It's the Lock-Dawn Podcast Network, your team everyday. When the Trojans get to the big house, are they in over their head? Or is Michigan just average? You are Lock-Dawn Trojans, your daily podcast on the USC Trojans, part of the Lock-Dawn Podcast Network, your team everyday. Fight on everyone. I'm your host, Mark Hulkin. And thank you for making a Lock-Dawn U.S.E. Part of the Lock-Dawn Network. Your first list in every day, whether you're watching the show on YouTube, wherever you want to download your podcast, it's always going to be free. And this show is always going to appreciate your support. Today's episode is brought to you by GameTime, download the GameTime app, create an account and use code "LUCK-DUN-CALL-D" for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply, download GameTime today. What time is it? It's GameTime. So the Wolverines, for two and one on the season, you know what, they haven't even left home cooking yet. They've not left Michigan, their first three games, all at home, must be nice, right? They have wins over Fresno State and Arkansas State. They have a little bit of a butt whoopin that was sandwiched in between those two teams. They lost to Texas. Now we know Michigan is going to be good on defense, but how good? How good are they? We're going to talk about that here. Coach Riley thinks they're good. When they played Fresno State and Arkansas State, they held both of those teams to less than 300 yards of total offense. That's really good. I don't care who you're playing, that's really good. But when they played a team with a pulse, an actually really good team, Texas, the number one team in the country right now, they allowed Michigan's defense allowed 31 points, 389 yards, total offense, which is still pretty good, but 246 of those came through the air, the other 143 on the ground. So number two, the air that I want to focus on, we're going to touch on that in the second segment as well. So the question is, is Michigan still good on defense? Or are they in a rebuild mode, reload? I think they're probably close to a rebuild than reload. Don't ask Coach Riley this question, because he's never going to give anybody bolt and board material, let alone Michigan, USC's first time as a member of the big conference. Let's not, let's not make a bad impression with your new neighbors, right? Don't say anything negative, it'll act really. In fact, Coach Riley, this is what he thinks. He thinks you probably need mental health if you think Michigan isn't a good football team. Quote, "They're like most teams that have had a run of great years and had obviously a tremendous year last year. What your judge on is so high. Make no mistake about it. This is still a very, very, very good football team, free time for emphasis, and anybody that thinks they're not is crazy, all right? This is, without a doubt, one of the best defenses in the country, they have NFL personnel on both sides of the ball, all over the place. A really good coaching staff, crazy experience, I mean, this is a great team that'll be a big challenge." End quote. So you heard Coach Riley say, "Look, if you don't think Michigan's a good team, you're crazy. I'm not a crazy coach, all I wanted was a Pepsi, sorry how to do that." You know, you might know what I'm doing right there. Anyways, I agree, I do agree though with Coach Riley, Michigan has a very stout defense. They're really good against the run, Mason Graham, you got Kenneth Grant, those are your two main guys in the middle, you've got Derek Moore, you got Josiah Stewart, those are your two starting rush defensive ends, you got Will Johnson, cornerback patrolling half the field, they have some really good front-line guys, but again, as good as the Wolverines are on defense in three games, just four sacks, that doesn't seem right, right? When we put that number into perspective for everybody, USC has only played two games, they have three sacks. So Michigan's played one more game, they've got one more sack, I'm sure they're finding their way, just like USC's defense is finding their way. "Defensively, it's pretty obvious, it's a really good group, tremendous defensive line, they're really good at all levels, they've got one of the best corners in the game, Will Johnson. It's what you would expect when you go play the defending national champions, they've got a really good team and it'll be a big time challenge for us." Again, that's Coach Riley talking. Nobody is going to offer up a big time argument when it comes to Michigan's defense. Now, they might not have the same depth as the last year, but front-line, again, they're still really good, I'll say what Coach Riley said, they're very, very, very good, starters front-line players, it's the guys behind them, who are still good, but not very, very, very good. So as long as the Trojans offensive line, as long as they continue to play clean, stay disciplined, USC's going to be in a really good spot in this game, that's the biggest challenge for the offensive line, they're going on the road, again, by far they're biggest tests, 100,000 people, 100,000 people, could be louder than the 65,000 that USC's heard in Las Vegas when they beat LSU, so again, just stay disciplined. It's the other side of the ball from Michigan where they're not very, very, very good. I can see defensively, they're going to cause USC some challenges. Offensively, I don't know, you know, at least with the passing game, I, I don't know, look, if you watched or listened to yesterday's episode of Locked on USC, my every dayers for this, you know, you already know that Alex Orgy is going to take over the starting quarterback role at Michigan for Davis Warren. Of course, Riley actually talked about him after practice today, and he said he remembers him from high school, quote, obviously we know they're looking at a quarterback change here, so certainly got to be ready for all things there, but we know the player and athlete that Orgy is, I actually remember him coming out of high school, we have a lot of respect for him and their weapons they have around him, and their ability to run the ball, they ran it really well last week, they have elite tight end, elite backs, they have tremendous players offensively, end of quote. Now, Khalil Mullins, Donovan Edwards, really nice tandem at running back. Their wide receivers, I think those guys are still waiting to break out, Amari and something or another, sorry, I, if I don't know your name, you're not a, a player that I'm concerned about. Now, I might change my mind by the end of the week, I'll, I'll get those names memorized, but Michigan wide receivers don't scare anybody, Coach Riley said he remembers Orgy from high school, well, he might remember him, Alex was a member of the 2022 recruiting class, just for everybody's own edification, but here's the thing, and I know Oklahoma offered him, I'm not sure it was Coach Riley who offered him, remember Coach Riley took over the USC team at the end of the 2021 season, that was the year USC literally crashed and burned big time, but that's why we have Coach Riley now, that's why we have Coach Dan Lynn as their defense coordinator now, everything happens for these, right, right, again, following Tuesday's practice, Coach Riley was asked about the quarterback change, and just keep in mind Coach Riley is always going to keep his cards close to the vest, very guarded, doesn't give out bolt and board material, so this is what he had to say, right, he said, every quarterback at this level can throw the ball, and he doesn't think it's reasonable to expect Michigan to run it 70 times and throw it once, yes, some hyperbole there, yes, he's, the implication being that everybody expects Alex Orgy to run as much as possible because he's not a great thrower, I'll say it straight out, Orgy cannot throw the ball, it's a head scratcher, I mean he was, he had some really nice offers coming out of high school, Michigan, Oklahoma, I think Miami was in there, it's really weird, you see these guys play in high school and they look like, you know, they're all, Johnny All-American, right, Johnny football, and then they get to college and you see guys that were considered the top quarterbacks coming out of high school in their class, DJU, he's now at Florida State, he's gone from Clemson to Oregon State, now he's at Florida State, he's got Steve Sacks disease, if you know who Steve Sacks was, he played second base for the Dodgers, you just cannot throw a ball, it's weird, so yeah, guys can spin it, you know, they might have strong arms, I think Orgy has a strong arm, 6 foot 3, 230 pounds, you know, he can heave it, but when the lights come on and there's a hundred thousand fans in the stands all focused on you, that's pressure, all of a sudden you start short-arming things, you get those alligator arms, we'll see what happens on Saturday, you know, will he have the confidence to just let it rip, that's at USC secondary, so here's my question in this segment, which is going to make a big, which is going to have a bigger impact or which will make the bigger difference in the game on Saturday, USC's much, much improved defense, or Michigan's offense with a running quarterback who will throw it when necessary, I saw a few things at USC's practice on Tuesday, that are giving me good reason to think USC's really focused, they're ready for this game. One player in particular, we're going to talk about him next, you heard us talk about Bandu a lot, America's number one sports book, well, we have something a little different for you, now through September 22nd, it's almost September 22nd, today's the 18th, so you got like five more days total, all Bandu customers, you can bet five dollars and you can get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday ticket on YouTube and YouTube TV, then with a YouTube TV base plan, you'll be able to watch every regular season Sunday afternoon at a market game, right? All you need is a Google account, a current form of payment, and you can cancel it anytime, just visit Bandu.com/lockedon to download America's number one sports book. When was the last time you went to a concert comedy show, any live event, or the last time you went to a USC football game? I know people like to watch on their fourth out, you know, a 4K TV, I get it, when was the last time you went to a live event? 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So we talked with Zachariah Branch and we actually had to wait a little bit longer to talk to him because he and his brother Zion, they were doing an exclusive interview with one of the local TV stations, well deserved, but nevertheless, which let me just get this little mini rant out of the way real fast, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, when the TV media crews show up, obviously they get special access, they set up their tripods, it just, it makes my job a little bit more difficult, I got to hold my phone up here to record the interviews, my shoulder hurts, anyways, let's get back to Zachariah Branch. He said that he spent the bi-week kicking himself, he was pretty upset, ticked off, that he dropped that touchdown, I've talked about it on the show a couple of times, but he's also had to watch that kickoff return against LSU, the one where the kicker tackled him, he said, man, I should have just stayed to the outside, it's what happens though when you're competitive, you want to see how many guys you can beat one on one, he let that one get the best of them, and he took his eyes off that touchdown pass against Utah State, I told you, he just did not see the ball in his hands, he saw the ball comment, he was like, oh there's the goal line, oh there's the ball, can do that, so for a week he's been stewing, literally, he said he's not pressing, but he said he does feel like he's ready to have a really big play, he said, he was talking about how the guys are trying to you know, just keep him, keep him focused, guys came up to me like, good, trying to encourage us, but I'm not good man, I'm a competitive guy, end quote. It's not the words, it's how he said it, I loved it first of all, I was watching, I was watching his eyes, the eyes of the windows to your soul, so he didn't necessarily tell his teammates, they don't get out of my face because I'm pissed, but that was the message I heard when he was talking to us, it's like yeah, you're trying to tell me it's gonna be okay, but no man, I screwed up, can't do that, you want that type of energy, you want that inside of you so the next time you have an opportunity, it's like I don't do what I did last time. As a coach, as a teammate, that's again, that's the type of response you want, especially from one of your finger quotes, team leaders, his teammate, Juice Robinson had some really big praise for Zachariah, he said, obviously Zach is a freak athlete, I believe there's no one in college like Zach, he's right, here is it, Zachariah is eventually gonna pop one, it's gonna happen, and I can't think of a better place in the big house, perfect place to have a great start to the rest of the season, I'll say it again, Zachariah just needs to stay focused, 100% every single play, that's the biggest challenge, not just for a second-year player, for upperclassmen too, you gotta stay focused 100% of the time, that's what coaches are always driving, you mean 100% every play, pretend it's your last one you'll ever do, so I saw that in practice today, I saw a little bit of both with Zachariah, during the special teams, he's one, you know, put the returner, he's out there warming up, he ended Jopliski, he gave a really big punt, and he dropped it, coach Ryan Doherty was standing right there, kind of looked at him like, come on man, the very next rep, big punt again, Zachariah had a back pedal to the goal line, but he looked the ball in, perfect technique, he looked like he was ready on that one, but again, freak athlete without a doubt, during the wide receiver warmups when they're doing their air routes, he made it a really cool one how to catch, he kind of turned one way and then turned back the other way and came back with his right hand, even Kyron Hudson would have been jealous, he would have been like, you the man, you the man, and when he finished the play, he kind of rolled over on his back, spun the ball, you know, like a top, good concentration, good play. Just to remind everybody, Zachariah was a first team all American as a true freshman, return specialist, he won the jet award, he returned both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown as a true freshman, as a wide receiver last year, 31 catches, 320 yards, two touchdowns, not bad, but people kind of, they got a taste of Zachariah, they saw what his potential is, what he's capable of doing, Michigan's head coach, Sean Moore knows exactly what he's capable of doing, he said this, he's explosive, twitchy, he's a big playmaker, he's right, all of those things, all three of those, they describe Zachariah to a tee, I have zero doubt that Michigan's defensive coordinator, the great link Martindale, he's asking something defensively for branch to try and get him off his game, so far though, if you're trying to, you know, where does, how do you defend branch, where is he most likely going to line up, he's seen 66 snaps on offense in the three games, running per game, roughly, 22 per game, to be precise, 48 of those have come in the slot, so typically your slot guy is covered up by your nickel pack, Zeekberry, good luck, that's Michigan's nickel guy, Will Johnson, all American corner back, maybe the best in college football, both he and Jair Hill, those are their two starting corners, they're going to have their hands full, they got a deal with Mackay Lemon, here's Robinson, Jacobi Lang, so it's going to be interesting to see how Coach Riley spreads these guys out, how they make Michigan's defense react, or does Wayne start disguising stuff, that first quarter is going to be an interesting, you know, I think it's going to have a couple of catches kind of pawing each other, I think it's going to be a low score, to be honest with you, so again, knowing that Zeekberrya has been just, I won't say sulking, but waiting for this week to come, so he can get out to Michigan and show what he's capable of doing, yeah, that whole competitive nature, you want that, unfortunately for Michigan they might have to suffer his wrath, sorry, we know Coach Riley likes to run the football, and he has the guys to do it, and he's got the guys up front to make it happen, still, when you've got a Zachariah branch on your team, you've got to get him the ball as often as possible, so maybe you see him do some jet sweeps, winding him up in the backfield, running back, set him in motion, whatever you can do to get him some open space and get the ball in his hands as quickly as possible, and don't forget Miller Moss, once he takes a snap, two seconds, boom, it's gone, so we're going to see if Michigan has a chance to improve on their stack totals, they might not have, they might not have the time to get to Miller, so yeah, big time game, natural TV, big house, what do great players do, they show up in these types of environments, they find a way to make a play, you know, when you get the opportunity something happens, let's give Zachariah as many opportunities as possible, but don't force it, let's make sure we're using the running backs, the tight ends, love it, I love boring football, but this game, as I said, Michigan gave up 240 something yards to Texas, I think USC has a better wide receiving core than Texas, quarterback, we can have that discussion another day, we'll see. 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Fans' contributions are securely held and are only distributed if the athlete makes a decision that aligns with the fans' support, if not, you're going to get your money back, how's that? Download Roy for iOS or Android and enter a referral code locked on, and you're going to automatically be entered, check this out, sweep six, $5,000 cash, just enter the code locked on, it's all you got to do, you might get lucky, you might win $5,000. Visit joinroy.com for additional details, no purchases necessary, void where prohibited, get the Roy app for iOS or Android and start making an impact on your favorite team, get off the sidelines, support the players, change the game with Roy. All right, I got some recruiting information for you before we get out of here. At some point today, my everydayers are going to see a five-star wide receiver from Utah, you know his name, Jerome Miles, he's going to be picking between USC and Utah, and some believe Texas A&M is still in there too. They're holding a big bag over here saying, "Hey, don't forget about us, it's going to be USC." You know why? Because he was originally scheduled to commit October 30th. He took a visit to USC within hours. He changed his commitment date to September 18th, and here we are. So look, unless he's had a change of heart since then, Jerome Miles is going to be a part of USC's recruiting class. That means he and Juju Lewis will be the two five stars in the class. For those of you who like to hang on the star system, USC will now have two, which means their class ranking is going to improve. I don't know if they'll be tough, but they'll be much closer. Here's, I will do this for you guys. I'm not sure what the exact number is going to be, but I will say by the time everything's all said and done, pen to paper, letter of intent, both of them. I think USC will have at least four five star players. You heard it here first. Now, let me give you another recruiting nugget. And this, this one might upset my Oklahoma sooner everyday fans who watch the show, who listened to the show, sooner fans. It's not personal. This is just business. And I think you know where I'm going with this, right? Look, Eric Henderson, dude's relentless. When he sees something, when he wants something, he's going to keep going until he gets it. Demons of Tackle, Floyd Bucard, he's on flip watch. Monday night, Demons of Tackle, Floyd Bucard announced his decommitment from Oklahoma. You already knew that sooner fans. Probably came over here to hear big, hear about me gloating them, gloating about it. You have to wait a little bit longer. He's not in the bag yet yet. I guess I think sooner fans were already waiting for this to happen because Floyd had let everybody know that he was going to be taking a visit last week. He was supposed to go watch the Miami game when they took on Ball State. Guess what? Guess what? He never took that trip. He never went down to Miami. So, Scott Schrader, my buddy over there at WeRSC.com, recruiting guru, that he's hearing things. Yeah, he's hearing things. In July, let me remind everybody, Floyd said he allowed his gut feeling to get to him and he committed Oklahoma over USC and Miami. Before he made that commitment public, he was one of those Python emojis that USC sent out. He was, but then he got that gut feeling and he ended up committing to Oklahoma for some reason. Well, now, USC is a favorite for the six foot two and a half, 315 pounder from Canada. This is what he said. Picard said USC made a big impression on his official visit and had former Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald personally call him during the trip and offered a train him if he ends up in Los Angeles. I think that's what got him to give USC one of the back then trim at summer. Floyd also said this about USC quote. They create Heisman winners and big dogs come out of that school. Coach Henny has NFL experience. He has won a Super Bowl and they could do big things with defensive lineman there. That's what he said back in July. I don't know when he's planning to make his announcement again, but all of a sudden all the recruiting predictions are USC, not Oklahoma. Not Miami. I'm going to tell you this right now. If USC beats Michigan, let me rephrase that. When USC beats Michigan, watch out. The recruiting floodgates are going to open up. It's going to be like Niagara Falls just everybody's going to be looking at USC. Oh my God, I hope they have space. I might want to go there. You're already starting to see that a little bit. You got the wide receiver, drill miles. It sounds like Floyd Descartes likes what he sees. That proof of concept on defense is working. And don't forget about these guys that USC has lost out on originally, but they're not giving up on. You've got guys like Riley Petty John, the linebacker, who's committed to Ohio State for now. You've got offensive tackle Aaron Dunn, who's committed to Utah for now. Douglas U2, offensive lineman from Bishop Gorman, who's committed to Tennessee. We'll see. There's a few other guys out there that they're starting to look in USC's direction again. Check. Oh, there's a defensive back who's currently committed to Colorado. It was things Alex Graham from Michigan. I'm going to be seeing him in his high school game when I get out there this weekend. Tell you what I see. But if I like him, it doesn't matter if I do or not, I'll tell you my impression when I see him. That's it for this episode of locked on USC. Oh, by the way, if you want to check out all that recruiting information and all my written content, that's VIP. We are a C.com right now 50% off annual subscription. Just use code bite on all capitals two words, bite on. That's it. That's it for this episode of locked on USC. I'll be back again tomorrow with another one. Until then, everyone, you know what to do. 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