Ranked No. 18 Michigan football will be without one of its top players in a highly anticipated game against the No. 11 USC Trojans. Junior tight end Colston Loveland (shoulder) has been ruled out ahead of Saturday's game, according to the team's availability report via Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports.

Loveland, one of the team's best players and emotional leaders, leads Michigan football with 19 receptions for 187 yards and a touchdown. The next-closest impactful receiver, wide receiver Semaj Morgan, only has nine receptions for 56 yards. The Wolverines will also start Alex Orji at quarterback after benching Davis Warren.

The unbeaten Trojans are -4.5-point favorites on FanDuel Sportsbook.

How Michigan football can take down the USC Trojans

At 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, Orji isn't a typical quarterback. A stout runner with the ball in his hands, the Wolverines will need Orji to protect the football. Going up against USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn, Michigan does have the element of surprise. This is the Wolverines' first game with Orji under center, so it's possible to subvert expectations that Orji will strictly be used to run the ball given his prowess as a runner.

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Michigan football will certainly look to use the run to open up the passing game. Orji is blessed with a cannon for an arm, so taking shots downfield on play-action could catch the Trojans' defense off-balance.

FOX Sports host Joel Klatt discussed the matchup and the Wolverines' identity crisis on The Herd with Colin Cowherd.

“Now this team [USC] faces a Michigan team that is in full identity crisis. They're changing the quarterback, and it's not just like one for another, it's an entire philosophy for another. Yeah, they don't know what they are. What Davis Warren provides is vastly different than what Alex Orji provides at quarterback in terms of what their skill set is and what the offense's philosophy will likely be when they're in at quarterback.”

The Wolverines host the Trojans and will face off at 3:30 p.m. EST on CBS.