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Kalel Mullings was gassed.
Breathing hard, the graduate running back emerged from the Michigan football team’s huddle and lined up in the backfield. He just needed one more yard. He just needed to carry the Wolverines on his back one more time.
On fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line, Mullings received the handoff with a full head of steam. He was met with contact right at the line of scrimmage, but as he had done all day, he smashed through it, this time all the way into the endzone. With 37 seconds left on the clock, he gave No. 18 Michigan the push it needed to secure a narrow win over No. 11 Southern California.
Mullings was the undisputable star of the Wolverines’ offense on Saturday. He rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 9.4 yards per carry. The Trojans knew Mullings was going to run the ball, yet they couldn’t stop him as he rammed through them time and time again.
“He can take it the distance,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said. “He showed he can run you over. He’s just done everything for us. … And when the game’s on the line, he wants the ball in his hands, and he made plays happen. So yeah, he’s a star. He’s a game breaker.”
Fittingly, it was Mullings who broke the game open in the first quarter. After the Wolverines were forced to punt on their first two drives, their third drive wasn’t looking much better. Mullings just barely converted on fourth-and-1 to keep the drive alive, and on the very next play, he took the ball 53 yards to the end zone.
That touchdown was the longest rush of his career — but not for long.
With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Moore made sure Mullings got the ball in his hands. The Wolverines were on their back foot, trailing by four points with four minutes left. So they leaned on what was working: Mullings.
On third-and-1 at the Michigan 20-yard line, Mullings broke through a hole, easily picking up the first down. Spinning his way out of multiple tackles and dragging another would-be tackler with him, he kept his legs pumping and saw yards of green grass ahead of him.
“I just got up through the middle, and then I kind of spun off the safety, I think. “Really, I just kept my feet, and I was still up after I broke the safety’s tackle. So I was like, ‘shoot, there’s no one else in front of me, let me go.’ ”
His effort breathed life into the Wolverines’ offense. He embodied Moore’s signature brand of ‘smash’ football, running through contact and never giving up on a play.
“(I saw) a will to not give in, a will to want it more than them, want it more than the man that was trying to tackle him on that big play,” Moore said. “The guy is on top of him, dragging him, and he just runs, and he just breaks another tackle, another tackle, and he’s gone.”
Finally, 63 yards later, Mullings succumbed to a tackle. He set up Michigan 17 yards from the end zone, and he remained on the field to finish the job. Six rushes later — out of seven total plays —Mullings made his crucial fourth-down play, punching the ball into the end zone.
No matter the down, the distance or how tired he was, Mullings answered the call. He put his team on his back, continuously pounding through the line of scrimmage as he almost single-handedly powered the Wolverines to victory.
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