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Sherrone Moore, Alex Orji react to passing performance in win over USC
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Sherrone Moore said Michigan beating USC on Saturday despite passing for just 32 total yards was “his dream.”
Per ESPN Stats and Info, Michigan’s 32 passing yards were the fewest the Wolverines have had in a single game since at least 1996. The 4.6 yards per completion Michigan averaged was the worst clip for Michigan in a game in program history.
In beating a top-25 team, Michigan essentially morphed into a service academy. The Wolverines couldn’t throw with quarterback Alex Orji. But they didn’t exactly try. Orji threw 12 total passes while the ground game logged 44 runs. Michigan averaged 6.8 yards per rushing attempt (adjusted for sacks).
“If we threw for a million yards today but we lost, I would be sitting here crying,” Orji said after the game, per The Michigan Insider’s Alejandro Zuniga. “I wanted a ball-secure victory, and we got that.”
Orji attempted only 5 passes in the second half and only 1 in the third quarter.
USC turned the game around in that frame, dominating possession and outscoring the Wolverines 14-6. The Trojans had the ball for 11 minutes and 21 seconds in the third quarter. Michigan had a pair of 3-and-outs. (The points came off a pick-6 — a play that loomed large over the fourth quarter.)
“We felt like we needed to possess the ball,” Moore told reporters after the game. “There was a little lull in the third quarter. They made some good adjustments and then we had to adjust, so there was a chess match there in the run game.”
But Michigan answered the call in the fourth quarter. Taking over at its own 11-yard-line with 4 minutes to play in a game it trailed by 4, Michigan had to score a touchdown and it had to move the ball against a defense that knew what was coming.
Orji completed a passing to Marlin Klein on second-and-11 that gained 10 yards, move the Wolverines out of the shadow of their endzone, and provided some juice. On third-and-1, Kalel Mullings broke loose for 63 yards and moved the Wolverines inside the USC 20.
On fourth-and-goal from the 1, everyone knew what was coming. And Michigan executed.
Hard to underscore the importance of the second-and-long completion. It let Michigan run what it wanted to rather than having terms dictated for it.
“We talk a lot about situational football. When you have 4 minutes on the clock, there’s no need to be in a hurry, especially when you’re trying to keep the ball and possess the ball,” Moore said. “For us, we wanted to sustain drives and keep it out of (USC’s) hands. Kalel made a heck of a play on the run. Guys tackled him and he drags them off and runs for 63 yards. … Just incredible job by our kids.”
Moore said the mood in the locker room after the game was “insane.” Mullings finished the game with 159 yards and 2 scores. Donovan Edwards finally got rolling, with 74 yards on 14 attempts. Orji added 43 yards on the ground.
“Whether you run it, whether you throw it, people will say you should throw it more. We won,” Moore said. “We beat a good team.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.