August 31, 2024 Week 1 · Regular Season Belt defended

Michigan defends the belt, 30–10, at home over Fresno State.

Home · Defending Holder

MichiganAP No. 9 30

Away · Challenger

Fresno State 10

AP poll, week 1: Fresno State unranked at Michigan No. 9 · No. 1 that week: Oklahoma State. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Michigan came in 236 days into reign #322, which began with a win over Washington, with no defenses yet; this was its first defense. It was the last defense: Texas took the belt in the very next belt game, on September 7, 2024.

For Fresno State this was its 3rd shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before.

This is the only time Fresno State and Michigan have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

Michigan's defense set the tone early, with Zeke Berry picking off Mikey Keene on Fresno State's opening drive and Davis Warren finding Donovan Edwards for a touchdown just minutes later to establish a 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs stayed competitive through the first half behind Keene's passing, with Dylan Lynch connecting on a 41-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3, but Michigan's defense continued to dominate, forcing two more turnovers before halftime. The Wolverines pulled away in the second half behind their ground game and kicker Dominic Zvada, who connected on three field goals from 45, 53, and 55 yards. Fresno State's late score—a 16-yard touchdown pass from Keene to Raylen Sharpe in the fourth quarter—made the final margin look closer than the game actually was, as Michigan sealed the victory with Colston Loveland's 18-yard touchdown reception and Will Johnson's devastating 86-yard pick-six in the final minutes.

Alex Orji-to-Donovan Edwards 3-yard TD pass (Q1) — Michigan's opening score set early momentum
Davis Warren interception by Cam Lockridge (Q1) — Defense-dominated first quarter that kept Fresno State from establishing rhythm
Dominic Zvada's three field goals (Q3-Q4) — Controlled second-half scoring that extended Michigan's lead
Will Johnson's 86-yard pick-six (Q4) — Late defensive touchdown sealed the belt defense

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

MichiganFresno State

Total yards269244

Rushing yards1489

Passing yards121235

First downs1818

3rd down conv.4/112/11

Turnovers12

Penalties–yards5–703–19

Time of possession34:0026:00

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 13:31	Fresno State	+5 yd	Mikey Keene pass intercepted Zeke Berry return for 5 yds to the FRES 31
Q1 11:03	Michigan	+3 yd	Alex Orji pass complete to Donovan Edwards for 3 yds for a TD (Dominic Zvada KICK)
Q1 3:40	Fresno State	+22 yd	Clay Lawrence punt for 41 yds , Semaj Morgan returns for 22 yds to the FRES 43
Q1 3:23	Michigan	+33 yd	Davis Warren pass intercepted Cam Lockridge return for 33 yds to the FRES 35
Q2 10:58	Fresno State	+23 yd	Mikey Keene pass complete to Jalen Moss for 23 yds to the MICH 36 for a 1ST down
Q2 7:35	Fresno State	+41 yd	Dylan Lynch 41 yd FG GOOD
Q2 7:27	Fresno State	+26 yd	Dylan Lynch kickoff for 65 yds , Kalel Mullings return for 26 yds to the MICH 26
Q2 0:31	Michigan	+45 yd	Dominic Zvada 45 yd FG GOOD
Q3 14:53	Fresno State	+27 yd	Dylan Lynch kickoff for 65 yds , Kalel Mullings return for 27 yds to the MICH 27
Q3 14:53	Michigan	+20 yd	Davis Warren pass complete to Colston Loveland for 20 yds to the FRES 49 for a 1ST down
Q3 9:21	Michigan	+53 yd	Dominic Zvada 53 yd FG GOOD
Q4 12:42	Michigan	+55 yd	Dominic Zvada 55 yd FG GOOD
Q4 12:42	Fresno State	+28 yd	Mikey Keene pass complete to Jalen Moss for 28 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Q4 10:06	Fresno State	+16 yd	Raylen Sharpe 16 Yd pass from Mikey Keene (Dylan Lynch Kick)
Q4 10:00	Fresno State	+21 yd	Dylan Lynch kickoff for 61 yds , Kalel Mullings return for 21 yds to the MICH 25
Q4 10:00	Michigan	+21 yd	Kalel Mullings run for 21 yds to the FRES 39 for a 1ST down
Q4 5:43	Michigan	+18 yd	Davis Warren pass complete to Colston Loveland for 18 yds for a TD (Dominic Zvada KICK)
Q4 3:57	Fresno State	+86 yd	Mikey Keene pass intercepted Will Johnson return for 86 yds for a TD (Dominic Zvada KICK)

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Michigan

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Davis Warren	15/25	118	4.7	1	1	33.0
Alex Orji	1/2	3	1.5	1	0	89.0

Fresno State

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Mikey Keene	22/36	235	6.5	1	2	41.2

Rushing

Michigan

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG
Kalel Mullings	15	92	6.1	21
Alex Orji	5	32	6.4	11
Donovan Edwards	11	27	2.5	7
Semaj Morgan	1	9	9.0	9
Team	1	-3	-3.0	0
Davis Warren	1	-9	-9.0	0

Fresno State

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG
Malik Sherrod	14	24	1.7	8
Elijah Gilliam	4	12	3.0	9
Joshua Wood	1	3	3.0	3
Mikey Keene	3	-30	-10.0	0

Receiving

Michigan

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Colston Loveland	8	87	10.9	1	20
Tyler Morris	3	15	5.0	0	9
Kendrick Bell	1	11	11.0	0	11
Semaj Morgan	2	8	4.0	0	8
Donovan Edwards	2	0	0.0	1	3

Fresno State

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Jalen Moss	6	97	16.2	0	28
Mac Dalena	6	67	11.2	0	19
Raylen Sharpe	2	23	11.5	1	16
Kamron Beachem	2	19	9.5	0	10
Nathan Acevedo	2	19	9.5	0	15
Malik Sherrod	2	10	5.0	0	11
Chedon James	1	3	3.0	0	3
Elijah Gilliam	1	-3	-3.0	0	0

Show more stats (6 more categories)

Defense

Michigan

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR	TD
Josaiah Stewart	5	5	2	3	0	0	0
Rayshaun Benny	5	2	1	2	0	0	0
Makari Paige	5	1	0	0	0	0	0
Ernest Hausmann	4	2	0	0	0	0	0
Mason Graham	4	2	0	0	0	0	0
Quinten Johnson	3	2	0	0	0	0	0
Will Johnson	3	2	0	0	1	0	1
Derrick Moore	3	2	0	0	0	0	0
Wesley Walker	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Ja'Den Mcburrows	2	2	0	0	1	0	0
Zeke Berry	2	2	0	0	0	1	0
Jyaire Hill	2	2	0	0	1	0	0
TJ Guy	2	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jaishawn Barham	2	1	0	0	0	1	0
Jimmy Rolder	2	1	0	1	0	0	0
Fredrick Moore	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Brandyn Hillman	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kenneth Grant	0	0	0	0	1	0	0

Fresno State

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Camryn Bracha	10	7	0	1	0	0
Malachi Langley	7	3	0	0	0	1
Cameron Lockridge	6	3	0	1	1	0
Tuasivi Nomura	6	2	0	0	0	0
Dean Clark	5	2	0	0	0	0
Gavriel Lightfoot	4	2	0	0	0	0
Devo Bridges	4	1	0	0	0	0
Phoenix Jackson	3	2	0	0	0	1
RJ Regan	2	2	0	0	0	0
Julian Neal	2	2	0	1	0	0
Alzillion Hamilton	2	2	0	0	0	0
Tim Thomas	2	2	0	0	0	0
Kosi Agina	2	0	0	0	0	0
Sione Noa	2	0	0	0	0	0
Ezra Christensen	1	1	1	1	0	0
Mac Dalena	1	1	0	0	0	0
Korey Foreman	1	1	0	0	0	0
Elijah Gilliam	1	1	0	0	0	0
Jacob Holmes	1	1	0	0	0	0
Jake Boust	1	1	0	0	0	0
Jairus Satele	1	1	0	0	0	0
Tyler Mello	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jayden Davis	1	0	0	0	0	0
Kavika Baumgartner	1	0	0	0	0	0

Interceptions

Michigan

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Will Johnson	1	86	1
Zeke Berry	1	5	0

Fresno State

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Cameron Lockridge	1	33	0

Kick Returns

Michigan

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Kalel Mullings	3	74	24.7	27	0

Fresno State

No recorded stats in this category.

Kicking

Michigan

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Dominic Zvada	3/3	100.0	55	3/3	12

Fresno State

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Dylan Lynch	1/1	100.0	41	1/1	4

Punt Returns

Michigan

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Semaj Morgan	2	32	16.0	22	0

Fresno State

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Jalen Moss	1	3	3.0	3	0

Punting

Michigan

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Tommy Doman	4	163	40.8	0	1	44

Fresno State

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Clay Lawrence	7	295	42.1	1	3	49

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 401628452) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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