Trojans Are A Safe Bet To Dominate Orji, Wolverines

USC vs. Michigan, 3:30 ET

Football looks significantly different this year. I don't mean this in a bad way, either. I think the new conferences are a little out of hand, but I do like the expansion of the college football playoff setup. I also think that there are some good things about the conferences. I've never had an allegiance to one or another (though I've always thought the SEC had the best schools). Now, it can be hard to realize exactly who is in what conference and how this all works. Well, we get our first glimpse of the new BIG10 as the USC Trojans take on the Michigan Wolverines.

USC coming to the BIG10, a conference that was almost exclusively a Midwest regional conference is a bit of a change for many. Does it mean all that much in terms of the big picture of college football? Not really. They still need to win in order to be guaranteed a bid to the College Football Playoffs. However, if the season was over right now, they probably would be selected as they currently are the #11 team in the nation. Their offense hasn't lost much ground after losing Caleb Williams to the NFL. So far on the season, the team has put up 117 points. The defense, which was a true embarrassment to the team last year has looked much more steady this year under a new coordinator and has allowed a total of 48 points, including 20 to LSU. In fairness, LSU doesn't have their top-tier quarterback either as he is now in the NFL as well. Still, this year, the defense seems to be tackling better, not as susceptible to long plays, and overall improved. It is early, so time will tell. If they want to win this one, they will need to stop the Michigan ground game. While the Wolverines line isn't great, they still have some elusive backs. USC has a very good offense as well. Their quarterback situation has remained positive with Miller Moss taking over. He's only played two games, but has completed 70% or more of his passes in both and found a receiver for a touchdown in both games. He also has the benefit of just turning and handing the ball off to a good running game. 

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - SEPTEMBER 07: Alex Orji #10 of the Michigan Wolverines warms up prior to a game against the Texas Longhorns at Michigan Stadium on September 07, 2024 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Michigan is aware that their quarterback play from Davis Warren wasn't good enough. Alex Orji will replace the former walk-on this week. Warren struggled out of the gate, throwing just two touchdowns and six interceptions. As I mentioned previously, the ground game is still showing positive signs and can be relied on, but when you need a completion, the team couldn't feel comfortable that Warren would get it for them. In this game, I am not really sure what to expect our of Orji. He has gotten a few snaps this season, but has put up two touchdowns, matching Warren's production, in just six throws. Garbage time is a lot different than starting a game against a top-ranked school. In fact, Orji has only seven attempts in his entire college football career. If Michigan is able to secure a win on their home turf, Orji will need to stick to the gameplan and find open receivers. I can't imagine that USC miraculously fixed everything, so there should still be holes and opportunity for him. On the other side of that, the Michigan defense will need to slow the Trojan running game and be alert for a strong armed Moss picking spots. 

This should be a fairly back and forth battle. I think that the Wolverines changing quarterbacks is a good move because Warren just wasn't giving them enough. Moss has shown that he can win in a lot of places, but this will probably be one of his tougher tests of the year. Even against LSU "on the road" the game was in Las Vegas, closer to USC than LSU. I like that USC has had extra time to prepare for this game as well. They haven't played since the 7th, whereas Michigan played last week. I'll back the Trojans to come in against an underprepared quarterback, and hopefully USC has put together a good gameplan. Back USC -5.5.

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