With five minutes remaining in the game, USC had the ball at their own 38-yard line with a 24-20 lead. Instead of running the ball and wasting some clock, coach Lincoln Riley elected to throw the ball on 2nd and 3rd downs. Both passes fell incomplete, and the clock was stopped twice, giving Michigan extra time to score.

No. 18 Michigan inflicted a pair of significant blows in the first half against No. 11 USC on Saturday, taking a 14-3 lead into the break behind stingy defense and explosiveness in its run game. Kalel Mullings busted a 53-yard touchdown run on the Wolverines' third possession to open the scoring after the teams traded early punts.

The defensive coaches on the Michigan football staff are aware of Lincoln Riley, his bag of tricks, and his elite play design. This will be a challenge for the Wolverines when they face USC this Saturday.

Lincoln Riley already had a pretty solid breakdown of his expectations of USC’s matchup against Michigan football on Monday during his appearance on Trojans Live, but he went much deeper on Tuesday evening.

Southern California starts Big Ten play with a rapidly improving defense. Can it win a rock fight against desperate Michigan?

Lincoln Riley knows how hard USC had to work to beat LSU. That 60-minute battle could give USC the winning edge against Michigan.

Note the word "overpower" in the title of this story. It's not "beat" or "outscore," but something specific. USC outscoring Michigan 42-35 wouldn't change the national college football narrative that USC is soft.