LOS ANGELES — Michigan football will look to regroup after its West Coast trip turned into a humbling second loss.
The Wolverines were back in Ann Arbor Sunday morning after dropping a 31-13 game at Southern Cal on Saturday, a loss made worse by the manner in which it came about:
USC amassed nearly 500 yards of offense, the most allowed by a Michigan defense since 2022. Tackling issues were paramount, head coach Sherrone Moore and players said, leaving a razor-thin margin for error moving forward if playoff hopes remain the goal.
“We’ve got a lot of game left,” said Moore, who recently dubbed this five-game stretch as the “second quarter” of the season. “Six games into the season, we’ve got six more left and there’s a lot out there. We’re not talking about goals or what we need to do. We’ve got to go worry about tomorrow when we land, what we’ve got to do to get better.”
Players will have Sunday off while coaches huddle to discuss what went wrong and chart a path forward. Michigan (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) is set to host Washington next Saturday, Oct. 18, in hopes of avoiding a second straight mid-season falloff.
But when the Wolverines return in earnest on Monday, all eyes will be on the leaky defense that surrendered a series of big plays to USC’s explosive offense. Quarterback Jayden Maiava was almost flawless, completing 25 of his 32 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns, his lone blemish an interception that netted Michigan zero points. In turn, the Wolverines threw their own interception.
Southern California wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) runs past Michigan defensive back Brandyn Hillman (6) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)AP
“There’s two things we can do in the second half,” running back Jordan Marshall, who saw an expanded workload after Justice Haynes’ early exit to injury, said. “We can disconnect from each other or we can get better and get stronger together. This season is not over.”
Marshall vowed that Michigan would return “hungry.” After the Washington game, the Wolverines’ schedule eases up: A road game against teetering in-state rival Michigan State, a home game against Purdue and road trips to Northwestern (Wrigley Field) and Maryland, a stretch of four winnable games ahead of the regular-season finale against Ohio State.
Offensively, Michigan failed to generate much rhythm and match USC with explosive plays: The Wolverines had four drives that failed to net a first down or points, two end in a turnover, and just one play longer than 20 yards.
“We have really good teams that we still have to face and really good opportunities all in front of us,” Marshall, who rushed for 68 yards, said. “Everything is still in front of us. Coach Moore always says that we have everything in front of us, and I truly believe this team is going to come together even stronger.
“We came together after Oklahoma even stronger, and we’re going to come together after this one stronger.”
Last year, a loss at Washington in Week 6 spurred a midseason meltdown that saw Michigan go 1-4 and require an upset victory over Ohio State to finish the regular season above .500. The Wolverines will look to avoid a similar in-season calamity this year.
It was just a few weeks ago, after a 30-27 win at Nebraska to open Big Ten play, that co-captain Max Bredeson said Michigan was a plane getting ready to take off. The Wolverines handled business against struggling Wisconsin, but couldn’t follow it up out west.
Now Michigan will return to the drawing board, hoping a second rally can keep things afloat. A third loss would be a damaging blow to hopes of making the 12-team playoff.
“Just got to get better,” defensive back Zeke Berry said.
His coach echoed that thought: “That’s it. That’s where we’re at; we need to keep getting better and go win games. You can’t let this game beat you. Our job now is to figure out what we can do when we land in Ann Arbor to get better, and that’s it.”
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