Michigan-USC and the dawn of the new Big Ten

For the entirety of the past week, whenever members and coaches of the No. 18 Michigan football team were asked about their feelings on playing No. 11 Southern California and what the introduction of new schools to the Big Ten might mean, their answers have been remarkably grounded. 

Players like senior running back Donovan Edwards and sophomore edge rusher Cam Brandt referenced the Wolverines’ 1-0 mentality toward all games, describing focus on their performance rather than the stakes of the contest. Tight ends coach Steve Casula did go as far as to describe it as a “big game,” but he made sure to add a caveat. 

“Yeah, this a big game, we’re aware of that,” Casula said Wednesday. “But quite frankly every game we play here is a big one. We’re excited to play USC, they’re a good football team, obviously a very tradition rich program (and) a new conference member. So yeah, we’re very excited.”

And while the Wolverines might have good reason to maintain focus and not get caught up in the big picture, it’s important to point out that Saturday’s contest is a big game precisely because of the big picture. Because Saturday isn’t just a turning point in the Wolverines’ and Trojans’ respective seasons, it’s a turning point for the entirety of the Big Ten. 

For Michigan, a member of the Big Ten for over a century, the contest marks its first ever conference game against one of the four former members of the Pac-12. And for the conference as a whole, Michigan-USC marks just the second former Pac-12 vs. classic Big Ten matchup. That fact may get lost in the minutiae of the season, but it is true that this Saturday is the beginning of a marked departure from the Big Ten of old for the Wolverines, and for the conference as a whole. 

While problems like what will become of the beloved Big Ten ‘Maps’ commercial and the preservation of rivalry contests may have been solved, a bigger question remains: What will become of the Big Ten identity?

It isn’t hyperbole to say that the Big Ten and the former Pac-12 had starkly different reputations. Historically the Big Ten has been known for ground-and-pound football and low-scoring, punting-centric contests in the bitter cold. The Pac-12 on the other hand, was known for blazing, pass-centric offenses and lackluster defenses. 

Some of these assumptions are stereotypes that aren’t fully grounded in reality. But there is some truth to the idea that the schools coming into the Big Ten bring a slightly different style of football, and one needs to look no further than this weekend’s matchup to find that contrast. 

Last year, in a full season with its best quarterback in a generation, the Trojans threw the ball on 56% of offensive plays, and ran it on 44%. In a similar manner, the Wolverines with their generational quarterback did the opposite — running on 61% of plays and passing the other 39%. This Saturday, things figure to be the same. USC has maintained its aggressive passing output with its talented new quarterback Miller Moss. And on the other side, Michigan appears even more willing to commit to the run — benching struggling senior quarterback Davis Warren for dual-threat junior quarterback Alex Orji.

USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington will bring new styles and approaches, new traditions, new rivalries and — as was the original intent of the merger — new viewers. While it is new and unique, it’s also just a style of football, and Moore doesn’t see too big of a difference in the fundamental parts of the game.

“I’ve watched last year, watched this year, watched all the teams that we’re gonna play that are coming from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten,” Moore said Monday. “I feel like all of those guys are suited to play in this conference. All really good football teams, and they’re no different.”

The expansion of the Big Ten has been both maligned and praised, it has caused a sense of nostalgia for relics as small as old TV ads and it has even led to questioning about the character of football in different parts of the country. But whatever can be said about any of those changes, Saturday, they will come to fruition. 

New teams and new traditions with new histories — but according to Moore, it’s the same old football. And Saturday, the new era begins for Michigan and the Trojans.

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