Wolverines secure season-opening win against Fresno State with 17 points in the fourth quarter

Website: Ann Arbor, Michigan (Michigan Stadium)

Score: #9 Michigan 30, Fresno State 10

Records: UM (1-0), Fresno State (0-1)

Participation: 110,665

Next UM event: Saturday, September 7 – vs. #4 Texas (Michigan Stadium), 12:00 p.m. (TV: Fox)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The ninth-ranked University of Michigan football team opened its 2024 season with a strong second half in a 30-10 victory over Fresno State on Saturday night (Aug. 31) at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines scored 20 points and rushed for 180 yards in the final two quarters to pull away and secure the win.

Colston Loveland brought off a career game, scoring 87 yards on a career-best eight pass catches and a game-winning 19-yard touchdown catch with 5:43 minutes left in the game. After a trio of Kalel Mullings storms 42 yards in a 16-10 battle, Davis Warren dropped back during the game and fired a line drive to Loveland, who carried the ball the remaining nine yards and scored.

Overall, the Wolverines (1-0) gained 269 yards (121 passing, 148 carries). Mullings, the game's leading runner, posted a career-high 92 yards on 15 attempts, while Warren finished the game with 15-25 passing for 118 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Michigan’s run defense was strong and held Fresno State to just nine yards on the ground when Josaiah Stewart (two sacks, three TFL) and Rayshaun Benny (one sack, two TFL) each contributed five tackles. In the passing game, the Wolverines allowed 238 yards and had two interceptions.

The first time it happened was on the third offensive play of the game, when Zeke Berry recorded his first career interception after a deflected pass. The second came with 3:57 minutes left in the game, when Will Johnson recorded his first turnover of the season by skipping a flat route, catching the ball and returning it 86 yards for a defensive touchdown and extending Michigan's lead to 20 points late in the game.

In his first game with the Wolverines, Kicker Dominic Zvada was crucial for the victory, as he converted all three of his field goal attempts, two of them from over 50 yards (53, 55).

On the third offensive play of the game, Berry intercepted a ball at the Fresno State 36-yard line and returned it five yards to set up Michigan's first offensive play of the season. It took the Wolverines five plays to reach the end zone with a three-yard rollout touchdown between Alex Orji And Donovan EdwardsThe touchdown pass was the first of Orji's career and only his second pass attempt.

More than 18 minutes of play passed before Fresno State scored again with 7:35 left in the first half, kicking a 41-yard field goal to make the score 7-3. The game's scoring drought ended with seven punts and an interception by Warren.

Michigan responded with a field goal of its own with 31 seconds left in the first half. Zvada hit the goal posts for the first time for the Wolverines with a 45-yard kick and ended the half with a 10-3 lead.

On the first drive of the third quarter, the Maize and Blue used a steady passing attack downfield, with Loveland receiving two passes for a total of 26 yards, leading to a 53-yard field goal by Zvada to extend the lead to 10 points.

The Wolverines finished the game strong, scoring a total of 17 points in the final quarter. First, Zvada added his third field goal of the day with a 55-yard pass with 12:42 left in the game. Loveland secured a 19-yard receiving touchdown to extend Michigan's lead to 23-10 with less than six minutes left on the clock. The final points of the game came on Johnson's 86-yard pick six and Zvada's extra point.

Michigan continues its nonconference schedule next Saturday (Sept. 7) against fourth-ranked Texas, with the game scheduled to kick off at noon on Fox.