The good and the bad from Michigan's 31-13 loss at USC

The No. 15 Michigan Wolverines went on the road on Saturday night and suffered a 31-13 defeat to the USC Trojans at LA Memorial Coliseum.

The loss dropped Sherrone Moore's team to 4-2, who were outplayed in every phase of the game by the Trojans in the poor performance.

Let's break down the good and bad from the loss.

The Good

Andrew Marsh builds off big performance from last week

True freshman receiver Andrew Marsh burst onto the scene last week in a big way in the Wolverines' victory over Wisconsin.

Although it was a tough night for Michigan's offense while only mustering up 13 points, Marsh stepped up in a big way against the Trojans and continues to show major promise while hauling in eight catches for 138 yards and a touchdown.

On his 69-yard touchdown play in the fourth quarter, Marsh showed his elusiveness in the open field by making a nice cut after the catch to shake the defender and find the endzone.

ANDREW MARSH FOR 69 YARDS@UMichFootball takes one back

📺:NBC pic.twitter.com/DlQUoUSZGt
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 12, 2025

Offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey and his offense will have a lot of work to do moving forward, but it's a good sight to see that Marsh is starting to establish a meaningful role in the system.

Jordan Marshall steps up

In a game with very few positives for the Wolverines, salt was added to their wounds when one of the nation's top running backs, Justice Haynes, got injured just before halftime and didn't return to the game.

With that being the case, Jordan Marshall had to step up and shoulder the load in the ground game. Even though Marshall didn't come up with the explosive run the Wolverines probably needed to keep the game close, he was steady and provided the offense with 68 yards on 14 carries while adding one catch for 16 yards.

If Haynes is out for any period of time, Marshall will have to be the one to step up in the Michigan backfield, which he is very capable of doing.

The Bad

Wink Martindale's defense

From the jump, it seemed like defensive coordinator Wink Martindale was multiple steps behind USC's Lincoln Riley and had no answers for what the USC offense was doing. The Trojans have great athletes who can make defenses miss in space, and that was on full display in this game.

Whether it was through the screen game, misdirection or other means, Riley made sure its electric receiver Makai Lemon got the ball and had a chance to make plays.

Quarterback Jayden Maiava looked comfortable all night long and whenever the Wolverines did dial up pressure to try to get to him, it seemed like Riley had the perfect play call to counteract Michigan's aggressiveness.

On the ground, the Trojans gained 224 yards on the ground in what can only be described as a poor effort from Michigan's front against a USC offensive line that looked hungry to win battles in the trenches.

Even when leading running back Waymond Jordan got injured, King Miller more than picked up the slack and ran all over the Wolverine defense for 158 yards on the ground.

USC came into the game as the top offense in the nation for a reason, and Michigan had no answers all night in what was an overall bad game for Martindale's unit, who gave up nearly 500 yards of total offense.

Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale watches warm up ahead of the New Mexico game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, August 30, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bryce Underwood looked like a true freshman

For an 18 year old playing his first season of quarterback at the college level, Bryce Underwood has shown an impressive amount of composure and growth. Even in the Wolverines' Week 2 loss at Oklahoma, Underwood never looked overwhelmed or that the moment was too big for him as the Sooners simply dominated on defense in all phases and made it tough on the Wolverines.

In this game, though, Underwood made some clear misreads and forced some balls that didn't need to be forced that ended up being costly, particularly when he forced a ball to receiver Donaven McCulley late in the third quarter down two scores that ended up getting picked off by safety Bishop Fitzgerald, who had two interceptions on the night for USC.

On the play, Underwood had Semaj Morgan open in the middle of the field but forced it up to McCulley in double coverage instead. On several occasions, Underwood defaulted to McCulley on third downs and threw the ball to him even when he wasn't open.

Underwood continues to have a high ceiling and show flashes of brilliance and made plenty of good plays against the Trojans, and will have to continue to battle through the tough moments to grow from them in the future.

Oct 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) throws a pass in the first half against the USC Trojans at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images