How MSU Can Handle Being Underdogs vs. USC

The Michigan State Spartans will make a West Coast trip this weekend, taking on the USC Trojans in a late-night Big Ten showdown.

Conference play begins for Jonathan Smith’s squad, and the team struggled in that department last season. The Spartans only won three conference games and missed a bowl game for the third consecutive season.

If MSU can find three more wins on the schedule this season, it will be bowling for the first time since 2021.

However, the numbers do not project one of those wins to come against the Trojans. ESPN Analytics gives them just a 4.8 percent chance to pull off the upset against now-ranked USC.

How can Smith’s Spartans improve to 4-0 with an upset road win?

Keys to an MSU upset

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith looks on against Youngstown State during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Being an underdog is never easy. It is also difficult against a USC team that has played like one of the best offenses in college football.

The Trojans rank near the top of the nation in almost every major offensive category. Lincoln Riley has once again engineered an elite scoring attack on the ground and through the air.

Slowing down USC’s quarterback, Jayden Maiava, and the Trojans’ explosive playmakers will be easier said than done, but it is how the Spartans will keep themselves in the game.

MSU struggled to contain some of Youngstown State’s playmakers, so it does not bode well for Defensive Coordinator Joe Rossi’s group as they take on a more talented set of offensive skill players.

The Spartans have also struggled to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football.

Riley’s teams are not typically strong in the trenches, but if MSU does not improve its offensive and defensive line play, it will be in for a long night, and Spartan fans will go to bed early (earlier than they typically would?)

USC has talented defensive linemen like Jah Jarrett, who had a pick-six last week against Purdue. Yes, a defensive lineman had a 70-yard pick-six.

The Trojans’ offensive tackles, Elijah Paige and Justin Tauanuu, are both having solid seasons. MSU has struggled to rush the passer this season, and it will want to get after Maiava much more often to pull off an upset.

This game could be exciting if both teams are scoring points, which we have seen them both do this season. Will MSU do enough to pull off a major upset on the road?

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