Michigan-USC football history: All-time series meetings, record, more

Let’s take a look at the numbers, one special game from last season, and a look at what the future holds in this conference rivalry. It was always fun when two teams from opposite parts of the country would meet in a special venue like the Rose battery betting app Bowl. Michigan football and USC are two of college football’s blue bloods. Brad Nessler (play-by-play) and Gary Danielson (analyst) will call the game from the booth while Jenny Dell will serve as the sideline reporter. The two programs haven’t played since 2007, when the No. 7 Trojans beat the No. 3 Wolverines in the Rose Bowl to wrap up the 2006 season.

More Michigan Stats

In six of those games, both squads were ranked in the top 10 nationally. USC and Michigan are two of the 10 winningest FBS programs in college football history and stand as two of the sport’s marquee brands, with a combined 23 claimed national championships between them. The Michigan football team will begin the Big Ten portion of its schedule Saturday in front of more than 100,000 fans at Michigan Stadium. The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and CBS Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event.

Michigan

Despite playing without two starting offensive linemen, USC Trojans won with hard-nosed Big Ten football that included 224 yards rushing – most from tailbacks far down the depth chart – against the nation’s seventh-ranked run defense. Michigan hadn’t allowed more than 7 yards per play in a game since its College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Georgia in December 2021. Bryce Underwood passed for 207 yards and two touchdowns for the Wolverines (4-2, 2-1), whose three-game winning streak ended. This is a game that just looks beautiful with both teams’ jerseys and helmets on the field at the same time. After converting the second, fourth down conversion, Kalel Mullings took a handoff 53 yards for the first touchdown of the game.

• Up until recently, the only time these two teams met was in the Rose Bowl.
• Mullings found the end zone behind a great Max Bredeson lead block, to give Michigan football the lead 27-24.
• In six of those games, both squads were ranked in the top 10 nationally.
• “We really were looking forward to this game, (and) I thought we attacked it, dominated the football game on all sides,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said.
• The Michigan defense stifled the USC offense the entire first half.
• Saturday will mark the ninth time both teams were ranked at the time of the matchup.

The following season, USC got revenge in the Rose Bowl, defeating No. 3 Michigan in what would be Bo Schembechler’s final game as Wolverines coach. The trip will be a learning experience for a team still fighting to get back to its championship form of two seasons ago. “We didn’t give our defense time to be off the field all night, and I put that on myself,” Michigan running back Jordan Marshall said. He became the first walk-on to score a touchdown for USC since 1994 with a 15-yard run in the third quarter.

The Michigan defense stifled the USC offense the entire first half. The game started with Sherrone Moore making two huge decisions in the first quarter by going for it on fourth down twice in Michigan’s territory. This game was a roller coaster of emotions from start to finish, and could not have ended better for Wolverines fans. Michigan’s lone win during that stretch came in the Rose Bowl in 1989, when the No. 11 Wolverines defeated the No. 5 Trojans to cap off the 1988 season with a record. It has been particularly lopsided of late, with USC winning six of the past seven games dating back to 1970. Saturday’s meeting in The Big House between the No. 17 Wolverines and No. 12 Trojans will hardly be the first time Michigan and USC have squared off, as the two storied sides share a history that goes back more than 75 years.

The next game they have scheduled against each other will not be until 2028. Michigan will play USC on October 11th this upcoming year in Los Angeles. The U-M defense turned USC over on downs, and the Wolverines sealed the thrilling victory. Instead, Michigan handed it off to Mullings, who ripped off a 65-yard run down to the USC 16-yard line. USC took their opening drive of the second half and marched right down the field to put their first touchdown of the day on the board. The action was just getting going as the second half would bring us plenty of highs and lows for each team.