Can Michigan’s running game find redemption in Rose Bowl?

PASADENA, Calif. — On Dec. 31, 2022, as afternoon gave way to evening at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, one of the most sought-after interviews within a desolate Michigan locker room was reserve running back Kalel Mullings. 

A swath of reporters engulfed the linebacker-turned-ball carrier for what everyone knew would be an uncomfortable series of questions. Mullings’ goal-line fumble in the second quarter had robbed the Wolverines of a chance to narrow TCU’s double-digit lead in a game they ultimately lost by six points.

“I mean, honestly, it still hurts sometimes,” Mullings told FOX Sports on Saturday morning, nearly a full year removed from arguably the lowest moment of his career. “But that’s just life. You’ve got to let things go. We’re here again, it’s a new year, and a new opportunity to win. What happened last year doesn’t matter. Even if we won it all last year, it wouldn’t matter right now. So we’re just looking at where we are right now, being where our feet are, and attacking it day by day.”

Had Michigan enjoyed a bit more luck on the injury front last season, Mullings would never have been in that position at all. It was No. 1 tailback Blake Corum who paced the Wolverines with 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns as the bell cow for a rushing attack that ranked fifth in the country and second among teams from the Power 5 conferences. And when Corum suffered what proved to be a season-ending knee injury in the penultimate game of the regular season, it was No. 2 tailback Donovan Edwards who roared to life with 401 yards and three touchdowns total in wins over Ohio State and Purdue. But when a lingering hand injury left Edwards sporting a small cast during the team’s second consecutive trip to the College Football Playoff, the decision was made to entrust Mullings with short-yardage and goal-line opportunities — one of the many ill-fated choices by head coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff that afternoon.

Jump ahead to the present, and Michigan is back in the national semifinals for the third time in three seasons, set to face Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Monday. The Wolverines relied again on a precise and well-oiled rushing attack to get here. No tailback scored more touchdowns than the two dozen tallied by Corum en route to numerous All-America honors and the sport’s Comeback Player of the Year award. And no offensive coordinator in college football received more national plaudits than Sherrone Moore, who doubles as the team’s offensive line coach and amassed a 4-0 record as the interim coach for large chunks of Harbaugh’s suspensions. This marked the third straight year in which more than 42% of the Wolverines’ offensive output was gained on the ground.

But as reliable and metronomic as Michigan’s running game has been since Harbaugh recommitted to pounding the football in 2021, translating regular season success to the College Football Playoff proved far more difficult in crushing losses to Georgia and TCU. So while there are plenty of players and position groups eager to overwrite what happened on this stage the last two years — from the pick-six throwing quarterback to the humbled Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line — there are few Wolverines, if any, who’ve experienced the collective anguish of their running backs. For Corum, Edwards and Mullings, a shot at atonement is what they’ve been chasing all season.

“We can’t wait for it, honestly,” Mullings told FOX Sports. “We all believe that, you know, we are very instrumental to this team and to this team’s success. And we know that all 11 guys, especially those guys up front, are depending on us to do our jobs. We’re just excited to have another crack at it in this legendary stadium, you know?”

Corum’s pain has lingered the longest. In 2021, he was the B-side to Michigan’s bruising power back Hassan Haskins, who bludgeoned his way to 1,327 yards and 20 touchdowns, briefly setting a single-season program record until Corum broke it earlier this year. Corum only carried three times for 13 yards against a ferocious Georgia defense that produced five first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft and smothered the Wolverines from their opening snap to their last. When Corum ran the ball for the final time on Michigan’s second possession of the third quarter — by which point the outcome was already quite clear — he fumbled for the first time all season.

With Haskins also departing for the NFL, Corum ascended to the lead role in 2022 as quarterback J.J. McCarthy edged veteran Cade McNamara for the starting job. He blossomed into arguably the finest running back in the country with a string of eight consecutive 100-yard games from Sept. 24 through Nov. 11, the ill-fated afternoon in which a potential Heisman Trophy campaign derailed against Illinois. A low hit along the visiting sideline left Corum with a torn meniscus, sprained MCL and severe bone bruise that required surgery. He missed the remainder of the season and spent most of the Fiesta Bowl week donning a brave face while crutching from one team event to another.

“When I did get surgery,” Corum said at a Rose Bowl media event on Saturday, “I fell into a little hole, a little hole where I started doubting myself. Maybe I even started doubting God at that point. That’s not me. When everybody else is down, I’m [the guy saying], ‘You got this. You’re going to be good. You have to see the light at the end of the tunnel.’ I wasn’t doing that, and that’s what I learned about myself. That’s when I became more spiritual. I connected with God more. It’s been good. I tell everyone I’m blessed. I don’t want to say I’m glad I got injured, but it helped me become a better man. And I appreciate it.”

Corum’s decision to return for his senior year came with significant ramifications for Edwards, a dual-threat runner and receiver whom some people viewed as a breakout candidate after he rushed for 991 yards and seven scores in a supporting role last season, though a chunk of that production came after Corum was lost to injury. Still, Edwards’ playing time diminished from 346 snaps to 332 snaps despite staying relatively healthy for the first time in his career. His touches dropped from 158 combined rushes and receptions totaling 1,191 total yards in 2022 to just 139 touches for 631 yards in 2023.

Offseason personnel changes in the trenches left Michigan with its weakest set of offensive tackles in the last three years, and the Wolverines responded by leaning more heavily on interior linemen Trevor Keegan (LG), Drake Nugent (C) and Zak Zinter (RG). The corresponding reduction in perimeter runs from 40.4% a season ago to 36.8% this year further eroded Edwards’ role given his difficulties running between the tackles. His average gain plummeted to less than half of the 7.1 yards per carry he averaged in 2023, and running backs coach Mike Hart made clear that Corum is the preferred choice in short yardage and goal-line situations, subbing Edwards off the field nearly every time those opportunities arise. 

Teammates and coaches say Edwards has handled the situation with grace, accepting and embracing his role rather than complaining about the touches he isn’t getting. With Corum shouldering 44.2% of the rushing attempts, Michigan is relying on Edwards for his receiving abilities out of the backfield. Edwards caught a career-high 30 passes for 249 yards this season but became less and less involved as the year progressed. He had just five receptions for 46 yards in November, but that hasn’t stopped Edwards from cracking jokes with Hart about getting pulled off the field whenever Michigan nears the goal line. 

“He’s just a little smart a–, you know what I mean?” Hart told FOX Sports. “[He will say things like], ‘I know I gotta score from the 10, Coach, because you’re not going to let me be in on the 1- or the 2-[yard line].’ And I’m like, ‘You’re right.’ 

“The great thing about him is he knows. When he gets inside the 5, he’s like, ‘I’m jogging off the field.’ The one thing our guys know is that whatever situation it is, they know who’s going to be in the game and who’s supposed to be in the game. So they all understand their role, what it’s going to take to win, and they all accept it.”

Standing between Michigan’s tailbacks and the redemption they crave is No. 4 Alabama, a juggernaut known for indomitable defense under head coach Nick Saban, a seven-time national champion with the Crimson Tide and LSU combined. But this year’s Alabama isn’t quite the daunting Alabama of old, and there’s a chance the Wolverines’ power rushing attack could pose Saban’s team problems on the interior. The Crimson Tide limited Georgia to 78 rushing yards in the SEC championship game earlier this month, but they only rank 33rd nationally in run defense and an eye-catching 107th in defensive stuff rate, a metric that tracks the percentage of running plays stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage. 

So perhaps Monday’s game will be different. Perhaps the Wolverines can wrangle Alabama the same way they marauded through the Big Ten all season. And perhaps when it’s all said and done, Michigan can finally prove that its rushing attack is for real. 

“Just having another opportunity to be able to display what we can do,” Mullings said. “It’s a blessing, and we can’t wait to show out.”

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.