The game between #18 Michigan and #11 USC is one of the marquee matchups of week 4. The game has high stakes and implications for both teams, as they each seek to prove themselves in the new B1G and the changing landscape of college football.
What Michigan has at stake:
With Michigan’s blowout loss to Texas, it is abundantly clear that Michigan is not the team that won the national championship last year. The loss of Jim Harbaugh and the thirteen drafted players last year was felt dearly by the program. Against USC, winning would assure their fans that their year last year would not be one of a kind, and that they will have success going forward. Sherrone Moore, as a first time head coach, has to prove his legitimacy as an independent coach. Although he was an interim during Harbaugh’s suspension last year, he was the head coach in name only, using Harbaugh’s playbook and strategy. Michigan and Sherrone Moore must prove that Michigan can still contend for the B1G and for the playoff, and winning against USC is essential to show the fans that Michigan is still a top program.
What USC has at stake:
Last year, the USC program took a step back. Even with 2022 Heisman winner Caleb Williams, they went 7-5, mostly due to an atrocious defense that was the result of the scheme under Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch. Head Coach Lincoln Riley fired Grinch at the end of the 2023 season, and now hired D’Anton Lynn, Coordinator of the tough 2023 UCLA defense. The hires seemed to have merit this year, as USC emerged victorious over a ranked LSU squad in their season opener, and shutout Utah State in a tune up game. Against Michigan, they face their first quality defense of the season. Lincoln Riley must prove here that USC is a changed team, and the defensive struggles of the past are gone. USC needs to win this game to show that they are both a legitimate contender for the playoff and the B1G title.