Michigan football was off and running over Arkansas State of the Sun Belt Conference in Saturday's game at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines were in control for most of the game, with the 28-18 final score not reflective of the swath between the two teams.
The big news coming out of this game: Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore made a quarterback change in the third quarter, benching Davis Warren in place of Alex Orji. Warren threw three interceptions. Who starts at quarterback next Saturday vs. No. 11 USC is unknown, but will be the big debate in the coming days.
A concerning injury also mars the win, when the No. 16 Wolverines' best offensive player, tight end Colston Loveland, exited the game in the third quarter with a left arm or shoulder injury. He walked to the locker room and did not return.
Loveland initially hurt himself late in the second quarter on a 20-yard catch, falling hard on his left arm and immediately running over to the sideline. The play was negated due to illegal formation. Then, on the first play of the third quarter, Loveland got hit on the left shoulder from the defense on a 7-yard catch-and-run. He was quickly ruled out.
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Loveland is considered the top tight end in the 2025 NFL draft, and has drawn comparisons to Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro Travis Kelce.
Here's the updates and highlights of Michigan football's game today vs. Arkansas State.
Arkansas State scored a touchdown with 8 seconds remaining on a 22-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Reginald Harden Jr. He broke past two tacklers to dive into the end zone. The 2-point conversion was successful. But the Wolverines win, 28-18, to improve to 2-1 before Big Ten Conference play begins next week.
Now the talk will be: Does Michigan start Alex Orji in next week's showdown vs. USC? And what in the injury status of Colston Loveland?
Orji had Moore wide open deep down the middle of the field on the first play of the drive, but the ball landed about 5 yards too far. Moore ran a sweet double move, but clearly was not running at full speed as he came off the out-and-up route. Moore had more than 5 yards of separation on the defensive back, and sped up once he saw the ball coming but it was out of his reach.
It's just another example of miscommunication and sloppy details from Michigan through three weeks of the season.
The Red Wolves also made a change at quarterback, and Timmy McClain found Reginald Harden Jr. for a 24-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 28-10. Arkansas State marched 64 yards on nine plays in 3:40, converting a third-and-1 and third-and-4.
Orji entered the game instead of Warren, after Warren's third pick of the game. Orji threw his second-ever touchdown pass on a short dump-off to reserve tight end Hogan Hansen from 9 yards out. Orji had attempted just one pass in his career prior to the season, going 1-for-2 with a 3-yard TD pass in the 2024 season opener vs. Fresno State.
Orji-to-Hansen concluded a nine-play, 80-yard drive with Orji at quarterback, with the only pass attempt coming on the touchdown. Kalel Mullings ran six times for 58 yards on the drive, and Orji ran once for 13 yards. Mullings' 38-yard run to the Arkansas State 9 set up the first-down TD pass.
Warren was 11-for-14 for 122 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.
Warren forced a throw to Semaj Morgan, who was blanketed. The ball was overthrown and intercepted. Michigan had first-and-10 and its own 28, but Dontay Joyner's pick gives Arkansas State the ball at Michigan's 36.
"When Jack Tuttle is fully healthy, it wouldn't surprise me if he takes the reigns because it's not working right now," tweeted Tony Garcia, the Detroit Free Press' Michigan beat writer. Tuttle was out for the first week, and listed questionable vs. Texas (he did not play) and was questionable to play vs. Arkansas State.
Warren is 11-for-14 for 122 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore in his halftime interview said he was pleased with Warren's play, despite two picks in the first half.
Moore said the team had to do "a better job of protection" since Warren was "doing a really good job when he's in rhythm throwing, so really happy with him."
Bad news, as Loveland, Michigan's best offensive player, came off the field for the second time, this time shaking his head and went to the locker room.
He was tackled on a 7-yard catch-and-run down the Michigan sideline on the first play of the third quarter. This was after he missed the final four offensive plays of the second quarter after falling on his left arm as he fell to the ground on a tackle. Marlin Kelin is Michigan's backup tight end.
Michigan coach Sherrone Moore in his halftime interview on the field said he was "really happy about the run game right now."
Moore said the team had to do "a better job of protection" helping Michigan quarterback Davis Warren, but said he was "doing a really good job when he's in rhythm throwing, so really happy with him."
Michigan is minus-2 in the turnover department, but was 5-for-5 on third down and rushed for 176 yards compared to minus-6 for Arkansas State. The Red Wolves were 2-for-8 on third down.
Kalel Mullings rushed for 86 yards on seven carries and two scores, and Donovan Edwards ran 13 times for 70 yards and a score.
Clune Van Andel's 38-yard field goal attempt on the final play before halftime hit the upright for the second time, this time on the left side, and bounced straight back into the field of play. He's 1-for-3 on field goals.
Arkansas State had driven 58 yards in 10 plays after intercepting Michigan quarterback Davis Warren for the second time. But coach Butch Jones did not use any of his three timeouts until there were two seconds left, letting the clock run down with Arkansas State facing fourth-and-1, then taking his first timeout. (Jones is a Saugatuck native, and former Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Tennessee head coach. He played college football at Ferris State in 1987-89.)
Van Andel is the Red Wolves' kicker after former starter Dominic Zvada transferred to Michigan, where he was its most reliable offensive player through two weeks. Zvada, a junior, entered the game a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals, with three of longer than 50 yards, and he's 3-for-3 on extra points.
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Warren has completed every pass he has attempted to this point — with two going to Arkansas State. His short pass was intercepted by cornerback Trevian Thomas at the Red Wolves 21-yard line and no receiver was near the ball. His arm was touched by a defender as he threw. Warren is 8-for-10 for 106 yards.
Michigan had moved the ball from its own 20-yard line after another Red Wolves three-and-out, with the big play on a Klein 33-yard catch down the seam from the left slot. Klein, the backup tight end from Germany, entered the game two plays after Loveland ran off the field after landing hard on his left arm. Klein also had a 7-yard catch on the play after Loveland's injury.
Michigan now has three rushing touchdowns in the game, after having zero vs. both Fresno State and Texas. Mullings finished off a four-play, 55-yard drive with a 5-yard scamper up the middle after a big hole was cleared.
He ran for 7 yards on first down, then Warren again found Fredrick Moore, his favorite receiver so far, sitting on the right hash against zone defense for 13 yards. Mullings then took off for 30 yards, powering through a weak tackle attempt from the safety just passed the line of scrimmage on a counter to the left — the same play he scored his first touchdown of the game, just the other direction. Receiver C.J. Charleston, a 190-pound graduate transfer from Youngstown State, made the key block coming across the formation to level the cornerback at the line. Mullings then scored on the next play.
Michigan linebacker Ernest Hausmann came off a blitz up the middle to crush Red Wolves quarterback Jaylen Raynor for a 7-yard sack on third-and-6 at the Arkansas State 29. It was Hausmann's first sack of the season as he came on a delay from a few yards off the line of scrimmage. Hausmann and fellow linebacker Jaishawn Barham struggled vs. Texas last week.
Edwards became the second Michigan running back to score his first touchdown of the season, rumbling up the middle into the end zone from 7 yards to conclude a 75-yard drive that took 7:37 off the clock. Michigan leads, 14-3.
The key play was a Warren 17-yard completion to Fredrick Moore on third-and-9 to the Arkansas State 22-yard line. Warren made a nice throw to Moore across the field from the right hash to the left sideline.
After Michigan's defense forced a three-and out, Wolverines quarterback Davis Warren threw an ill-advised and inaccurate pass to the right sideline to Loveland that was easily picked off by redshirt senior linebacker Charles Willekes. You may noticed the last name: Willekes' older brother, Kenny, was a standout defensive end at Michigan State. Charles starred at Rockford High School in Michigan and was a walk-on at Michigan State in 2019. He left the program after being suspended in 2020, and picked up at Arkansas State in 2021.
Warren on first down at the Michigan 39 drifted backwards and threw off his back foot while being rushed by two defenders. Willekes took the ball 30 yards to the Michigan 15, but the defense held Arkansas State to a 27-yard field goal. Michigan leads 7-3 with 14:18 remaining in the second quarter.
Mullings broke away off the right tackle for a 30-yard touchdown run, his first of the season. On second-and-4, Mullings powered through a missed tackle just passed the line of scrimmage on a counter run, then was in the clear.
Michigan converted three third downs on the drive, including a third-and-6 Davis Warren pass to top pass catcher Colston Loveland for 13 yards to the Arkansas State 36-yard line. The throw was behind the athletic tight end, who had plenty of space in front of him.
REQUIRED READING:With Travis Kelce comparisons, Michigan's Colston Loveland poised to shoulder big load
Red Wolves quarterback Jaylen Raynor converted multiple third downs, including a 3rd-and-15 pass to the right sideline off a scramble, but the Wolverines forced a fourth-and-1 decision at the 24-yard line. Arkansas State elected to try a 41-yard field goal, but Van Andel's kick hit the right upright and was no good.
Michigan honored the late James Earl Jones with a video played at the Big House before kickoff. Jones, the famed voice of the "Stars Wars" villain Darth Vader and one of the greatest actors of his generation, was raised in Michigan. He died Monday at 93.
Michigan football is honoring former school athletics counselor Greg Harden with a "G" inside of a heart sticker on the back of the helmet today.
Harden died this week after complications from surgery. He was 75.
Harden was labeled by CBS' "60 Minutes" in 2014 as Michigan's "secret weapon," known for earning credit for Tom Brady's emergence among many more athletes and personnel. Harden was a school employee for 34 years from 1986-2019, then took on an advisory role in the athletic department. He earned praise for helping the 2023 football team's mental strength as scandal and investigations swirled on the way to a national championship.
"There is no one better than Greg Harden and we are devastated as a Michigan family by this news," U-M athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement Friday.
"You have inspired me by your ability to unconditionally love everyone and everything," wrote former U-M quarterback J.J. McCarthy in a lengthy social media post.
The Michigan vs. Arkansas State game starts at noon from Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
READ MORE:Michigan football ignored reality all offseason. Now its coaches must start to see the light
The weather in Ann Arbor today is sunny with a high of 81 degrees in the afternoon. Winds around 7 mph at kickoff.
Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press: Arkansas State is expected to compete for the Sun Belt this year and can throw the ball. Michigan gets the perfect opponent against which to fix its run game — the Red Wolves' defense is No. 114 in the nation, allowing 199 yards per game. This is the week Michigan's offense gets back to basics and Kalel Mullings goes over the 100-yard mark with two scores. The pick: Michigan 30, Arkansas State 7.
Game odds via BetMGM as of Saturday:
The spread has dropped from Michigan by 23 points late in the week.
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