The Michigan Wolverines are back in action at the Big House tomorrow when they welcome in the USC Trojans to the Big Ten. Early on, USC appears to be better than anticipated, while it’s the exact opposite for Michigan. Despite all that has happened so far this year, this will all play out on the field soon enough.

Maize n Brew staff members have once again gathered around the table to lay out their thoughts and predictions for this weekend’s game.

Another week, another uninspiring game from the Michigan Wolverines, beating Arkansas State by just 10 points. What’s your biggest takeaway from the outing?

Von: Wink Martindale 100 percent thinks he is running an NFL defense. Taking Will Johnson out of coverage and using him as a blitzer is absolutely insane. It worked against a team like Arkansas State (once), but it won’t work moving forward with the teams left on the schedule. Jyaire Hill has been bullied the last two weeks, so taking the best cover guy in America out of the secondary is crazy behavior. If Wink continues that against USC, Miller Moss is going to feast.

Matt: The passing game is a fatal flaw for this team. I continue to believe Davis Warren alone isn’t the problem. He can be an effective game manager if given the appropriate weapons and an excellent offensive line. However, it’s become very apparent neither of those criteria exist currently. Without those, Warren just can’t be trusted. We’re one uninspiring performance away from me banging the drum for Michigan to abandon the forward pass and become a triple option, service academy style offense for the rest of the season.

Andrew: This Michigan team is no longer winning on the margins: penalties, communication, tackling and effort have all been inconsistent play-to-play over the first three games. Winning in those areas had become a staple for the Wolverines the last three seasons, but now Michigan is struggling to do the little things required for success. Good teams beat their opponents; great teams force their opponents to beat themselves. Right now, Michigan is struggling to just be a good team because of its lack of commitment to the margins.

Kellen: Michigan still doesn’t have a clear answer at quarterback. Davis Warren threw three interceptions in just 14 pass attempts. Alex Orji looked decent on the one touchdown drive, but the coaching staff doesn’t appear to trust him much. And while Jack Tuttle may have the most experience, his injury status has been unclear. Michigan is running out of time to find answers here.

Grace: Honestly, I can see why Michigan thought Davis Warren could be an option for them at quarterback. He made some good throws on Saturday, but the turnovers have gotten out of hand.

Conference plays begins this weekend with USC coming to town. With Lincoln Riley’s offense and the newly revamped defense led by D’Anton Lynn, it looks like USC is pretty legit early on. What side of the ball are you more worried about in this one?

Von: I’m more worried about USC’s defense actually being a competent unit. All offseason, we imagined this game would be one that Michigan could easily pound the rock and play a Big Ten brand of football to win this game because of how bad USC’s defense has been under Lincoln Riley. Well, now with D’Anton Lynn as their defensive coordinator, the Trojans only gave up two touchdowns in their first two games, both of them to LSU in Week 1. If this defense is legit and the Wolverines are still figuring its identity out offensively, it may be a rough week to be a Michigan fan.

Matt: I’m more worried about the USC defense, which sounds shocking to say. The Michigan defense should be good enough to handle USC’s offense. However, the Michigan offense has given me zero reason to be confident. While USC’s defense has been the laughing stock of college football the past few years, they’re showing signs of life early on this season. If I’m USC, I’d load the box on every single play and make Michigan throw the ball.

Andrew: Michigan’s offense BY FAR. Let’s not get it twisted, Michigan’s first and second-team defenses were excellent on Saturday. Until the reserves took the field for the final two possessions, the Wolverines had limited the Red Wolves to 141 total yards and three points. They will be fine.

The offense is a complete mystery because of the uncertainty at the most influential position in all of sports. Who is going to be the starting quarterback? Davis Warren was outstanding on third downs and never saw a pass hit the ground, but he also threw three interceptions. Alex Orji is a dynamic athlete, but has not shown he can make enough plays through the air. Warren keeps a defense more honest, but also keeps them fed with turnovers. Orji is the safer option, but how safe is he if third-and-five is consistently a drive-killer? Orji vs. Warren. The battle for mediocrity that will define Michigan’s season. I am going to watch Rose Bowl highlights.

Kellen: USC’s defense has looked pretty good so far, especially in the win over LSU. With how bad Michigan’s offense has been, I’m expecting Michigan to struggle to move the ball. Honestly, with how inconsistent the offense has been, I’m going to be more worried of that side of the ball regardless of how good the opposing offense/quarterback is.

Grace: The defensive improvements made by D’Anton Lynn are certainly impressive, but it still seems like there are some areas Michigan can exploit on offense if they choose, specifically with Kalel Mullings in the run game.

However, I’m more worried about Michigan’s defense slowing down USC’s offense. Michigan needs to limit penalties and get off the field on third down. USC was just 3-of-9 on third down against LSU, and that was only a seven-point game. If Michigan’s defense looks shaky early, it may feel similar to the loss to Texas.

Oddly enough, ESPN’s SP+ rankings have Michigan winning this game by four points. Fill in the blank: “Michigan wins this game if…”

Von: Michigan wins if the defense has the game of its life. That’s everyone from top to bottom playing at the highest level possible. We haven’t seen it all come together yet this year — Will Johnson struggled at times (outside the pick-six obviously) against Fresno State, the linebackers (and cornerback Jyaire Hill) were dreadful against Texas, and the defensive line was nonexistent against Arkansas State. Can they all put their collective rough performances behind them and play up to their full potential? If so, they got a chance.

Matt: …the Wolverines can hold USC to 17 points or less. They can’t win a shootout against the Trojans but if they can keep it low-scoring and ugly, there may be a chance. On a side note, ESPN’s SP+ is a wholly untrustworthy metric so I don’t buy much stock into what they say.

Andrew: If they win the turnover battle. Michigan racked up 435 yards of offense last weekend, including over three bills on the ground. If the Wolverines had protected the football, they would have hung 42+ on the Red Wolves. To secure a win against USC, Michigan must take possessions away from the Trojans’s offense and provide its own offense with more opportunities and short fields.

Kellen: Michigan wins this game if the defense steps up and forces Miller Moss to make mistakes. He’s been good in limited time, but he’s far from as talented as Caleb Williams. There is a world where USC gets its “welcome to the Big Ten” reckoning — Michigan gets a defensive/special teams touchdown and runs the ball while controlling the clock and winning in ugly fashion.

Grace: If they don’t turn the ball over and the running backs find success.

Throw us a bold prediction or two for the game this weekend.

Von: A Michigan wide receiver goes for 60+ yards and scores a touchdown.

Matt: Alex Orji gets the start but throws for less than 100 yards total. We see our first Jack Tuttle appearance of the season at some point in the second half. Greg Crippen also gets the start at center and plays a majority of the game.

Andrew: Michigan’s defense records five sacks, but it’s just not enough.

Kellen: Josaiah Stewart scoops up a fumble forced by Mason Graham and returns it to the house as the Big House crowd goes wild.

Grace: Michigan’s defense scores a touchdown.

What will the final score be and why?

Von: I got USC winning this one, 31-17. I think this is going to be a similar performance to the one we saw against Texas in Week 2. At this point, I don’t trust Wink’s defense to perform against a high caliber offense like this, and with Michigan’s offense struggling to find an identity, I just can’t see many points being put up on the board.

Matt: USC 24, Michigan 14. The Michigan defense will play admirably but USC will consistently be set up with excellent field position, similar to the first half of the Texas game. Offensively, the Michigan running game will do okay but the passing game will be a non-factor.

Andrew: Similar to Texas, this game is another race to 20. Michigan’s defense will be the best unit on the field, but limited offensive support will force the team to wear down in the second half. USC takes the road win, 24-14.

Kellen: I don’t trust Michigan to score many points against a defense with any level of competence. Give me USC, 30-17.

Grace: 24-21, Michigan. I wanted to pick against the Wolverines, but I just can’t do it. I think they found some momentum to build on in the ground game last week and I am hopeful there will be fewer mental mistakes on defense.