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Best and worst from Michigan’s win over Fresno State

By Clayton Sayfie,

6 hours ago

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Michigan Wolverines football defeated Fresno State , 30-10, to open the 2024 season. Here are the best and worst from The Big House.

Best back

Michigan has a 1A and 1B at running back with senior Donovan Edwards and graduate Kalel Mullings . Before the season, Edwards — who’s on the cover of the EA Sports College Football 25 video game — ate up most of the headlines. But Saturday night, Mullings devoured most of the yards, racking up 92 on 15 carries.

Which one of Edwards or Mullings will be trusted in the big moments remains to be seen — it’ll likely be situational, given their different skill sets — but the latter was the man against the Bulldogs.

On Michigan’s final touchdown drive to push the lead to 23-10, Mullings ripped off runs of 21 and 15 yards, totaling 42 on the 75-yard drive that was capped off by a scoring strike from senior quarterback Davis Warren to junior tight end Colston Loveland .

Edwards, meanwhile, got the short end of the stick in regard to how his teammates blocked on his carries, and he didn’t find as many holes as Mullings did. He carried 11 times for 27 yards with a 7-yard long, also catching 2 passes including the season-opening touchdown.

The longshot is Michigan’s best shot

How about Davis Warren? The leukemia-surviving former walk-on has one heck of a story.

It’s been clear for years that he had high-level arm talent, but it was murky as to whether or not he’d get the shot to start at Michigan. He could’ve looked elsewhere but didn’t, and now he’s the guy behind center for the Maize and Blue.

Warren found out he’d be the starter earlier this week, and his teammates rallied around him. They’ve seen the way he’s worked over the last three-plus seasons and know he’s earned it.

Junior Alex Orji had a role and will continue to, as well. He rushed 5 times for 32 yards, ripping off an 11-yarder, and went 1-for-2 passing with a 3-yard touchdown to Edwards that put the Wolverines up 7-0.

But Orji, who’s now thrown 4 career passes in games, also showed a sign of weakness by skipping a pass on a route toward the sideline — way off target.

Warren was the better option according to the Michigan coaching staff, despite that seeming unlikely at points over the last few years. He went 15-of-25 for 118 yards and a score with 1 pick — solid, but not great. There are bigger tests ahead but also time for him to improve and settle in this season. The pieces around him meshing will help, too.

Making the Longhorns think …

The Michigan offense had a rough outing until putting together a 75-yard touchdown drive to go up 23-10, and it obviously wasn’t by design.

The Wolverines’ offensive line got off to a slow start, allowing too much pressure and not opening up enough holes, and the pass game was more “dink and dunk” than dynamic. U-M simply didn’t execute enough of what is its bread and butter.

The defense, on the other hand, showed a lot of exotic looks — it’s called the “amoeba defense” for a reason — under first-year coordinator Wink Martindale . The former NFL coach knows what’s looming — a Texas team led by a veteran, Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback in Quinn Ewers .

Martindale sent blitz quite a bit, used some simulated pressures and mixed up coverages. Not everything worked, but Texas now has to prepare for anything and everything.

Breakout performance

Michigan senior edge Josaiah Stewart was all over the field. He posted his fifth career multi-sack game with a pair of quarterback takedowns, tied for the team’s high with 5 tackles, 3 of which came behind the line of scrimmage.

It’s hard to imagine a Michigan edge player being faster than Stewart, who made plays all over — front side, backside, in the backfield and down the field.

Stewart and junior Derrick Moore waited a year for this opportunity, and they’re taking advantage. Moore added 3 tackles of his own against the Bulldogs.

Playmaker

Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene gave his team a chance, and that’s not something that can be said about every Group of Five quarterback in a hostile environment at a national powerhouse’s stadium.

Without any semblance of a run game, Keene completed 22 of his 36 passes for 238 yards and a score. He had 8 passes that went for 15-plus-yard gains, including a 19-yard scoring toss.

Michigan’s zone defense was picked apart a few different times, with Keene finding the soft spots. Senior nickel back Ja’Den McBurrows also whiffed on a tackle on the touchdown.

Most dominant area

Michigan’s run defense was lights out, giving the Bulldogs nowhere to run. Fresno State registered only 9 rushing yards, averaging 0.4 yards per carry. Taking out sacks, it recorded only 2.1 yards per rush. Its longest run on the night was 9 yards, and the Bulldogs had only 2 dashes of 5 or more yards.

Michigan junior defensive tackle Mason Graham was dominant and has other great linemen to play alongside. He had 4 tackles, and senior Rayshaun Benny notched 5 stops with 2 for loss and a sack.

Fresno State struggled to run the football last season, when it averaged only 105.4 rushing yards per contest, so it wasn’t a ground juggernaut coming in. But 9 rushing yards speaks for itself.

Weapon

Hello, Dominic Zvada .

The junior and Arkansas State transfer connected on field goals from 45, 53 and 55 yards out, and he made them look easy. No drama.

If Michigan’s offense is going to struggle at the beginning of the season, having that kind of safety blanket is a major plus. The Wolverines are in his range when they approach the opponent’s 35-yard line, almost like an NFL team.

Separation anxiety

Former Michigan All-Big Ten defensive lineman Ryan Van Bergen said it best when he was asked on The Wolverine Postgame Show if the Wolverines’ wide receivers needed to do a better job creating separation down the field.

No, he responded, they might have separation anxiety from the football, since they weren’t getting it thrown their way.

Van Bergen was speaking in jest, of course, but the lack of production from Michigan’s wide receivers was jarring. Loveland caught 8 passes for 87 yards and a score, compared to 8 receptions for 34 yards for the rest of his pass-catching teammates.

Like the crutch that is Zvada once Michigan gets into enemy territory, Loveland is a safety blanket for the team’s brand-new starting quarterback. He’s one of the elite tight ends in America and, other than having one drop, put that on display Saturday night.

But Michigan’s wideouts must get involved in the coming weeks, too, for the offense’s own good.

There goes that man

The end of the fourth quarter was an interesting time for the Michigan defense. The entire crowd at The Big House and the group itself was visibly upset at a seemingly bogus roughing the passer penalty on senior edge TJ Guy that negated a graduate safety Makari Paige interception.

After Guy’s 15-yard penance, Michigan committed 30 more yards worth of penalties — and all of a sudden Fresno State was at the U-M 20-yard line.

That’s when junior cornerback Will Johnson said “enough is enough” by jumping a route and dashing 86 yards for a touchdown with the pick-six.

Game. Set. Match.

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