Michigan Running Back Sounds Off On Experience At USC’s Coliseum

The USC Trojans beat the Michigan Wolverines in front of a sold-out crowd of 75,500 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to improve to 5-1 on the season. The stadium was buzzing like it used to back when the Trojans were in the national championship race every year in the early 2000’s.

USC coach Lincoln Riley gave his message to fans, noting that the atmosphere against Michigan provided an impact on the field.

Lincoln Riley Gives Credit to USC Fans for Home Atmosphere

USC Trojans Michigan Wolverines Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Lincoln Riley Jordan Marshall Big Ten Football Crowd Sell Out — Oct 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley (wearing white visor) celebrates along with defensive end coach Shaun Nua after kicker Ryon Sayeri (48) hit a 54-yard field goal in the second half against the Michigan Wolverines at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Following USC’s 31-13 win over Michigan, Lincoln Riley gave a message to Trojans fans in the postgame media availability.

“When you’re USC and you go on the road and play at other people’s houses, we have to deal with that every single time, and it’s a challenge,” Riley said. “You could just feel the impact of our crowd tonight, like you could feel through energy. It impacted the game. I feel like it impacted our opponent.”

Riley noted that this is something he wants to see at the Coliseum every game and not just have the Michigan game as a one off.

“Whenever we’re back here in a couple weeks, let’s light it up again,” Riley said.

The Trojans next home game will be on Friday, Nov. 7 against the Northwestern Wildcats.

Riley went on Trojans Live after the Michigan win and spoke more about the energy that the Coliseum provided, not only for his current team, but for the potential USC recruits that were in attendance.

“Definitely a buzz and excitement,” Riley said. “We had breakfast with a lot of those guys Sunday morning over on campus. You could still feel the energy. That’s an atmosphere like that in the Coliseum that’s pretty tough to beat."

The Coliseum has gotten flack for being empty in recent years. That was not the case against Michigan. Riley hopes that's a good sign of things to come.

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Michigan’s Jordan Marshall Downplays Coliseum Effect on Game

Michigan running back Jordan Marshall didn’t seem to be too impressed with the crowd in his postgame press conference with reporters, stating that “it wasn’t Michigan.”

“We’re playing at the Coliseum and it’s cool, but this is nothing like Michigan,” Marshall said. “When you play here, where we’re so locked in this is just another game, another place to play. Everybody was saying how the environment was gonna be crazy. I thought it wasn’t Michigan.”

Even if Marshall was right and the crowd didn’t play a factor like Riley believes it did, the Trojans still beat the Wolverines handily.

USC never trailed in this game and had control of it from late in the second quarter until the end. The run game for USC was a key factor, led by King Miller, who rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown.