ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's Sherrone Moore might have made a rookie mistake.
When Moore was asked at his weekly news conference if Alex Orji would start for the 18th-ranked Wolverines, the first-year coach said the junior quarterback would take the first snap Saturday against No. 11 Southern California.
Instead of forcing the Trojans to prepare for both of the Wolverines' one-dimensional signal callers, Moore let everyone know on Monday that Orji was getting a shot after Davis Warren won the job and struggled with the opportunity.
The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Orji has thrown just seven passes in 12 games over three years as a change-of-pace running option at quarterback, who has 181 yards rushing and three scores in his career.
Davis, who is from Los Angeles, got the green light to throw 72 times this season and has three times as many interceptions (six) as touchdown passes (two) in three starts and did not gain a yard on eight carries.
While Moore was forthcoming about his plan at quarterback, he did try to be coy about possibly altering the offense to suit Orji's skills.
“I’m not going to give you all the keys to the castle,” he said.
USC coach Lincoln Riley, meanwhile, spent the week trying to simulate Orji's ability to run.
“We’ve got a couple of guys that we’re trying to use a little bit, but he’s a really good athlete," Riley said. “We recruited him a little bit coming out of high school. Remember him, have a lot of respect for him as a player and an athlete.”
Riley insisted the Trojans will respect Orji's arm.
“You don’t play quarterback at this level without being able to throw the ball some,” he said.
USC quarterback Miller Moss is off to an encouraging start, succeeding Caleb Williams.
Moss threw for 378 yards and a touchdown in a win over then-No. 13 LSU and had 229 yards passing and a score in two-plus quarters against Utah State. He considered attending Michigan when former coach Jim Harbaugh recruited him out of high school, but opted to stay in his native Southern California.
“Accurate, takes care of the football, plays well within the system,” Moore said. "Not a runner by any means, but definitely has good arm strength and has a lot of weapons around him and distributes it well.”
Michigan's defense has been vulnerable against the pass and may get exploited again by another speedy receiver, this time Zachariah Branch.
Michigan's Colston Loveland, a preseason All-America tight end, left last week's game with an undisclosed injury and Moore did not share an update on his condition earlier in the week.
If Loveland is out against USC, that's a big blow for the Wolverines.
Loveland had a career-high eight catches in the opener, matched that total against the Longhorns, and had three receptions before he was injured midway through last week's win over Arkansas State.
USC, which had a bye last week, had its first shutout in 13 years in a 48-0 win over Utah State.
The performance provided a boost of confidence for a defense that was overhauled by new coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who took over after the Trojans had one of the worst defenses in major college football last season.
USC has made a concentrated effort to get bigger and stronger for its first year in the Big Ten and Riley noticed a difference in particular on the defensive line.
“You can see that group coming together, and they’ve got another big opportunity to show it,” Riley said.
Michigan has won a school-record 25 straight Big Ten games, including three for conference championships. The Wolverines have been ranked for 50 straight weeks since early in the 2021 season and if they lose, their run in AP Top 25 may come to an end.
USC’s 6-5, 275-pound defensive end Anthony Lucas got Moore’s attention while scouting this week’s opponent.
“He’s a game-wrecker that we’ve got to definitely have our eyes on,” he said.
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Follow Larry Lage at https://twitter.com/larrylage
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