Aspect from Illinois game needs to play role for USC during bye week

The reason why there was a strong belief that USC would be able to beat Illinois on the road is due to how the Fighting Illini had looked up to this point in the college football season.

For those expressed concerns, however, the previous week against Indiana made it so that Illinois posed an elevated challenge.

This set up the potential for Illinois to have that much more motivation after being defeated by 53 points.

While the margin in the Trojan matchup against the Fighting Illini was not quite to that extent, there is a similar potential push factor to drive the USC staff and players during the bye week and into the preparation for Michigan.

Because of how USC lost, there is a similar feeling to that of what would have been the case had the Trojans lost by multiple possessions. The same bitter taste in the mouth needs to now fuel a renewed sense of urgency and fight for when the Trojans host the Wolverines.

In other words, the similar concern that Trojan fans had in regard to Illinois after a loss needs to now apply within the USC locker room for the upcoming Trojan matchup.

This will, of course, depend on how the Trojan players respond. There is certainly a strong narrative that is prevalent among Trojan fans about this team that winning the 'big games' is something that simply will not happen.

Desired change from USC

Although there have been some improvements since last year, the start of Big Ten play has not exuded enough confidence. as of yet that USC will be able to turn last year's losses into wins.

Narratives, though, can flip on a weekly basis. Putting up a strong performance against the Wolverines and showing the ability to bounce back would not only provide a needed win during the current stretch of the schedule. More importantly, it will indicate that there can be a change at USC under coach Lincoln Riley.