5 bold predictions for Michigan football against USC

It's only the fourth game of the season for Michigan football, but there is a lot at stake. If the Wolverines lose to 11th-ranked USC, they will have a long road back to playoff contention.

The defending national champion has its back against the wall. Sure, Michigan football could win seven of the next eight and make the playoff with a win over Oregon or Ohio State, but that's a tall order.

And it would be painful to lose back-to-back "big" home games. It's one thing to beat Arkansas State and Fresno State, but the Wolverines need to hold serve in this game, even if they are a 6.5-point underdog.

Alex Orji will be the starting quarterback for Michigan football. The offense should look different, but how different is a big question. Can you really overhaul an offense in a week? How much time did the Wolverines spend this offseason on being a zone-read/option team?

We know those things are in the playbook, but making those reads consistently well takes time. We'll see how things play out but there are five bold predictions for Michigan football and USC, as well as a score prediction at the end.

Michigan football runs for over 200 yards

The Wolverines ran for over 300 yards last week and they could use a similar effort on Saturday. USC has only played two games but they are allowing 4.2 yards per attempt and struggled to stop the run against LSU -- the Tigers just wanted to throw.

Michigan football needs to be patient with the run game. It needs long drives that eat clock. An ideal gameplan probably 50 or so rushing attempts. I'm not sure Michigan will get there, but I expect 20 carries for Kalel Mullings, a lot of Donovan Edwards, and a lot of Orji.

Max Bredeson will have a key role to play. Andrew Gentry served as an extra tight end and I expect more packages like that. The Wolverines need to get creative but they also just need to win up front and I think they do to a certain extent.