Lou Esposito says Michigan’s physicality, toughness key to slowing USC’s elite offense

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Wolverines will have some major, major challenges on Saturday when it travels to Los Angeles to face a resurgent USC team. The Trojans currently have the No. 2 total offense, is No. 1 in yards per play, and they have the No. 3 passing offense.

The hope, however, lies in the fact that USC has yet to see a defense ranked as highly as Michigan football across all metrics.

The defensive line coach for the maize and blue, Lou Esposito, noted exactly what makes the Trojans so challenging to face, and it's not just because their head coach, Lincoln Riley, likes to scheme things up offensively.

"I think the biggest thing: their offense is super explosive," Esposito said. "I think they're a top-20 rush offense, top-five pass offense. You can't do any of that without a good offensive line. It's going to be a great challenge for us. They had their center got banged up in the Illinois game. The kid that came in, No. 50, did a great job. You watch them as a group. They're super athletic. They're big. They move well. It's going to be a great challenge for us."

Quarterback Jayden Maiava is the primary dangerman for USC. Having taken over for Miller Moss late in the 2024 season, Maiava has taken the ball and run with it (figuratively, considering he's throwing all over the field).

Maiava is No. 2 in passing yards per game across all of college football, and he's fourth nationally in overall passer rating.

The Wolverines faced a tough quarterback in Oklahoma signal-caller John Mateer, the fifth-most prolific QB in the country. While Mateer is mobile in a way that can hurt you with his legs, Esposito notes that Maiava can hurt with his legs, but it's not about him taking off and running.

"You watch him, he's a great athlete," Esposito said. "He probably doesn't get enough credit on how athletic he truly is. Different than the kid from Oklahoma. The kid from Oklahoma is going to run to run. He's (Maiava) going to run to throw. Like he doesn't take his eyes off downfield. 

"He's got a quick release. He does a great job. He naturally steps back when he throws. So when you play a quarterback like that and you're pressuring him, he feels comfortable throwing it that way. So we've got to do a good job of obviously keeping him in the pocket and then taking our chances. There's not a quarterback that likes to be hit, 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."

Ultimately, Esposito is confident in what the maize and blue have on their side. Though USC has revamped and has been bulking up, working to become much more Big Ten-like, the Wolverines have been the class of the conference in terms of physicality. And with that, should Michigan do what it typically does -- play bully ball -- it should win the game on Saturday.

"It sounds like a broken record, right? It sounds like football talk, but the reality is this: if you win in the trenches, your chances of winning skyrocket," Esposito said. "So for us to win in the trenches, we've got to be physical at the point of attack. You've got to make them one-dimensional.

"The problem with them is when you try to make them one-dimensional when it's passing, they're really good at it. So we're going to have to take our chances with some of the things we do. We're going to take our shots at some of the things we do. We have to make the quarterback feel uncomfortable. And I think that's every game, right? You're physical at the point of attack. You want to shut the run down, and then you want to get after the quarterback. And I think that's what we have to do to be successful versus (this) team. And toughness travels.

"At the end of the day, when you're going on the road and you're playing in a great environment, it's a historic stadium. The place is going to be packed. Toughness travels. You fall back on your training when things get crazy. When all that noise and all that pressure is on you and you're sweating and it's a long drive and you need to stop, toughness is what's going to come back and win. You're going to fall back on your training, and that toughness is what wins on the road. And that's what we've got to do. We've got to play tough. At the end of the day, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. The toughest team is going to win this game. Not the team that looks the prettiest. It's the toughest team that's going to win this game. And that's what it's going to take to win on the road."

The Wolverines and Trojans will kick off at LA Memorial Stadium at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, with the game set to be broadcast on NBC.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Lou Esposito: Michigan’s toughness must travel vs. explosive USC