After 30 minutes, things couldn’t have gone much better than planned for No. 18 Michigan against No. 11 USC. The Wolverines relied on their running game and twice broke through the Trojans’ defense and scored long touchdown runs. On the other side of the ball, Michigan controlled the trenches better and kept everything in front of them.

As a result, the Wolverines head into halftime with a 14-3 lead against the Trojans. Here are some key stats and what has stood out so far in this game…

Key statistics:

QB Alex Orji: 4 of 7 passes, 21 passing yards, 7 runs, 47 rushing yards
Running back Kalel Mullings: 7 runs, 72 rushing yards, TD
RB Donovan Edwards: 12 runs, 65 rushing yards, TD

Key statistics:

QB Miller Moss: 11 of 20 passes, 134 passing yards
RB Woody Marks: 6 runs, 5 rushing yards
WR Zachariah Branch: 4 catches, 85 yards gain

That’s the type of game Michigan needed to play, and so far it’s gone according to plan for the Wolverines. Expect Riley and the Trojans to be a little aggressive on offense and find one-on-one matchups against Michigan’s defenders that they like in the second half. If Michigan can continue to contain explosive attacks and gain yards on the ground offensively, they’ll have put themselves in a good position to pull off an upset in Ann Arbor today.

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