Lincoln Riley’s undefeated No. 25 USC Trojans will host another undefeated, yet unranked team, the Michigan State Spartans of Jonathan Smith. The Spartans have logged victories over Western Michigan, Boston College, and Youngstown State. The Trojans have so far defeated Missouri State, Georgia Southern, and Purdue.
This game is arguably the most difficult either program has faced so far this season, although the bookies heavily favor the USC Trojans.
Michigan State Depth Chart
Michigan State Offense
| Pos | No. | Player 1 | No | Player 2 | No | Player 3 | No | Player 4 | No | Player 5 |
| WR-X | 6 | Marsh, Nick SO | 8 | Boyd, Evan RS SO/TR | ||||||
| WR-Z | 1 | Kelly, Omari SR/TR | 3 | Bullard Jr., Rodney RS SR/TR | ||||||
| WR-F | 13 | McCray, Chrishon RS JR/TR | 0 | Brown, Alante RS SR/TR | ||||||
| LT | 65 | Ramil, Stanton RS SO | 73 | Young, Rustin RS FR | ||||||
| LG | 74 | Broscious, Gavin RS JR | 70 | Vincic, Luka RS JR/TR | ||||||
| C | 51 | Gulbin, Matt RS SR/TR | 54 | Terpstra, Cooper RS SO | ||||||
| RG | 72 | Carter, Caleb RS SR/TR | 71 | Phillips, Kristian RS JR | ||||||
| RT | 58 | Moore, Conner RS JR/TR | 66 | Lepo, Ashton RS JR | ||||||
| TE | 81 | Masunas, Michael RS JR | 12 | Velling, Jack SR/TR | 88 | Rios, Kai RS JR/TR | ||||
| QB | 2 | Chiles, Aidan JR/TR | 11 | Milivojevic, Alessio RS FR | ||||||
| RB | 5 | Frazier, Makhi SO | 7 | Tullis, Brandon SO | 4 | Tau-Tolliver, Elijah RS SR/TR | ||||
| FB | 44 | Coyne, Jay RS JR |
Michigan State Defense
| Pos | No. | Player 1 | No | Player 2 | No | Player 3 | No | Player 4 | No | Player 5 |
| LDE | 9 | Thompson, Jalen JR | 13 | Smith, Isaac RS SR/TR | 41 | Santiago, David RS SO/TR | ||||
| LDT | 91 | VanSumeren, Alex RS JR | 98 | Simmons, Derrick FR | 88 | Buckley, Ru’Quan RS SR/TR | ||||
| RDT | 55 | Roberts, Ben RS JR/TR | 16 | Kelly, Grady RS SR/TR | 51 | Burnett, Kekai RS FR | ||||
| RDE | 99 | Dunnigan, Quindarius GR/TR | 8 | Moa, Aisea RS JR/TR | 11 | Lafaele, Anelu RS FR/TR | 44 | Williams, Cam RS SR/TR | ||
| WLB | 10 | Matthews III, Wayne RS SR/TR | 17 | Bridgeman, Semaj RS SO/TR | 45 | Pretzlaff, Brady RS FR | ||||
| MLB | 5 | Hall, Jordan JR | 23 | Snow, Darius RS SR | 4 | Pulliam, Marcellius JR/TR | ||||
| LCB | 14 | Bell, Malcolm RS SR/TR | 2 | West, Aydan FR | 24 | Pinnace III, Anthony RS JR/TR | ||||
| SS | 43 | Spencer, Malik SR | 27 | Cromwell, Devynn RS SR/TR | ||||||
| FS | 19 | Smith, Armorion RS SR/TR | 12 | Denson Jr., Justin SO | ||||||
| RCB | 7 | Eaton, Joshua RS SR/TR | 25 | Rucker, Chance RS SO | ||||||
| NB | 6 | Willie, Ade SR | 3 | Hughes, Jeremiah JR/TR |
Michigan State Special Teams
| Pos | No. | Player 1 | No | Player 2 | No | Player 3 | No | Player 4 | No | Player 5 |
| PT | 96 | Eckley, Ryan RS JR | 48 | Voss, Carson RS SR/TR | ||||||
| PK | 40 | Ahmetbasic, Tarik RS SO | 86 | Sislo, Blake RS SR/TR | ||||||
| KO | 96 | Eckley, Ryan RS JR | ||||||||
| LS | 47 | Schickel, Kaden RS SR/TR | 87 | Wills, Jack FR | ||||||
| H | 96 | Eckley, Ryan RS JR | 48 | Voss, Carson RS SR/TR | ||||||
| PR | 0 | Brown, Alante RS SR/TR | ||||||||
| KR | 3 | Bullard Jr., Rodney RS SR/TR | 0 | Brown, Alante RS SR/TR |
USC Trojans Depth Chart
USC Trojans Offense
| Pos | No. | Player 1 | No | Player 2 | No | Player 3 | No | Player 4 | No | Player 5 |
| WR-X | 8 | Lane, Ja’Kobi JR | 0 | Williams, Zacharyus SO/TR | 10 | Simms, Corey FR | 86 | Das, Asante RS SR/TR | ||
| WR-Z | 16 | Hines, Tanook FR | 19 | Jordan, DJ RS FR | 15 | Richardson, Jaden RS SR/TR | 84 | Ison, Romero FR | ||
| WR-SL | 6 | Lemon, Makai JR | 9 | Fair, Jay SR/TR | 44 | Zamora, Josiah RS SR | ||||
| LT | 72 | Paige, Elijah RS SO | 70 | Dunn, Aaron FR | ||||||
| LG | 73 | Raymond, Tobias RS SO | 59 | Banuelos, Micah RS SO | 68 | Treter, Hayden RS FR | ||||
| C | 67 | O’Connor, Kilian RS JR | 50 | Reed, J’Onre RS SR/TR | 52 | Wascher, Willi FR | ||||
| RG | 77 | Noa, Alani JR | 60 | Miller, Kaylon RS FR | ||||||
| RT | 74 | Tauanuu, Justin RS FR | 79 | Vaikona, Elijah FR | 71 | Payne, Alex FR | ||||
| TE | 87 | McRee, Lake RS SR | 85 | Lyons, Walker SO | 88 | Tupou, Taniela FR | 24 | Tabaracci, Carson RS JR/TR | ||
| QB | 14 | Maiava, Jayden RS JR/TR | 4 | Longstreet, Husan FR | 7 | Huard, Sam RS SR/TR | ||||
| RB | 2 | Jordan, Waymond JR/TR | 1 | Sanders, Eli RS SR/TR | 21 | Jackson, Bryan SO | 30 | Miller, King RS FR | 41 | McKelvey, Cian RS SO |
USC Defense
| Pos | No. | Player 1 | No | Player 2 | No | Player 3 | No | Player 4 | No | Player 5 |
| LDE | 6 | Lucas, Anthony SR/TR | 10 | Shelby, Braylan JR | 95 | Ramos, Jadyn FR | 39 | Pomerantz, Garrett RS JR | ||
| NT | 8 | Thompkins, Devan RS JR | 9 | Silver, Keeshawn RS SR/TR | 92 | Jones, Carlon RS FR | 94 | Pepe, Kobe RS SR | ||
| DT | 97 | Abasiri, Jide SO | 0 | Jarrett, Jamaal RS SO/TR | 88 | Boucard, Floyd FR | 91 | Cho, Brendan RS FR | ||
| RDE | 1 | Fountain, Kameryn SO | 4 | Stewart, Jahkeem FR | 90 | Cordova, Gus FR | ||||
| WLB | 18 | Gentry, Eric RS SR/TR | 26 | Newby, Elijah RS FR | 44 | Tagoa’i, Matai FR | 29 | Madden, Garrison RS JR | 51 | Quintanar, Ryan RS SR/TR |
| MLB | 23 | Stephens II, Desman SO | 31 | Walker, Jadyn RS FR | 14 | Robinson, Ta’Mere RS SO/TR | 57 | Marchetti, Roman RS JR | 54 | Tuitele, AJ FR |
| LCB | 2 | Harvey, DJ RS SR/TR | 25 | Williams, Marcelles RS FR | 37 | Castro, Trestin FR | ||||
| SS | 19 | Fitzgerald, Bishop RS SR/TR | 28 | Urlacher, Kennedy SO/TR | 38 | Rubin, Isaiah RS FR | 45 | Shepherd, Brandon RS JR | ||
| FS | 24 | Pierce, Christian JR | 30 | Gallegos, Marquis RS FR | 36 | Miller, Steve FR | ||||
| RCB | 17 | Nicholson, DeCarlos RS SR/TR | 22 | Conley, Braylon RS FR | 40 | Sehra, Shawn RS SO | ||||
| NB | 7 | Ramsey, Kamari RS JR/TR | 34 | Longstreet, Kevin RS SO/TR | 35 | Johnson, James FR |
USC Special Teams
| Pos | No. | Player 1 | No | Player 2 | No | Player 3 | No | Player 4 | No | Player 5 |
| PT | 80 | Johnson, Sam RS SR/TR | 48 | Sayeri, Ryon RS FR | ||||||
| PK | 48 | Sayeri, Ryon RS FR | 93 | Weisberg, William FR | ||||||
| KO | 48 | Sayeri, Ryon RS FR | 93 | Weisberg, William FR | ||||||
| LS | 31 | Pepper, Hank RS SR/TR | 47 | McDonough, Devin RS JR/TR | ||||||
| H | 80 | Johnson, Sam RS SR/TR | 48 | Sayeri, Ryon RS FR | ||||||
| PR | 6 | Lemon, Makai JR | 0 | Williams, Zacharyus SO/TR | ||||||
| KR | 6 | Lemon, Makai JR | 1 | Sanders, Eli RS SR/TR |
Michigan State vs. USC Trojans prediction
Anything but a confident victory would be a step back for Lincoln Riley’s team. The bookies have USC as 17.5-point favorites in the spread, while ESPN’s game predictor is giving them a 95.2% chance of winning the game.
The head-to-head between the schools is even, with four victories each. While Michigan State has won the last three encounters, it is totally irrelevant, as they date back to 1990 and 1987. For the superstitious, this might be a factor: USC has never lost at home against the Trojans.
Expect USC to win big:
USC 42 – 23 Michigan State
The game will air on Fox at 11:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.
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