USC made a statement on the opening drive by going 75 yards without much resistance. Jayden Maiava tossed it to an open Ja'Kobi Lane, who had a step on his defender on the slant route. Michigan's response was quick and incapable of surviving.
The maize and blue defense made a play on USC's second possession as Lake McRee got clobbered and fumbled the ball inside the red zone. Michigan couldn't seize the advantage and the drive stalled at midfield with a punt. They were in third and manageable, but committed a false start and Bryce Underwood was sacked on third down.
Michigan's next offensive series took firm control for the only time on Saturday. Underwood saw Donaven McCulley running towards the corner of the endzone and the two tied it up with three minutes left in the first half. Michigan left too much time on the clock for the Trojans and Maiava went down the field for a two minute drive to take the upper hand into the locker room.
Out of the break Hogan Hansen was penalized for pass interference that would have extended the quarter's opening drive. The game changed on the ensuing third and a mile as King Miller went racing into Michigan territory for a 50 yard back-breaking dash. Two plays later he hit paydirt and put the Trojans ahead by two scores.
USC was driving again, but Maiava made a costly mistake by throwing it up for grabs on third down. Zeke Berry made a diving interception to keep the Wolverines alive. Michigan's offense threatened, but Underwood threw his second pick of the year to waste a precious opportunity to make things more interesting.
Ryon Sayeri pushed the lead to 17 with a career-long field goal. Underwood reacted by tossing it to Andrew Marsh to cut into the deficit, but it was too little, too late. USC's offense was just too potent to stop on Saturday night and reached the finishing line by adding one more for good measure. Bryan Jackson closed the celebration with another dart for six.
Here are three takeaways from Michigan's Los Angeles demise.
1. Michigan's defense was repugnant
USC's running backs made Michigan's defenders look childish. A 49-yard run on third and 26 is the epitome of that. Even without Waymond Jordan active, King Miller ran for a career day. The freshman was running free like Kalel Mullings did a year ago. Michigan's defense has not given up more than 200 rushing yards since the Fiesta Bowl loss to TCU.
Lincoln Riley's gameplan was reminiscent of his Oklahoma days, but more impressively was his defense. They blanketed Michigan's running game to a season low and the least it has produced since the Texas defeat last September. Riley gave Jedd Fisch a blueprint on how to dissect Michigan's vaunted defense and Jonah Coleman is more than capable of doing so.
USC has been criticized for its softness before in the Riley era. He has mentioned Michigan as a measuring stick for the Trojans to replicate before and that's got to feel euphoric for a sleeping giant to finally reach it.
2. USC convoyed their way on the line of scrimmage
The scripts completely flipped from last season's Michigan win in Ann Arbor. USC couldn't rush for over 100 yards and Michigan's backs came within an eyelash of 300 yards on the ground. It didn't help that Justice Haynes got dinged up and Michigan had to move away from their identity.
The longest rushing play that Wink Martindale's defense permitted before Saturday was 20 yards to Central Michigan. King Miller looked like the Heisman candidate that Justice Haynes has been resembling in the first five games of the season.
The much-maligned Trojan defense got to Underwood with a total of three sacks and forced two turnovers. After its debacle in Champagne, it rebounded with its most sublime performance of 2025. USC will gladly embrace that momentum as it heads into South Bend next Saturday.
3. Sherrone Moore coaches too unintentionally on the road
Moore has now lost five games on the road in two years. Jim Harbaugh lost three games in his last three years alone. At some places, that is grounds for dismissal, but because he won at Ohio State, his leash is longer than most. Let's assume that he doesn't go into Columbus and pull it out. He would be on the firing block for sure.
Last year he had the excuse of no quarterback, this time he's got a freshman who is still finding his way through the mix. His recruiting is arguably better than Harbaugh's, but he can't seem to develop them like Harbaugh did. Michigan's schedule sets them up to win the next five, but they are bound to trip up somewhere, especially following the USC mess.
The one thing that could save Moore is that he hasn't lost to a team that he had no business losing to. The college football playoff is miles away from being realized, unless Michigan wins out. Moore's road woes are not anything new to the program. They couldn't win for the longest time under Lloyd Carr either.