Six games into the 2025 college football season, Michigan finds itself with an encouraging 4-2 record after suffering a lopsided loss to USC in Week 7. Although the Wolverines are in better standing than the result made it seem, they suffered another blowout defeat against a high-level opponent, exposing fundamental issues within the team.
Michigan entered Week 7 ranked No. 15, but it has since been removed from the rankings entirely. With the Wolverines starting the year at No. 14, it suggests they have vastly underwhelmed by the midway point of the season.
However, by looking at its schedule, Michigan has been on par with its weekly expectations thus far. It has won the three games it entered as the favorite, lost the two games it was lined as an underdog, and beat Nebraska in an evenly lined contest. The issue lies within the Wolverines' two losses, which were both concerning blowouts.
Although Michigan does not get another bye until Week 11, it has several issues that need to be immediately addressed. USC's 18-point victory exposed many defensive holes, but the Wolverines' vanilla-flavored offense is far from perfect, particularly if star running back Justice Haynes misses any time.
With Haynes going down early, Michigan might not have beaten USC regardless, but a few crucial mistakes took away any chance of victory.
Wink Martindale had no answers
Whether it was through the air or on the ground, Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale was lost. Lincoln Riley and Luke Huard coached circles around him in Week 7, handing the former NFL assistant an unforgiving slap to the face.
USC racked up 489 yards of total offense on the night and gained positive yards on nearly every play. Riley crafted a perfect game plan to counter Martindale's blitz-heavy defense, which failed to generate much pressure on quarterback Jayden Maiava.
Maiava was exceptional, but USC shredded Michigan on the ground. Star running back Waymond Jordan suffered an ankle injury early, but it did not matter, as the Wolverines let former walk-on King Miller look like Saquon Barkley. Miller, who entered the game with just 11 carries on the year, posted 158 rushing yards and one touchdown in relief of Jordan.
But as good as Maiava and Miller were, Martindale would have let anybody put up the numbers they did. He could not adjust to Riley's screen play schemes, allowing the Trojans to effortlessly gain 10 to 20 yards whenever they desired.
Even if Martindale had the right game plan installed, the execution was pitiful. Nearly every Michigan defender played with butter in their gloves, as the Wolverines missed 14 tackles in the loss. Many of those directly led to big plays.
It is not as if Martindale could go onto the field and tackle for Michigan, but the issue has been present all season. So much so that head coach Sherrone Moore addressed it after the loss and vowed to improve before the team's next outing. With the players Moore and Martindale have on defense, this is a coaching and preparation issue through and through.
Michigan safety Brandyn Hillman's Week 7 tackling woes
Many players struggled to tackle, but none were more noticeable than safety Brandyn Hillman. The junior has been a revelation on the back end of Wink Martindale's defense, but Hillman went through it all in Week 7.
Hillman ended the game with two missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, equal to how many he managed to wrap up. His two blunders tied for the team-high and resulted in a dreadful 40 percent missed tackle rate.
Hillman was not the only player to miss multiple tackles. Jaishawn Barham, TJ Metcalf, Trey Pierce and Jyaire Hill all missed two stops, per PFF. Hillman's misses were just the worst, as they directly resulted in chunk gains.
Young players are always taught that safety errors are the most noticeable. Hillman's Week 7 lowlight reel is a classic example of that, as he was directly responsible for King Miller's best run of the night, a 49-yard gain on 3rd-and-18.
King Millers 49-yard run on 3rd down and forever. The King is sitting on his throne 👑 pic.twitter.com/ucsRPVcpnG
— Trojan Football ✌️ ᶠᵃⁿ (@TrojanFBx) October 12, 2025
As a result of his tackling woes, Hillman received a 47.0 player grade from PFF for the game, the second-worst on the defense. Only linebacker Jimmy Rolder, who struggled to contain USC tight end Lake McRee in coverage, received a worse grade.
To be fair to Hillman, most Michigan defenders could be on this list after that performance. His mistakes were just the most recognizable and directly led to the biggest momentum-changing plays of the game.
Michigan offensive line got off to slow start
Whenever Michigan plays, fans expect to see elite offensive line play and a classic run game clinic. Those expectations are typically heightened against an opponent like USC, which has developed a reputation for getting pushed around at the line of scrimmage against Big Ten foes.
The Wolverines eventually got their run game going, but it was far too late. USC came out to play and was ready from the jump, but Michigan was not.
For the most part, Michigan's offensive line has improved significantly in 2025 from the inexperienced group that played in 2024. However, it has now fallen short in the team's two biggest games, failing to pave the way against either Oklahoma or USC.
The offensive line was coming off back-to-back strong outings against Nebraska and Wisconsin. They were particularly adept against the Badgers, who entered their Week 6 matchup as the best run defense in the country. With the return of captain Giovanni El-Hadi, a preseason All-Big Ten guard, they were only supposed to be better against a USC team that got just shredded by Illinois on the ground.
Perhaps it was arrogance from USC's “soft” narrative, or the results of last season's matchup. But either way, Michigan's usually dependable blocking unit did not show up in the run game until late in the second half, when the outcome was already in hand. They also did Bryce Underwood no favors in the pocket, albeit against an above-average Trojan pass rush.
Michigan returns to Ann Arbor in Week 8, where it faces another West Coast-based team in Washington. If none of their key issues are fixed by then, fans will be coming out in droves, all pointing at the team's leaders at the top.
