USC Trojans Running Back Woody Marks on Michigan Game: 'It's Going To Be A Dog Fight'

USC Trojans running back Woody Marks reveals the message from the USC coaching staff ahead of the programs first regular season matchup vs. the Michigan Wolverines since 1958.

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans running back Woody Marks (4) runs with the ball as LSU Tigers safety Kylin Jackson (23) defends during the second quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

For the second time this season, the No. 11 USC Trojans will be tested in a marquee matchup against one of the blue bloods of college football. They took care of business in week one with a last-second 27-20 win over the LSU Tigers. This time the Trojans will travel to Ann Arbor to face the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines. 

Trojans running back Woody Marks revealed the message from the USC coaching staff ahead of the first regular season matchup between the two programs since 1958.

“Play your game, don’t try to be a hero,” Marks said. "It’s going to be a dog fight, just play your game. Do what we you do every day in practice, and you will get the outcome you want.”

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans running back Woody Marks (4) runs with the ball as LSU Tigers safety Kylin Jackson (23) defends during the second quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Saturday's matchup vs. Michigan will serve as the Trojans introduction to the Big Ten, a conference known for its defense and physical style of football. Marks has no doubt about a school from the west coast making the transition.

“It’s the culture around USC, known for physical football," Marks said. "USC has always been a physical team, physical program, always won big games, why not just let legacy just keep going on.”

It is the 11th all-time meeting between the Trojans and Wolverines, with the last one coming in the 2007 Rose Bowl. Saturday's meeting between the two blue bloods will be the first matchup as conference opponents. Michigan will be welcoming the Trojans into the Big Ten as the team's first conference game in the school's history.

Conference realignment has put more of college football's premier brands together, creating more games like the one we'll see in the "Big House".

“It’s a big game, for a lot of reasons,” said USC coach Lincoln Riley. "In any year it would be a big game. First Big Ten matchup, you are taking arguably the two most iconic brands in the conference and two of the most iconic brands in the sport and you pair them up together. I think probably fitting we’re doing at their place, being that they’ve obviously been in the Big Ten forever, so it’s cool. It’s a great opportunity. I don’t think there’s any harm in acknowledging that … we gotta be able to lock in and go execute.”

Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans running back Quinten Joyner (0) runs the ball against Utah State Aggies safety Malik McConico (21) during the first quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The Trojans can make another early season statement, not just in the Big Ten but to the entire country. Kickoff in Ann Arbor will be at 12:30 p.m. PT and be televised on CBS.

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