{"id":71738,"date":"2025-01-17T15:00:34","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T20:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=71738"},"modified":"2025-09-13T16:11:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T20:11:03","slug":"the-defining-plays-of-michigans-2024-season-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/01\/17\/the-defining-plays-of-michigans-2024-season-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"The Defining Plays of Michigan’s 2024 Season: Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let’s pick up right where we left off<\/a>, shall we? At the season’s midpoint, Michigan took a trip to Champaign for a nominal top-25 matchup.<\/p>\n

More Defining Plays From Michigan’s Season<\/h2>\n

Game 7: Illinois Fans Rush The Field After Outlasting A Rock Fight<\/h3>\n

This is not meant to sour folks on rushing the field. This is not the space for such NIMBY complaints. Still, Illini fans had this game circled as Memorial Stadium’s centennial, a 100-year party in the making. They got to celebrate with a win over a (dubiously) ranked Michigan team, bully for them.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the nature of that win is worth some discussion, as this game marks a turning point in Wink Martindale’s defensive performance. From this point forward, the Wolverines only gave up more than 21 points in one other game – a defenestration by Oregon. In this game, they held Luke Altmyer<\/a> to just 80 yards passing and got eight<\/em> tackles-for-loss as a team. Martindale and his charges put the clamps down from here on out.<\/p>\n

Still, the field-rushing gets top billing. Hey, you beat the defending national champs. Have a blast about it.<\/p>\n

Game 8: Donovan Edwards Enters The Quarterback Competition Against Michigan State<\/h3>\n

We highlighted Donovan Edwards<\/a>‘ big-play knack in Part One, but we must briefly commend his career passing line. He finished his college career a perfect 4\/4 for 131 yards and two touchdowns and a rating of 560.1. Simply tremendous. In this game his 23-yard toss to Colston Loveland<\/a> gave the Wolverines the winning points and kept Paul Bunyan in Ann Arbor.<\/p>\n

It also gives us a chance to memorialize Loveland’s Michigan career, which ends with him setting the single-season record for receptions by a tight end (56). Loveland was a Spartan destroyer in a winged helmet, finishing with 10 catches for 146 yards and four scores<\/a> against the in-state rival. Beyond that, he was perhaps the greatest receiving tight end in school history. While his blocking never quite reached the heights of compatriots AJ Barner and Max Bredeson<\/a>, it improved during his time on campus. He’s going to make some NFL team very happy in the coming years.<\/p>\n

Game 9: Davis Warren Throws A Touchdown In A Loss To The #1 Team In The Country<\/h3>\n

Oregon was always going to annihilate Michigan in this game. Thus, we entered it prepared to sift through the wreckage for bright spots. Davis Warren<\/a> looking like a vaguely plausible quarterback option? We’ll certainly take it.<\/p>\n

The touchdown in question here was a modest six-yard score to Peyton O’Leary<\/a>, but it came at the end of an honest-to-goodness Offensive Drive. The Wolverines got the ball early in the second half and went 75 yards in 10 plays. It was something we needed to see – some proof of life that this team could string together a productive sequence.<\/p>\n

Game 10: Zeke Berry’s Crucial Interception Cannot Stop #10WINDIANA<\/h3>\n

Indiana was a phenomenal story for the 2024 season. Given that Michigan seemed to be going nowhere fast, it was nice to have a Big Ten storyline to root for by proxy.<\/p>\n

Indiana’s offense came into this game on an absolute heater, averaging 46 points per game and never scoring fewer than 31. Most expected them to unleash decades of pent-up frustration and beat the brakes off Michigan. That the Wolverines were able to hold them to just 20 was a huge win in context.<\/p>\n

For Zeke Berry<\/a>, the pick was some payoff on the promise of his potential. With star cornerback Will Johnson<\/a> injured, Berry stepped in after an up-and-down career at safety\/nickel back. He jumped a route on Indiana’s first drive of the second half and gave Michigan first and goal from the seven. They converted it into a field goal, but it was great foreshadowing for Berry’s emergence over the season’s home stretch as a viable cornerback option.<\/p>\n

Game 11: Josaiah Stewart’s First Sack In The Dismantling of Northwestern<\/h3>\n

We’re using this play as a catch-all to celebrate a number of big plays by Michigan’s defensive in-transfers in a 50-6 rout. Josaiah Stewart<\/a> gets top billing for being a spark plug. The undersized defensive end is seemingly shot out of a cannon on every snap, and has grown into a viable draft pick since he came to Ann Arbor after a few years at Coastal Carolina.<\/p>\n

Ernest Hausmann<\/a> also had a sack in this game. He looks set to lead the 2025 defense as a do-it-all linebacker. Snagging him from Nebraska was a major boon for this defense’s second level. FCS Albany sent grad transfer Aamir Hall<\/a> to the Wolverines. Hall took some time to adjust to the competition level, but by season’s end was a reliable, steady contributor on the outside. He had a pick, a tackle for loss, and a pass defensed in this one.<\/p>\n

Michigan has fared well in their portal targets the last few years. These successes should excite fans for the 2025 crop, which includes cornerback Caleb Anderson<\/a> (Louisiana), linebacker Troy Bowles<\/a> (Georgia), and defensive tackles Damon Payne<\/a> (Alabama) and Tre Williams<\/a> (Clemson). Anderson in particular looks to follow in the recent lineage of Hall and 2023 stalwart Josh Wallace.<\/p>\n

Game 12: Kalel Mullings Runs 27 Yards Straight Through The Heart Of Ohio<\/h3>\n

Michigan had third down and six yards to go from the Ohio State 44. The game was tied, 10-10.<\/p>\n

Kalel Mullings<\/a> donned his cape one last time to save Michigan from itself and deliver a fresh batch of agony to the Columbus faithful. Michigan continued to run out the clock and inch closer to give Dominic Zvada<\/a> a no-doubter field goal. The Buckeyes got the ball back with 45 seconds left and went one yard in four plays to end the game. It brought the Wolverines to four straight wins in this rivalry. This one was made all the more hilarious by just how heavily favored OSU was.<\/p>\n

The postgame fracas brought pepper spray and a great deal of pearl-clutching. There was Mullings once again to step up in the aftermath and emphatically deliver a closing argument: “They gotta learn how to lose, man.<\/a>”<\/p>\n

Bonus! Game 13: Alabama Cannot Stand The Rain<\/h3>\n

It’s cheating slightly to select three plays here, but they must be taken jointly for full effect. In a span of four possessions, the Tide turned the ball over on downs, fumbled, threw an interception, and fumbled again. The Fumble-Pick-Fumble sequence was harrowing for Bama’s fans and hilarious for Michigan’s. The game was effectively a glorified scrimmage, especially considering the number of Michigan opt-outs. And yet, suddenly, miraculously, Michigan had a 16-0 lead.<\/p>\n

That wound up being enough, as Martindale’s defense continued to harass Jalen Milroe<\/a> all afternoon. Offensive woes took a backseat amidst the season-ending bounty. They jettisoned Kirk Campbell and brought in Chip Lindsey to coach the offense. Michigan beat the Buckeyes, punished Alabama, and won the Bryce Underwood sweepstakes. All told, despite the midseason doom and gloom, the Wolverines can consider Sherrone Moore’s first season a success.<\/p>\n

The future looks quite bright in Ann Arbor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let’s pick up right where we left off, shall we? At the season’s midpoint, Michigan took a trip to Champaign for a nominal top-25 matchup. More Defining Plays From Michigan’s Season Game 7: Illinois Fans Rush The Field After Outlasting A Rock Fight This is not meant to sour folks on rushing the field. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5249,"featured_media":71782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,35574,5,7361,10906],"tags":[33893,35,8773,33859,8743,34074,5854,420,279,73,3011,33954,34075],"class_list":["post-71738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-alabama-crimson-tide","category-bigten","category-bowl-games","category-cfb","tag-aamir-hall","tag-alabama-crimson-tide","tag-colston-loveland","tag-davis-warren","tag-donovan-edwards","tag-josaiah-stewart","tag-kalel-mullings","tag-michigan-state-spartans","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-ohio-state-buckeyes","tag-sherrone-moore","tag-will-johnson","tag-zeke-berry"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71738"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71783,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71738\/revisions\/71783"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}