What Michigan football coaches are saying about matchup with USC

The Michigan Wolverines are 5.5-point underdogs heading into Saturday’s game against the USC Trojans, a Big Ten opener with about as much tradition as any game this season. In the first meeting between the two storied programs as conference foes, there is a lot for the staff to be on high alert for.

This week, four Michigan assistants went on the record about what they have seen from this week’s opponent. Here is what the Wolverine staff, headlined by head coach Sherrone Moore, had to say about their game against USC on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (CBS).

RELATED: Previewing Michigan vs. USC with a Trojans insider

Head coach Sherrone Moore (Monday press conference)

ON USC’S ADJUSTMENT TO THE BIG TEN
“I’ve seen they’re a lot bigger. Up front, they are. They’ve put on some size, some mass. They’ve got different guys in there. A bunch of transfers on the O-line. A lot of guys transferred from their defense. But they’re a good football team. I think Lincoln does an outstanding job with the team. He’s always had great offensive lineman. I think Coach Lynn’s come in and brought in that defensive background, and they play really good defense, solid team defense. So, for us, it’s going to be penalty-free, take care of the football.“
…
“I’ve watched last year, watched this year, watched all the teams that we’re going to play that are coming from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, and I feel like all those guys are suited to playing this conference. So all really good football teams, and they’re no different.“

ON QB MILLER MOSS, PLAYERS THAT STAND OUT
“Really good football player, man. Accurate, takes care of the football, plays well within the system, not a runner by any means, but definitely has good arm strength and has a lot of weapons around him and distributes it well, plays well within the system, so he’s a really good player.”

“Obviously, the quarterback’s really good. I think the line is good. Number one, Branch, he’s explosive, twitchy, big playmaker. But on defense, I’d say number six, their defensive end, Lucas. He’s a game-wrecker that we’ve got to definitely have our eyes on.

Running backs coach Tony Alford (Inside Michigan Football)

GETTING READY FOR BIG TEN PLAY
“Well, again, this is Michigan, and so the expectation is to win every game, and to not only win every game, but to look good doing it. And so you’re talking about a different type of opponent. We got USC coming in here, and I mean, there’s high-end players, right? And those match-up games, people often talk about. So yeah, we have to be locked down, buckled down, make sure all the details are in order, and because there’s no stone left unturned, as they say, and Lincoln, those guys have a great staff, and Coach Lynn being kinda new to the staff, I think it’s his second year there as a coordinator, but they got a great staff, and so yeah, we gotta be prepared.“

ON WHAT NEEDS TO IMPROVE
“Well, I think they just have to do our job at an extremely high level. And once again, you have to make plays. Well, they say big time players make big time plays and big time games. And so that’s our job. When the opportunities present themselves, you’ve got to make the play. When we run power and the hole opens up, you’ve got to be there on time. And then when you come out of the back end of a defense or get a chance to come out the second, third level of the defense, you’ve got to win. And we’ve got to continue to stay ahead of the chains. And that’s not always with the linemen. We’ve got to fall forward. We’ve got to make guys miss. We’ve got to turn what was a three yard game into a five yard game.

“At the same time, we’ve got to be able to pick up blitzes. And they want to say, well, the quarterback did this. Well, how about block for the quarterback so he doesn’t have to get hurried? So there’s a lot of things that go into that. And so we have to play winning football from our, in championship level football from the backfield. And that starts once again in practice and how intentional and purposeful are you when you take reps in practice. And that’s on me to make sure that that’s happening. And it’s on them to make sure that they’re paying attention and doing those things.”

Tight ends coach Steve Casula (Wednesday press conference)

“[On team having a 1-0 mentality each week], I think in some respects it’s who we are as a program. Like one track mind, one day at a time. Right now we’re super focused on having a really good Wednesday and what we need to do on a Wednesday to win the game Saturday. We’re of course excited about the game. This is a big game for sure. We’re really focused on the here and now, being where our feet are, and being focused on having the best Wednesday meetings of the year. And Coach Campbell talks about this all the time. And as an offense, we talk about it. We’re focused on let’s go make this the best Wednesday of the year. Best Wednesday of the year. And just keep stacking that mentality in those days to get us ready for Saturday.

“This is a big game. We’re aware of that. But quite frankly, every game we play here is a big one. But yeah, we’re excited to play USC. They’re a good football team. Obviously a very tradition rich program. New conference member. So yeah, we’re very excited.“

Defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan (Wednesday press conference)

“When you’re at Michigan, the OCs that you play each and every week, they’re some of the tops in the country. Lincoln Riley’s been doing this for a long time. I know you all always see him on the sideline. He has the smallest call sheet. It’s a lot of variances that he can do. I think what he does really good is get the ball in his playmaker’s hands. He knows he can see whatever coverage you’re doing. He knows what he needs to get to. When you change it, he’ll go back to it. He runs repeat plays. I just think they’re doing a really good job of just spreading the ball around. I think they have the outside bigger receivers that they can have there. I think the tight end does a good job. If you lock down the guys outside, him down the middle, he just does a good job of spreading the ball around.

“I think the quarterback [Miller Moss], I think everybody can talk about him, whatever they want to say. He kind of waited his turn. I think he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the country, seriously. I think if you watch his tape, you see what he does, the placement. He’s on his back foot getting hit, and the ball is on the money. I just think everybody that plays him this year will see a quarterback that is ready for his challenge, has been prepared. I think he’s one of the best players on their offense as the quarterback, without a doubt.”