Coming off the national championship season in 2023, it’s a season of firsts for Michigan football.
With this being the first season under head coach Sherrone Moore, the first regular season meeting with Texas two weeks ago, and now the first conference matchup with one of the four new teams from out west.
The University of Southern California – better known as USC – will make their journey to Ann Arbor for a clash with the Wolverines at 3:30 on Saturday.
Plus, while we are on firsts, Michigan and USC will be televised on CBS – the first Big Ten conference game to be played on the network for both teams.
Below, I preview the most important matchup on Saturday: USC’s dominant offense vs. Michigan’s uber-talented defense.
Three weeks and three games into the season, the Wolverines have their identity, a good one, on defense. While this Wolverine defense, led by Wink Martindale, has some phenomenal NFL talent, the unit did get a taste of arguably the best offense in college football (Texas) in Week 2, when they allowed the most points a U-M defense has given up since TCU’s 37 (minus 14 from two pick-sixes) in the 2022 College Football Playoff Semi-Final.
It won’t get much easier against USC’s offense.
Third-year Trojan head coach Lincoln Riley is one of the best offensive minds and playcallers in all of college football. In his time calling plays, he crafted three Heisman trophy winners: Baker Mayfield (2017) and Kyler Murray (2018) in his time in Norman, Oklahoma as the head coach of the Sooners, and just two years ago with Caleb Williams in 2022. And don’t forget the 2019 season with Jalen Hurts, who finished second in Heisman voting that season.
The next quarterback that Riley will mold is Miller Moss. After an astonishing performance in the 2023 DirecTV Holiday Bowl against Louisville, in which he was 23-for-33 with 372 yards passing and a Holiday Bowl record of six touchdowns.
If there’s a parallel to one of Riley’s former stars at QB, it would likely be Mayfield, in the aspect of how he utilizes play action and his throwing motion as well as the size. Those similarities are noticeable in his film from the Holiday Bowl
Where the Trojans are going to get Michigan is likely where the Longhorns succeeded most: Getting the ball out quick to playmakers. Michigan just wasn’t ready for the quick-fire decision-making of Quinn Ewers, and while Moss and Ewers are different players with different styles, USC will have its own ways to get the Wolverines out of sorts early.
So, who will we see line up to the left and right of Moss? USC starts and finishes with true sophomore speedy wide receiver Zachariah Branch. Branch, also the Trojan punt and kickoff returner, is obviously dangerous in space and has athleticism to make great catches. He is truly a quarterback’s best friend.
Some other key contributors for SC’s offense will be sophomore wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane and junior tight end Lake McRee at 6’4. Plus, sophomore tight end Duce Robinson who is listed at 6’6 and is a ticking time bomb for this Trojan offense. While McRee got more snaps and targets against LSU in week 1, look for both to make an impact.
On the ground, the Trojan hit the portal for its bell cow of the 2024 season, in the form of former Mississippi State star, Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks. In Starkville, Marks tallied 1,883 yards and 22 touchdowns in his four seasons as a Bulldog and also accounted for 1,225 yards receiving and five career touchdowns. The second back SC will feature will be redshirt freshman Quinten Joyner who has 96 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries this season.
With Marks looking good against LSU, the Trojans could try to feature him more on the ground, but Michigan’s defense will give a fair shake on that task.
How Michigan’s Defense Can Stop USC’s Offense
Michigan will succeed against this offense if they are quick to the ball especially at the mesh points on RPOs, tackling at the point of first contact with receivers like Branch and Kyron Hudson, whose yards after contact power and speed will burn Michigan badly, and that’s not even mentioning the tight ends.
This may fair a lot like Texas and have Michigan’s heads spinning early in the first half.
The Trojans also feature five returning starters on the offensive line, including Jonah Monheim, arguably the best Center in the upcoming NFL Draft class.
To the Michigan fans who have thicker skin than usual coming off the 2023 national championship, this is a game you just might have to enjoy. Not very often do these teams get together, and before it becomes an every-year type of thing: Just let it sink in that the University of Southern California and its prestigious tradition, marching band, uniforms, and helmets will be in the Big House clashing with the exact same things just previously listed, but in Maize and Blue.
For fans reading this that will be going to the game, if you are sitting in or near the south endzone, get ready for the Trojan marching band, playing “Tribute to Troy” every play. While it will get annoying, again, let the tradition and spectacle of this great game sink in.
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