ANN ARBOR — Michigan is headed to Los Angeles to play USC on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, 4:30 local, NBC) in a matchup of historic powers.
What challenge does the long travel present for the Wolverines? What is their plan against USC’s star quarterback? That and much more below.
Jet lag
What sort of disadvantage is it for a team to travel west across multiple time zones? The Big Ten added four West Coast programs before last season. Since then, there have been 16 instances of Big Ten teams in the Eastern or Central time zones traveling to one of the programs in the Pacific time zone.
Those road teams are just 4-12. The matchups obviously matter. It was no surprise, for example, that Maryland lost at Oregon last season. Point spreads, though, take into account the quality of the teams and the potential effects of travel. The road teams in the aforementioned matchups are 6-10 against the spread.
The non-West Coast Big Ten teams are 1-2 out there this season, including Penn State’s stunning loss at UCLA Saturday as a 25-point favorite.
Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore felt something was off during last season’s West Coast trip, a 27-17 loss at Washington, and made a change as a result. The Wolverines are heading to Los Angeles Thursday, a day earlier than usual for a road trip.
Minimizing Maiava
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava and the Trojan offense have been among the best in college football this season. Moore used the word “explosive” multiple times when describing the unit.
“He probably doesn’t get enough credit on how athletic he truly is,” Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito said Wednesday. “(He’s) different than the kid from Oklahoma (John Mateer). The kid from Oklahoma is going to run to run. (Maiava’s) going to run to throw. He doesn’t take his eyes off downfield.”
Michigan has been getting into opponents’ backfields regularly, while USC has protected Maiava well, allowing just four sacks. Esposito noted that Maiava naturally steps back when he throws and has a quick release, so even when pressured “he feels comfortable throwing it that way.”
The solution to minimizing Maiava and USC is simple to understand but not always easy to execute: win the battle at the line of scrimmage. Michigan must try to slow USC’s rushing attack, which ranks fifth nationally in yards per carry, one spot ahead of Michigan, and get after Maiava.
“There’s not a quarterback that likes to be hit,” Esposito said. “So we’ve got to try to hit him as much as we can and keep him in check that way because that will help everybody else.”
More about the matchup
+ The Trojans lead the all-time series 6-5. USC is the only program to play Michigan and Ohio State at least five times each and have winning records against both (13-10 vs. Ohio State). The only previous meeting between Michigan at USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was in 1957. Michigan won 16-6 with two touchdowns and a safety to USC’s touchdown and missed extra point.
+ Michigan won last year’s matchup, in Ann Arbor, 27-24 despite Alex Orji throwing for just 32 yards. Michigan had a 10-play, 89-yard touchdown drive to win it late, fueled by Kalel Mullings’ 63-yard run. The senior running back picked up all but 10 yards of the drive, including a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down.
+ Eight Wolverines hail from California: Nico Andrighetto, Zeke Berry, Cameron Brandt, Jake Garcia, Zack Marshall, Trent Middleton, Brady Norton and Davis Warren. “At the end of the day, we’re going to somebody else’s place and we’re not celebrating going to the Coliseum,” Moore said of the homecoming for those guys. “There’s no pictures and selfies because we’re at the nice Coliseum. It’s sold out, but it’s sold out because Michigan’s coming.
“We’re excited about the opportunity for guys to get to go back home and see family and friends, but not making it too much of a (big) deal.”
USC has three players from the state of Michigan: cornerback Alex Graham (Detroit; Cass Tech), starting linebacker Desman Stephens (Clarkston) II and linebacker Jadyn Walker (Portage)
+ Per the NCAA, Michigan has 10 national championships (fifth all time) and USC has nine, though Michigan claims 12 and USC 11. What can’t be disputed is the number of Heisman Trophy winners: USC has the most with eight; Michigan has three.
+ USC recruiting director Weston Zernechel is married to Michigan’s director of football operations Erin Zernechel. Erin, hired from Ohio State’s football staff last year, is the sister of Jillian Dunston, who previously played and coached with Michigan’s women’s basketball team.