Keys to the Game: Michigan football at USC

Those who have been around through the last several decades of Michigan football understand the challenge the Wolverines face winning on the West Coast, having seen very few true road wins out there in their lifetimes. While each game is different and depends on matchups, etc., it’s clear given past U-M’s failures out there and with how tough Big Ten teams have had it traveling several time zones to win (6-22 last year) that there’s absolutely something to the struggle.

RELATED: Staff Predictions: Michigan football at USC

“When you travel just in general, when you’re going through time zones and you’re adjusting to the clock and you’re adjusting through the air, flying dehydrates you. That’s one thing,” head coach Sherrone Moore said. “And then you have to recover a little bit more.

“So, I think it’s just different atmospheres, not necessarily just being away. It’s just a challenge you have to attack, because if you go to the NFL, you got to do the same thing, and the team’s flying this way, you’ve got to adjust, as well. You can’t make those things an excuse. You’ve just got to go attack them and figure out ways to get better with it.”

Getting off to a good start would help. You never want to play from behind out there (see: Oregon, 2003). Here are the other keys to a Michigan victory Saturday in Los Angeles …

Michigan Key No. 1 — Don’t get beat by big plays in the passing game

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava leads the nation in yards per pass (11.4) and total QBR (93.5), and he’s got an outstanding receiving corps in addition to a fantastic tight end. Michigan has been hit and miss in coverage this year, especially at the linebacker position, so it’s going to be up to the front seven to generate some pressure and make Maiva uncomfortable, not give him time to find Makai Lemon, Ja’Kobi Lane, etc.

Even so, there will be quick release plays on which the corners (and others) are tested deep by the speedy Trojans receivers, plays on which the ball will be out in a hurry. Michigan corners Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry, etc. will need to play their best games, not fall for the double moves they’ve been susceptible to early in some games, and get some help from their friends back there.

“Offensively, they’re as explosive as anybody we’ve played,” Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said on his radio show this week. “Quarterback — really good player, and more mobile than you would think. He can get out of plays, has great touch on the ball …

“And the receivers are super explosive. I know everybody watched the game with Illinois, and the Lemon kid is as dangerous as any receiver in the country. The other kid [Lane], he’s a really great player (too), so that’s going to be a big challenge for our defense. And their tight ends are really good with the ball in their hands.”

We can’t help but feel they could make the difference in this game. They need grad safety Rod Moore to play as many snaps as he’s capable Saturday. He could be a difference maker in this game.

Key No. 2 — Don’t go into a shell offensively

Michigan doesn’t want to get into a track meet with the Trojans, but at the same time, this USC defense is vulnerable. Michigan State put up 31 points and amassed 20 first downs in a loss out there last month, a just-as-sorry Purdue team passed for 305 and notched 23 first downs in controlling the ball in long stretches, and Illinois averaged 4.9 yards per carry and put up 331 yards passing, 502 overall in a win.

In short — there are plays to be made here if the Wolverines continue to play to their strengths. If they come out with the Oklahoma game plan (“let’s bunch it up, shorten this game, and hope for the best”) … well, let’s just say we’re not optimistic. But it sounds like Moore is going to let him cook.

“There’s just such great flow,” he said of O.C. Chip Lindsey. “He’s got complements to everything. The offense is built like that, but what he’s brought in are different tweaks and different things that add to it, and there Will be more as we go through the season. There will be more in this game that are a little different that people haven’t seen, and he’s just done a really good job and he stays calm, stays poised throughout the game, never panics.”

USC is going to move the ball, and there will probably be some big plays. They can’t let it spook them into scoreboard watching. If they do what got them here, this should be a fourth quarter game.

Michigan Key No. 3 — Special teams … of course

Evenly matched games often come down to hidden yardage and turnovers. The Wolverines have ranked poorly this year in the return game, and beyond that, punt return man Semaj Morgan has let too many balls hit and roll.

Again, we’re not worried about Michigan kicker Dominic Zvada. He’s hitting the ball well, even in his misses, and his missed shorty last week came on a bad exchange. But punter Hudson Hollenbeck needs to have a few more boomers like he had last game and the Wolverines have to be at least even in starting field position to have a great chance to win Saturday night.

Michigan at USC — The Breakdown 

After last year’s disappointing loss at Washington, Moore and Michigan took a different approach this year to the West Coast trip.

“We’re going to travel out there Thursday,” Moore reported. “We didn’t do that last year and it felt like that kind of got us a little groggy. So, talking to people that have done it … we’re going to travel out there Thursday and get there Thursday night, allow the boys Friday to be in the hotel, actually get a chance to go travel and practice at The Bolt [the Los Angeles Chargers’ facility].”

That’s a good step, and we like the start time, too (4:30 local, 7:30 eastern). It’s rare, of course, that you see a late kick out there featuring a team in the eastern time zone — those are reserved for teams that aren’t all that relevant — and that was never going to be an option for this game. Regardless, this feels this one is in the sweet spot.

The Wolverines should match up pretty well with the Trojans, but it’s usually the Big Ten contenders that win games like these (Oregon at Penn State, Ohio State handling Washington). We’re not sure Michigan is in that category yet, or if these Wolverines are a year away yet.

We’ll find out Saturday night.