Michigan-USC football history: All-time series record ahead of Week 4 Big Ten showdown

Posted by Admin September 21, 2024 Football

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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 opponent in that matchup is a familiar one for the Wolverines — just, not as a Big Ten foe.

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.

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Beginning this year, the Wolverines and Trojans are conference mates, with USC coming over from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten along with UCLA, Oregon and Washington.

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.

Ahead of Saturday’s highly anticipated contest, here’s a look at the series history between Michigan and USC:

How many times have Michigan and USC played?

Saturday’s game at Michigan Stadium will be the 11th time the Wolverines and Trojans have played in a series that began in 1948.

It will be just the third time the two have faced off in the regular season, as eight of the previous 10 games took place in the Rose Bowl, a fact that’s not a surprise given that Michigan has long been one of the Big Ten’s dominant programs and USC was the Pac-12’s most decorated member.

Saturday will mark the ninth time both teams were ranked at the time of the matchup. In six of those games, both squads were ranked in the top 10 nationally.

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Michigan record vs USC

The Wolverines are 4-6 in their 10 previous matchups against the Trojans.

It has been particularly lopsided of late, with USC winning six of the past seven games dating back to 1970. Michigan’s lone win during that stretch came in the Rose Bowl in 1989, when the No. 11 Wolverines defeated the No. 5 Trojans 22-14 to cap off the 1988 season with a 9-2-1 record. 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 two programs haven’t played since 2007, when the No. 7 Trojans beat the No. 3 Wolverines 32-18 in the Rose Bowl to wrap up the 2006 season.

Michigan vs USC games

Here’s a look at the results of each game of the Michigan-USC series:

Jan. 1, 1948: No. 2 Michigan 49, No. 8 USC 0
Sept. 28, 1957: No. 10 Michigan 16, USC 6
Sept. 27, 1958: Michigan 20, USC 19
Jan. 1, 1970: No. 5 USC 10, No. 7 Michigan 3
Jan. 1, 1977: No. 3 USC 14, No. 2 Michigan 6
Jan. 1, 1979: No. 3 USC 17, No. 5 Michigan 10
Jan. 2, 1989: No. 11 Michigan 22, No. 5 USC 14
Jan. 1, 1990: No. 12 USC 17, No. 3 Michigan 10
Jan. 1, 2004: No. 1 USC 28, No. 4 Michigan 14
Jan. 1, 2007: No. 7 USC 32, No. 3 Michigan 18

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What channel is Michigan vs USC on today?

Michigan’s game Saturday against USC will be televised on CBS. 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.

Streaming options for the game include the CBS Sports app, Paramount+ and Fubo, the last of which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

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