It’s been 68 years since Michigan traveled to Southern California for a regular season matchup.
The two programs have battled in several Rose Bowls since, but Saturday’s road game marks the Wolverines’ first time back in the LA Memorial Coliseum since 1957. Both Michigan and USC need a win to stay in the playoff picture, and both the Wolverines’ defense and the Trojans’ offense are set to face their toughest tests so far.
Ahead of Saturday’s contest, The Michigan Daily talked to Sean Campbell, Daily Trojan Sports Editor.
The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
After five games, what would you say is USC’s identity?
It’s kind of hard to talk about the identity of this team without talking about what went wrong last year. A lot of the close losses, the last minute losses, the losses to teams that everyone said, ‘Oh, USC football shouldn’t have lost to them.’ But then they still racked up the six losses, and as coach Lincoln Riley has said multiple times, they were, in his words, a couple of plays from being undefeated.
And so coming off of a season like that, I think there’s obviously a lot of pressure on Riley in particular, but also on this team to perform at a much higher level, especially on the defensive end. But on the offensive end, the team’s main identity is there’s a lot of big plays that happen. Jayden Maiava is quite good at the long passes, and there are a lot of different guys that are able to do a lot of things when they’re in space. I think we’ve seen that, actually, in every game. I mean USC has scored at least 32 points every game, and then obviously, had a 73 point game to kick off the season. So I’d say that’s definitely a big part of the identity.
And then on a personal perspective, the team has very openly talked multiple times about how they feel very close to each other. I think a lot of that has come from a lot of the coaching staff being around longer, and a lot of the stuff that they pushed over the summer. There were a lot of team bonding activities and that’s pretty clear. Often players at practice will come and pose as media and ask mostly funny questions of their fellow players. That’s not something that I’ve been used to in covering sports for a while, and that’s how I would sum up the identity.
D’Anton Lynn is in his second year as the Trojans’ defensive coordinator, and by the numbers, USC’s defense has gotten better. When you’re watching the games, can you see this improvement on the field? What have you seen from the defense so far?
The assumption, by looking at the stats, that they’ve taken strides from last year is correct, but it’s definitely not where you may expect a team like USC — especially with a coordinator like D’Anton Lynn, who a couple weeks ago was getting rumors of potentially getting pulled for a head coaching job — to be.
Obviously the sacks have been a big storyline. The defensive line has definitely been the focal point of the defense. I mean, linebacker Eric Gentry is by far the standout defensive player this year. And then one of our big defensive defensive tackles went for a 70-yard touchdown a few weeks back, and that was definitely the most viral USC defensive moment in quite a while. So I’d say the defensive line has definitely, in particular, shown a lot of improvement.
But then there was also this last game against Illinois, where Riley, as well as other defensive players and analysts and whatnot, have talked about how the line didn’t look the same. In particular, they were working on first steps, which they felt were lacking a little bit against Illinois. Especially going against a quarterback like Michigan’s, a really good freshman quarterback, I think the pass rush is kind of a critical thing that needs to go well for USC, especially given some of the injuries in the secondary.
The secondary has definitely been the weakest part of USC this season. There’s been a significant amount of big plays that have gone the other way, which has kept games closer. Even against Georgia Southern, if I remember correctly, there were one or two big plays. So being able to limit the big plays in the secondary has definitely been a challenge. One of our best secondary players was out last game with food poisoning. So that didn’t help. Prophet Brown would have been a starting cornerback. There’s been some mixing up of players out there, but I’d say the secondary is definitely a worry for USC football fans.
Let’s move to offense, and to another position group that’s dealt with some injuries. How has the offensive line looked so far?
The offensive line has been a big storyline all season. USC’s presumed starting left guard, DJ Wingfield, was denied an eligibility waiver in the courts. So that was a big blow early on, that shifted a lot of where other guys were going to be playing. Then when you get to now, and you have left tackle Elijah Page, who looks like he’s going to be back, but obviously coming off an injury, that first game back can always be tough. And then the big one would be Kilian O’Connor at center, who is at least out for this week and next week. They’re going to be going with J’Onre Reed. He is probably one of the most experienced backups you’re ever going to find in a college offensive line. I don’t know how many backup offensive linemen in college football have started more than 30 games for a Division I program, but I can’t imagine it’s very many. And so I think the hope is for Riley, that because he has a really deep offensive line, which they really haven’t had in the past, it’s going to work out.
One of the reasons the Trojan’s offense has been so productive this season is because of their quarterback, Jayden Maiava. What does he do well to lead this team?
I would say Maiava has really proven himself this year. Last year he showed a lot of glimpses of being really great, and then obviously he also had some interception troubles, in particular against Notre Dame. Now his biggest strength is definitely his decision making. His completion percentage is just really high, and with some of the guys that are out there, he just needs to get it to them. And he’s done a good job at that thus far.
We’ve seen a lot less of his run game this season compared to last season, and he jokingly attributed that to having running backs he felt like he could trust more. But definitely his strongest suit is decision making. He’s a really good quarterback.
Talk to me about wide receiver Makai Lemon. What makes him such an impactful receiver?
I mean, that guy can run. He’s really hard to stop in open space. And it seems like he breaks out for a big play almost every game, if not every game, which obviously helps to get up his yards. When wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane was gone, Lemon’s ability to step up and take the reins, he’s shown probably the most poise on the team. He’s been really poised, and I think he’s been a large part of the reason why USC has been as successful as it has.
What does USC have to do to win on Saturday?
If USC wins Saturday, it’s because the Trojans have learned from last year. Whether that is just the Michigan game, which also was a close one that did not go their way, or the season in general, with all of the last minute losses. Because I can’t imagine this isn’t going to be anything but a close game.
Being able to go out there and show poise, whether that is Maiava completing passes at a higher rate than he did last week, or Wayman Jordan not following the ball, or the defensive line slash secondary stepping up, or Lincoln Riley with his late game play calling. It’s all about learning from the stuff from last year, because the last game was about as deja vu as it gets. That’s the kind of loss you really can’t have if you’re trying to be a college football playoff team, because with a lot of the talent they have on offense, I don’t think there is much of a reason why they shouldn’t be a college football playoff team.
Score prediction?
I’m gonna go USC, 31-28.
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