“We’ve got to do what we did today,” offensive lineman Gio El-Hadi said on UM radio when asked about the game at Ohio State. “That’s the focus.”
Entering the game, this hardly projected to be a barn burner offensively considering how poorly both teams have performed this season.
Michigan ranked 129th nationally averaging 290.1 yards a game, while Northwestern was No. 130 (284.4) and 128th in scoring (18.0).
Michigan finished with 396 yards, including 201 rushing. Mullings had 12 carries for 92 yards and Edwards had 10 for 65. The Wolverines had 25 first downs and were 11-of-16 on third down.
Northwestern mustered only 127 yards, including 10 yards rushing. The Wolverines had six sacks, including two from team leader Josaiah Stewart.
Mullings, in his final game at Michigan Stadium, scored two of his three touchdowns in the second half. After a 10-yard touchdown run to build a 24-6 lead on the Wolverines’ opening drive of the second half, Mullings greeted each offensive lineman with a hug and pat on the helmet for their blocking on the run.
Loveland, who scored on a three-yard pass from Davis Warren for the final points of the first half with eight seconds left, did not come out of the locker room after halftime.
The UM radio broadcast said it was because of an unspecified injury. The tight end is Michigan’s leading receiver and had three catches for 22 yards against the Wildcats.
He entered the game with 53 catches and needed one to set the single-season program record for receptions by a tight end.
Warren had his best game of the season and was 26-of- 35 for 195 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The Wolverines were without All-American cornerback Will Johnson for a fourthstraight game because of a turf toe injury. He missed a game earlier in the season and was injured early at Illinois, so Johnson has essentially missed the last five games.
Even without Johnson, the Michigan defense had little trouble with the Wildcats.
Michigan led a snoozer of a first half, 17-6, with a twoyard touchdown run by Mullings, a matter-of-fact 56-yard field goal by Zvada — he’s had 56-yarders in back-toback games — and a threeyard pass to Loveland with eight seconds left in the half.
That was the best drive of the first half as Michigan went 65 yards on 11 plays and was kept alive on a key 20-yard completion to Fred Moore on 3rd and 10 to the Wildcats’ 11- yard line.
The Wolverines outgained Northwestern 145-84, but they were neck and neck as far as rushing. The Wildcats had 16 rushing yards to Michigan’s 14 that included a nine-yard loss on a sack of Warren. Michigan had 11 first downs and was 5-of-8 on third down, while Northwestern was 1-of-6.
Warren was 19-of-24 for 131 yards, the touchdown pass to Loveland and also was intercepted early in the second quarter. The pick set up Northwestern’s first field goal, a 28-yarder by Luke Akers.
He would also make a 26- yard field goal.
Northwestern quarterback Jack Lausch was sacked three times, one apiece from linebacker Ernest Hausmann, defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and Stewart.