USC football combined an explosive offensive and lockdown defense to take down the Wolverines Saturday night at home.
The Trojans came out firing on all cylinders in its first drive against Michigan, setting the tone early at the Coliseum. Redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava marched the Trojans downfield, completing an 11-yard pass to redshirt senior back Eli Sanders to put USC in the red zone. After a stalled second-down play, Maiava found junior wide receiver Jakobi Lane for a 10-yard touchdown — just his second of the season — giving the Trojans an early lead within the first nine minutes of the game.
Maiava continued to exploit Michigan’s man coverage, finding junior receiver Makai Lemon and Lane for back-to-back completions in their next drive. The Trojans looked poised to strike again when redshirt senior tight end Lake McRee hauled in a 21-yard pass down to the Michigan 8-yard line. But disaster struck and things looked all too familiar for Trojan fans–McRee fumbled, giving the ball back to the Wolverines.
Michigan showed slight improvement on its second possession after not converting a first down in its first drive. Junior running back Justice Haynes broke free for a 7-yard gain, but USC’s defense held firm, limiting the Wolverines to just 33 passing yards and 19 rushing yards in the opening quarter while piling up 138 total yards and seven first downs.
In the second quarter, the Coliseum crowd turned up the energy, creating a loud and chaotic atmosphere. Haynes picked up nine yards on one carry but was quickly met with a loss of four and then sacked for an 11-yard setback on third down — a sequence that perfectly captured Michigan’s early struggles against a locked-in USC defense.
“The performance of our defensive line, controlling the game, harassing the quarterback… We did a good job closing space in a run game,“ head coach Lincoln Riley said. ”It was a complete performance on the line of scrimmage. And that’s where it always starts in football."
After a dominant start by USC, Michigan finally found its footing late in the second quarter to even the score.
On the Wolverines’ third drive, true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood connected with graduate wide receiver Donaven McCulley for 12 yards and freshman Andrew Marsh for 16 with the help of rushes from Haynes to put Michigan deep into USC territory. After a false start penalty pushed them back five yards, Underwood dropped back and fired an 8-yard touchdown pass to McCulley, tying the game at 7-7 with just three minutes left in the half.
But USC wasted no time answering. Junior running back Waymond Jordan went down with an apparent injury on the first play of the drive and was carted off, forcing backup redshirt freshman King Miller into action. Maiava kept the offense composed, rolling right to hit Lemon for a beautiful 28-yard toe-tap catch along the sideline to move the chains. The Trojans quickly responded before halftime to reclaim control.
With just seconds remaining in the half, Maiava found Lemon again — this time for a 12-yard touchdown — putting USC back on top 14-7 heading back into the locker room.
“They did a good job of rallying the ball and tackling the ball, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said of USC. ”They did a good job, and they made plays when they needed to. They got off the field on third down, and that’s the key.”
At halftime, USC’s offense was firing efficiently with 181 passing yards and 61 rushing yards on zero penalties. Michigan, meanwhile, finished the half with 151 total yards — 79 through the air and 72 on the ground.
After forcing a three-and-out drive on Michigan to open the third quarter, the Trojans struck again. Despite a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty by Lemon, Miller broke free for a 49-yard run down to the Michigan 19, then punched in a 15-yard touchdown to make it 21-7. Miller wasn’t done, ripping off another 48-yard run later in the quarter before Maiava threw an interception in the red zone.
“Wherever I see green grass, I just try to go out there and get what I can.” Miller said.
Michigan threatened to close the gap, but redshirt senior safety Bishop Fitzgerald came up with a crucial interception to end the Wolverines’ drive late in the third. It was Fitzgerald’s fourth takeaway of the season.
In the fourth quarter, Maiava connected with Lemon and freshman receiver Tanook Hines to move USC into field goal range. Redshirt freshman kicker Ryon Sayeri then drilled a 54-yard kick with 10 minutes left, pushing the Trojans’ lead to 24-7.
Michigan answered quickly with a 69-yard touchdown from Underwood to Marsh, but the Trojans responded right back. Maiava hit McRee and redshirt senior wide out Jaden Richardson on key throws before sophomore back Bryan Jackson broke loose for a 29-yard touchdown, sealing USC’s 31-13 victory at the Coliseum.
The Trojans look to continue their winning momentum next week when they travel to Notre Dame to take on the Fighting Irish.