No. 18 Michigan inflicted a pair of significant blows in the first half against No. 11 USC on Saturday, taking a 14-3 lead into the break behind stingy defense and explosiveness in its run game. Kalel Mullings busted a 53-yard touchdown run on the Wolverines' third possession to open the scoring after the teams traded early punts.

Kalel Mullings 53-yard TD run (Michigan 7, USC 0) Mullings put the first touchdown of the afternoon on the board with an impressive 53-yard touchdown run, giving the Wolverines an early 7-0 lead over the Trojans.

However, the Michigan football coaches did just that. Sherrone Moore installed Alex Orji as the starting quarterback, deciding that running (and protecting) the football was much more important than having someone who could make throws downfield — which occasionally ended up in the hands of someone wearing the wrong uniform.