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- USC’s lack of power in the trenches was exposed during a loss to Michigan last season.
- The Trojans enter this season’s showdown with Michigan confident they’re stronger and capable of competing.
- USC will cope with a few injuries while working to neutralize Michigan’s ground game.
It felt, at the time, like a big-time gut check for the new Big Ten team on the block.
USC left Ann Arbor, Mich., last season battered and bruised, its narrow September loss to Michigan having laid bare one of the program’s most pressing concerns upon joining the Big Ten. In a physical, old-fashioned Big Ten battle, Michigan simply looked bigger and stronger at the line of scrimmage, while the Trojans looked largely overwhelmed.
“That’s about as tough as it’s going to get,” coach Lincoln Riley said at the time.
But a year later, after an offseason focused on fortifying the Trojans’ fronts, Riley is feeling more confident ahead of Michigan’s return trip to the Coliseum on Saturday.
“I think we’re in a much different place on the line than we were at this time last year, with some of our depth and the improvements we’ve made,” Riley said. “We’ve got a really good group. They’ve got a really good group.”
The two teams clash at a critical juncture in each of their seasons. USC is returning from its bye week with a bitter taste still in its mouth from a loss to Illinois. Michigan, meanwhile, has won three straight and, with a win over USC, could enter the College Football Playoff conversation.
Both sides understand that Saturday’s matchup may come down to whichever team blinks first in the trenches.
“At the end of the day, no ifs, ands, or buts about it: The toughest team is going to win this game. Not the team that looks the prettiest,” Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito told reporters this week. “It’s the toughest team that’s going to win this game, and that’s what it’s going to take to win on the road.”
The Trojans, who do not play this week, have given up an average of 10 plays per game of 10-plus yards this season, which ranks eighth worst nationally.
A fully intact offensive line would help USC, but that may be a long shot.
Riley said starting left tackle Elijah Paige has “a chance” but is “not a shoo-in” to suit up against Michigan as he continues to be hampered by a nagging injury that he’s fought for more than a month..
If Paige is unable to play, redshirt freshman right tackle Justin Tauanuu would presumably get another start on the left side after he gave up a team-high six pressures during the loss to Illinois.
USC already lost one offensive lineman for the foreseeable future, when starting center Kilian O’Connor went down with a knee injury against the Illini. But the Trojans at least have an experienced option to fill in at that spot.
J’Onre Reed started 25 games at Syracuse the past two seasons before transferring to USC, where he entered spring practice as the presumptive starter. He lost the job to O’Connor after he says he underestimated what it would take to learn USC’s offense.
“I had too much dip on my chip,” Reed said.
Riley relies heavily on the center to help orchestrate his offense. Reed will have his hands full with his first start coming against one of the better fronts in the Big Ten.
“J’Onre has played a lot of football. He’s played in a lot of big games,” Riley said. “I’ve had times where I lost centers before. I don’t know that I’ve ever had as accomplished of a second option. So I don’t expect that to be an issue for us.”
Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale will no doubt try to make it one, just as he did last season. The Wolverines blitzed only 27% of the time in that game — an unusually low rate for the blitz-happy Martindale — but still managed to pressure quarterback Miller Moss 22 times. Paige was responsible for four of those pressures in 25 pass snaps before he sat the entire second half.
Creating pressure will be just as critical for D’Anton Lynn and USC’s defense. The Trojans led the nation in sacks prior to their trip to Illinois, when their pass rush conspicuously disappeared.
Lynn said he had no idea why USC’s front looked so flustered from the start against Illinois, while linebacker Eric Gentry said the situation was “the worst of the worst that we could have played.”
The previously unbeaten Trojans nearly overcame their problems by taking a late lead, but the Illini answer with a field goal as time expires.
It may not be any easier against Michigan, even with a freshman quarterback in Bryce Underwood leading the Wolverines. Underwood hasn’t been much of a threat through the air, but during his past three games, he has rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns.
“I’ve just been impressed when you watch Week 1 to Week 2 to Week 3 to Week 4, you see him getting better and better each week,” Lynn said. “I think he’s going to be a hell of a player.”
USC’s front will be tasked with keeping him in the pocket, all while not losing track of one of the Big Ten’s best rushers, Justice Haynes.
“It all starts with the front,” Lynn said. “We have to be able to stop the run. We have to be able to affect the quarterback. When you’re not doing those things, it makes it hard to protect other areas of the field. It all starts right there.”
How it goes after that could decide the direction of USC’s season.
