The USC Trojans will host the Michigan Wolverines this weekend. After the USC defense lost in the last minute to Illinois, suffering their first loss of the season, they hope to bounce back. Now, they hope to take down 15th-ranked Michigan. This Michigan-USC Week 7 battle could go down to the wire. Regardless, the USC football matchup advantage could lie in utilizing the defense to take down a high-powered Michigan offense.
USC is favored to win this game by 2.5 points, according to FanDuel. Despite Michigan being the ranked team, oddsmakers believe the Trojans have a better chance of winning, mainly because it is in Los Angeles.
What do the Trojans need to do to win this game? They likely will have to play a near-perfect game. Ultimately, there is one USC football matchup they must take advantage of to have a chance to beat the Wolverines. Here is the scope, and what has brought these teams to this point.
Michigan is one of the best in college football
Michigan will look to pick apart USC's secondary this weekend. Of course, they will start the game by attempting to establish the running game. That has been a good strategy for the Wolverines.
Bryce Underwood has been a solid quarterback, passing for 1,003 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Additionally, he has also rushed 27 times for 181 yards and three scores. When Underwood has not run, Justice Haynes has run the football. So far, he has run the ball 85 times for 654 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 7.7 yards per carry. Jordan Marshall has also been good, running 45 times for 233 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Donaven McCulley has 19 receptions for 309 yards and one touchdown. Likewise, Semaj Morgan has 16 catches for 187 yards and one score.
The defense has been solid, though not spectacular. Currently, Ernest Hausmann has 31 tackles to lead the team. Jaishawn Barham leads the team with three sacks. Meanwhile, linebacker Cole Sullivan leads with two interceptions.
What USC football brings to the table
The USC offense has been explosive all season. Recently, Makai Lemon had a career-best performance against Illinois. Lemon went off for 11 catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
Jayden Maiava has been strong at quarterback, with 1,587 yards, 11 touchdowns, and one interception. Meanwhile, Waymond Jordan has been solid, running the football 77 times for 537 yards and five touchdowns. Eli Sanders has also been solid, running 47 times for 264 yards and two touchdowns. Lemon has 35 receptions for 589 yards and five scores to lead the receivers.
The offense has been great, but the defense has struggled. After allowing just 16.6 points per game over the first three games, the defense has allowed 31.5 points per game over the past two contests. Alarmingly, the defense could not make the stop against Illinois and allowed them to hit the game-winning field goal. The key to beating Michigan this weekend lies in how the defense performs. While most know about the Trojans' secondary problems, they could lessen the pressure on them by containing the running game. If the Trojans stuff the run, they can force longer third downs, which makes it harder to gain yards through the air.
The USC Football matchup to exploit
The Wolverines have done a great job at protecting the quarterback. Furthermore, they have done an amazing job of running the football. Haynes is a superstar and is running all over the place. If USC wishes to counteract that, it needs to use Eric Gentry creatively.
Gentry will have the opportunity to disrupt the edge or get through a gap on an obvious passing situation. To set this up, he will need to be the guy who stuffs Haynes. If Gentry stuffs Haynes at the line, then there could be a scenario where the two are facing off on passing downs. In this scenario, it could be a huge advantage for Gentry, allowing him to reach Underwood and force him to pass before he wants to.
Gentry has a six-inch size advantage over Haynes. Therefore, the Michigan O-line would likely help in an obvious passing situation. Gentry is pretty quick for his size and has the elite ability to get to the line of scrimmage quickly. Additionally, there is a scenario where Gentry can loop around and neutralize Haynes and any attempts to protect the quarterback.
To get to this situation, Gentry must stop Haynes in the backfield. Because the running back is so explosive, it will be up to Gentry to isolate any mistakes and contain him to 2-3 yards. Gentry is probably the only player on the USC defense who can get to Haynes. With 35 tackles on the ledger, Gentry has averaged seven per game. Expect him to be a focal part of the defensive strategy to contain Haynes. If Gentry wins the battle, it could give the Trojans the best chance to pull off the win.
