LOS ANGELES — Thirty minutes after the No. 15 Michigan football team gave up 489 all-purpose yards to Southern California in a 31-13 loss, Rod Moore leaned back in his chair and fielded several questions with the same six words.
“We gotta get better at tackling,” the senior defensive back said over and over again.
There wasn’t much else to say.
For all of the pregame discussion of the Trojans’ injured secondary, or their impressive passing game, or the Wolverines’ ability to run the ball, Michigan’s run defense was arguably the most condemning factor of Saturday’s defeat. After holding opponents to 77 rushing yards per game, the Wolverines allowed USC to rack up 224 yards on the ground.
Coming into the contest, Michigan’s defense was allowing 2.41 yards per carry, good for fourth in the country. By the time the dust settled in Los Angeles, the Trojans had rushed for 6.2 yards per carry throughout the game. But after the first half, the Trojans’ running back room didn’t seem positioned to perform.
USC’s 61 total rushing yards, albeit on pace to raise the Wolverines’ defensive averages, didn’t jump off the page. Both of the Trojans’ touchdowns and all of their plays of 12 yards or more came through the air. Most notably, two USC running backs — Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders — were carted off the field after sustaining injuries, leaving an already depleted room without its top duo.
On paper, the Trojans were outmatched in the run game. On the field, you’d never know.
USC’s dominance on the ground started in the third quarter, with a walk-on redshirt freshman running back who, before Saturday, had carried the football 11 times in his collegiate career. After Jordan and Sanders were ruled out, King Miller was the Trojans’ only healthy running back.
With roughly 12 minutes left in the third quarter, Miller broke through a gap at the line of scrimmage and slipped out of two separate tackles en route to a 49-yard gain. Two plays later, he darted past Michigan senior linebacker Jaishawn Barham and streaked down the seam to give the Trojans a two-score lead.
The next time the football was in Miller’s hands, there were four Wolverines running to catch up behind him, again unable to stop a 47-yard run.
“I felt like if we played our game, then we were gonna be able to have some opportunities,” Riley said. “And against a group like that, you gotta take advantage of it. … It’s not like it’s easy, but our guys stood up to the challenge. Obviously being able to run it on them, not many people have been able to, and that was a huge step for us.”
Michigan’s missed tackles presented plenty of opportunities. On several plays, including a handful of third-and-longs, the Wolverines failed to bring down USC in the open field or at the line of scrimmage.
“Keeping your leverage, that’s really what it was,” Rod Moore said. “There was a lot of instances where somebody didn’t keep their leverage, didn’t get off the block, (or) make the tackle. Me, myself, I missed a couple coming out of the post. That’s usually not how I play.”
After nearly an entire game of fundamental defense against Wisconsin, Michigan’s performance against USC signaled a regression. When all was said and done, the Wolverines had allowed the Trojans to run for 224 yards, nearly 100 more than any other opponent.
Moore’s final answer of the night, in response to a question of whether Michigan had practiced enough tackling throughout the week, was fitting.
“Yeah,” Moore said.
Practice was not the issue. In the Wolverines’ loss against USC, they didn’t execute — or tackle — when it mattered.
