All hoped seemed lost as Saturday afternoon turned to evening at Michigan Stadium.

Michigan football’s two-touchdown lead had evaporated and its offense had gone three-and-out or turned the ball over on five consecutive possessions to open the second half. Even its vaunted defense, which had come up with so many timely stops, allowed a touchdown on third-and-16 to give up the lead in the fourth.

But then, Kalel Mullings came to the rescue. After U-M had gained just 23 total yards on 15 plays in the second half, Michigan’s bruising running back ripped off a 63-yard scamper, trucking through USC defenders to get into the red zone with two minutes left.

From there he plowed his way down to the eight yard line with 1:17 to play and made it first-and-goal as the time ran under one minute. Then, with 41 seconds left, Mullings bulldozed his way home on fourth-and-goal behind Max Bredeson, as Michigan survived its Big Ten opener, 27-24, in a beautiful late-afternoon battle in Ann Arbor.

After five straight drives without a first down, Mullings went eight plays and 80 yards by himself for the win as he finished with 17 carries for 159 yards (9.4 yards per carry) and two scores.

"I feel like that's just a representation of who we are, always straining until the very end," Mullings said postgame. "Throughout that drive it was just grit and grinding out. We like to say 'grind the meat' and we were just grinding meat the whole time, killing clock and getting down there. Shout out to the O-line, shoutout to (H-back Max Bredeson), shoutout to everyone clearing up holes and we were just able to execute.

"At the end of the day, a lot of football is what you do when you face adversity, so it feels good to face some adversity and overcome it."

TRENDING: With Michigan's season-defining 27-24 win over USC, everything is back on the table

Before Mullings’ long run, the moment seemed all but impossible. Just minutes earlier, Donovan Edwards fumbled in Michigan’s own territory and set USC (2-1, 0-1 Big Ten) up inside the red zone. Three plays later, Miller Moss found Ja’Kobi Lane on third-and-16 for a 24-yard touchdown with top cornerback Will Johnson in the locker room getting X-rays.

Michigan's next drive went: Alex Orji for a loss of 1, Mullings for a gain of 1, then a sack, but U-M's defense came up with one last stop to get the ball back for its offense.

The Wolverines made a change at quarterback this week and opted to go with the mobile Orji, with the goal of minimizing turnovers, maximizing time of possession and mauling its way to victory. But there was no success in the passing game at any point, as Orji was 7 -for-12 for 32 yards and sacked twice.

"Whether you run it or whether you throw it — they always say you should throw it more — we won," head coach Sherrone Moore said after his first win over a top-25 team as U-M's full-time coach. "For us, that's what it was all about."

Michigan (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) hosts Minnesota next week.

Topsy-turvy second half

For much of the afternoon, it never appeared the game would be in jeopardy. Michigan led 14-3 heading into the third quarter, when the Trojans opened with a 12-play, 75-yard drive and scored on third-and-9 from the Michigan 5-yard line to get within 14-10.

After a U-M three-and-out, USC had the ball and momentum with a chance to take the lead when it appeared Michigan would flip the game for good. On third-and-3, Johnson jumped a curl route and took the interception 42 yards for a pick-six to put Michigan up 10 after the extra point was tipped.

Three plays later, the Trojans’ Woody Marks — who ran six times for 5 yards in the first half — ripped off a 65-yard rush up the middle to make it first-and-goal. Marks finished with 13 carries for 100 yards.

It appeared once more Michigan had come away with a stop when Josaiah Stewart stripped Moss on third-and-goal and Kenneth Grant came running away with the ball. However, Grant had the ball stolen away on his return, and USC got a new set of downs.

Two plays later, Moss found Jay Fair for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 20-17 late in the third quarter. Moss finished 28-for-51 for 283 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

"Obviously, great player trying to make a great play as he tried to take it back and didn't see the guy," Mason Graham said of his former roommate. "That's just a football play, but at the end of the day, we're all ready to line up again, doesn't matter what happens."

REACTION: Michigan football beats USC with 32 passing yards: College football reacts

Michigan’s offense a tale of two halves

Everything was clicking early for Michigan with a simple game plan. The Wolverines wanted to win the time of possession battle, stay in manageable down-and-distances, and keep USC's high-powered attack on the sideline. So, it ran, then ran again, then ran some more.

Though the Wolverines didn't live on the ground quite as much as their game last year at Penn State when they ran the final 32 plays of the game, they did run 27 times compared to seven pass attempts in the first half, and just about everybody had success at some point.

It started with Mullings, who after converting fourth-and-1 near midfield by maybe an inch, ripped off a 53-yard touchdown to open the scoring, 7-0, with 3:10 left in the first. Then, it was Edwards' turn. After his first seven carries went for just 12 yards, he finally found a crease in the second quarter and ran 41 yards nearly untouched to put the Wolverines up 14-0.

"Complementary football is the best football," Graham said. "Them running the ball really helped us get our legs back, we weren't tired going out there so we could all play at the highest level."

Edwards finished with 14 carries for 74 yards and a score, but the one almost-costly turnover.

Even Orji had success early. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound junior saw six of his seven touches go for five yards or more as he converted four first downs in the first two quarters on just seven attempts. Wide receiver Fredrick Moore took an end-around for 14 yards to help spread the USC defense and open lanes in the middle.

That all changed after the break when USC adjusted. Michigan’s first three drives all resulted in three-and-outs and netted just seven yards. The fourth possession was the game-changing fumble, and the fifth possession went backwards.

That is, until the sixth and final second-half possession changed the story of Michigan's season.

"The fourth-and-1 to win the game, it was challenge the O-line," Moore said. "The game's on the line, what are you going to do? That's the situation we had in practice throughout camp and they lived up to the bell, proud of them."

Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X @RealTonyGarcia.

Make "Hail Yes!" your go-to Michigan Wolverines podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football saved by Kalel Mullings in wild 27-24 rally vs USC