played like crazy the whole game,” Moss said. “We didn’t help them much early in the game.”

Moss did what he could to energize USC’s offense after that slow start. When the Trojans finally came alive late in the second quarter, it was thanks to Moss’ poise in a crumbling pocket.

He finished with 283 yards and three touchdowns, but his biggest mistake haunted the Trojans until the end. After cutting the deficit to four yards with a touchdown pass to Duce Robinson, the USC defense forced a three-and-out, giving the Trojans a chance to steal Michigan’s momentum.

Instead, Moss gave it right back, throwing his first interception to Michigan All-American cornerback Will Johnson.

“I feel like I cost our team a lot,” Moss said. “You can’t do that against a good team. I have to be a lot better.”

The same could be said of USC’s defense, which gave up 290 rushing yards. Or a coach whose playmaking was questioned repeatedly Saturday, including in the fourth quarter.

A single Big Ten failure against the three-time defending conference champions won’t be enough to derail USC’s College Football Playoff hopes, just as three big rushing plays won’t define the progress of the Trojans’ revamped defense.

But Saturday was a less-than-warm welcome for USC, in a conference that is content to intimidate the newcomer.