Paul Finebaum: Michigan 'saved their entire season,' back in Playoff contention after USC win

The Michigan Wolverines hosted the USC Trojans in one of the biggest games of Week 4 of the college football season. It ended up being a close game that the Wolverines pulled thanks to a late go-ahead touchdown drive.

In an appearance on SportsCenter the day after the win, analyst Paul Finebaum praised the Michigan Wolverines and explained that he thinks the win puts them back in contention this season.

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“I don’t want to reverse what I said a couple of weeks ago when I ruled Michigan out,” Paul Finebaum said. “But I think they’re back in at least contention now. They saved their entire season and I don’t think anyone could be more impressed.”

This was the first game of the season after Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore made a quarterback change from Davis Warren to Alex Orji. That led to the offense being reliant on the run, as the Wolverines rushed for 290 yards and threw for 32 yards. For his part, Orji rushed for more yards than he threw on the day, going for 43 yards on the ground.

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If there was a concern coming out of the game for Michigan, it was the loss of star defensive back Will Johnson to an injury. He left in the fourth quarter and while not a lot is currently known about the injury, CBS did share that his family followed him into the X-Ray facilities instead of the locker room area, meaning there’s at least some reason to be concerned there.

Injury concerns aside, it was an impressive win for Michigan. Part of what made the win so exciting as it relates to the rest of the season for Finebaum was how Michigan was able to win against a team that he found very impressive.

“It was just one of the greatest drives I’ve seen for a team — even though they were at home, they were playing a very good football team and I think that’s what I came out of the day even more impressed with the fact that Southern Cal plays both sides of the ball and they do it exquisitely,” Finebaum said. “You can say whatever you want about the final drive but I came away really impressed with the Trojans. They didn’t get the win but they put a stamp down that they seemingly are back.”

Next up, Michigan will turn its attention to the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a game that promises to pit a pair of strong defenses against one another. It’s also a game where the Wolverines are going to continue to find an identity with Alex Orji under center moving forward.