Sherrone Moore changed Michigan’s usual travel plans to be in better shape to face USC. The team reached South Cal on Thursday rather than Friday and even spent an entire day practicing at the facility of the LA Chargers. All that prep was for nothing. Neither side of the ball performed in an embarrassing 13-31 loss. Earlier, RB Jordan Marshall blamed the atmosphere in the Coliseum as a reason for Michigan’s loss. “[It] wasn’t Michigan,” he said. But a change of environment could do little against a squad that was in line to hit 40 points, had it not been for 2 turnovers. He later admitted to the main flaw of the Wolverines.

Marshall did his best to help save Michigan from an embarrassing defeat to the Trojans. But USC was simply no match for the Wolverines. “We had a great week of practice, probably one of the best weeks we’ve had,” he told the press after the game. “But like Coach Moore and all the coaches say, that gives us the opportunity to go out in the game and gives us a chance to win when we have great weeks of practice. We just didn’t execute,” he added. Both the offense and defense seemed to be stunned by the sheer prowess that was displayed by USC.

“We just didn’t execute. I don’t think we executed enough on offense. We didn’t give our defense time to be off the field all night. I put that on myself and I’m going to help lead this team to make sure that we can be better in all phases of the game,” Marshall continued.

The RB stepped in for Justice Haynes, who left with a midsection injury in the second quarter. The Wolverines rush attack collapsed without the most important element of this Wolverine offense. Marshall helped with his 14 carries and 68 yards, but it couldn’t make a difference. Bryce Underwood’s rookie bravado ended up costing the Wolverines a dignified defeat at best. And the defense was another nightmare altogether.

Michigan’s defense was of no use when it came to stopping both USC’s passing and rushing attack. The Trojans ran for 225 yards, that too without star RB Waymond Jordan. Jayden Maiava was also racking up those passing yards, amounting for 265. That’s a total of 489 yards allowed by the defense, a season high for Michigan. Tackles were missed, thanks to USC outshining the defense with its speed. This was no way the Michigan that was expected to come back stronger after last year’s performance. “We’ve just got to get better as a team, really,” Zeke Berry said after the game, echoing the same sentiment. The disappointment this time is being felt by everyone in Michigan, including Sherrone Moore.

Sherrone Moore lists where Michigan went wrong

Michigan came back strong after the Oklahoma loss. But after the Wisconsin game, it was becoming clear that the foundation was still weak in the team. Ultimately, those cracks gave way against a far better USC side. Sherrone Moore couldn’t help but admit to the flaws. “We didn’t execute all the times we needed to,” he said after the game. “That was not one of our best tackling performances… Just too many opportunities, big plays, third down conversions, and scoring at the beginning of the game and half. So we just gotta do a better job of rallying those things,” he added.

Michigan finished 2-for-9 in 3 down conversions, while USC went 6-for-12. After the opening drive, the next time the Wolverines were able to find themselves near USC’s end zone was in the 3 quarter. By then. The Trojans had already racked up 3 scores. Michigan now looks like a team that needs serious repairs before it faces Washington in Week 8. The fact that the ground attack — the saving grace for Michigan so far this season — also added itself to the list of problems is a worrying scenario for Moore.

Sherrone Moore and Co. seem to be coming out in flashes this year. That’s uncharacteristic of a team that is touted to have some of the best talent in the country. Falling to USC with almost nothing to feel good about shows that Michigan is far away from truly tasting success this season.