The Michigan Wolverines have one of their toughest games of the season coming up this weekend against the USC Trojans. This will be Michigan’s first Big Ten game in California since USC and three other former Pac-12 teams joined the conference. Awaiting them is head coach Lincoln Riley and a program looking to find their footing in their new conference.
USC lost a Top-25 matchup with Illinois in their last game two weeks ago in their first test of the season. Their four wins came against Missouri
State, Georgia Southern, Purdue and Michigan State.
As all Riley-led offenses have, this team puts up big points. Currently, they’re averaging 48.4 points and 338 passing yards per game. Clearly, that makes their quarterback-wide receiver two of three players that could make a huge impact in this contest.
Here’s what you need to know about some of the Trojan’s top guys.
QB Jayden Maiava
Maiva has had a really interesting career. He started at UNLV where he was named the starter as a true freshman. After that season, he entered the portal, committed to Georgia, and then flipped to USC to be the backup to Miller Moss. It wound up being the right decision, as he eventually found his way into the starting role last season.
Now in his first full year starting, Maiava has been excellent. Through five games, he has 1,587 passing yards and 11 touchdowns to just one interception. He leads the nation in ESPN’s QBR, and the next quarterback is a full four points behind him. To put that into perspective, Maiava’s rating at 93.5 is among the Top-10 in the history of the stat. And his raw QBR (which doesn’t take opposing defense into effect) is actually the greatest of all time.
Leading the Big Ten in passing yards, one of his most underrated qualities is what he can do with his legs. Michigan has to keep him contained in the pocket or else things will get dicey. He has four rushing touchdowns this year, along with this great run against Michigan State.
Michigan needs to keep him contained and uncomfortable or else he will make big plays on the ground.
WR Makai Lemon
Leading the team with almost three times as many catches as anyone else is junior receiver Makai Lemon. Nobody has been able to slow this kid down in 2025, including a good Illinois defense a couple weeks ago. In the ranked matchup, he had 11 catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns. It was his third time surpassing the century mark in just five games this season, and twice, he has gone for more than 150.
Lemon reminds me a lot of former USC receiver and current Detroit Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown. The Trojans will line him up all over the field, and Lemon will find and sit in a lot of those underneath option routes depending on defenses. He runs great routes, is sure-handed, and is smooth with the ball in his hands despite not being the fastest or most physical imposing receiver.
Michigan’s corners have not been tested like this in 2025. As the Wolverines’ offense continues to figure itself out, slowing down the hottest quarterback-receiver tandem in the country will be key to winning this game. A shootout likely falls into USC’s favor, so getting a lead and controlling the clock on the road will be crucial to what Sherrone Moore would like to accomplish.
S Bishop Fitzgerald
In a defense that ranks 96th in the country and allowing 251 passing yards per game, Bishop Fitzgerald has been the equalizer. Teams that fall into the USC trap make games a shootout, and the USC defense has been keen on turning the ball over. They have five interceptions on the year, with three (including a pick-six) coming from their star safety. He took two potential touchdowns away from Purdue in West Lafayette earlier this season.
Michigan has seemed more willing to get the passing game involved the last few weeks, and Bryce Underwood set a career high with 270 yards last week. If the Wolverines get into a shootout in Los Angeles, Underwood’s arm will play a huge role, and a veteran ballhawk like Fitzgerald (who is the No. 2 ranked safety in the country with a 91.7 rating on PFF) is exactly the kind of player that can be a difference-maker.
In a game that maybe should have been a Top-25 matchup on the road where the Wolverines are underdogs, taking care of the football is crucial to a Michigan win.
