Ryan Kartje (LA Times)  —  Saturday was definitely a day of many emotions, for me included. Being back in the Big House for the first time in a decade brought back a lot of memories of days spent at the stadium with my dad, Kirk, who loved Michigan football more than he loved most things. He passed away earlier this year to a heart attack. He was just 61.

After the game was long over and my story was sent, I went down to the Big House concourse alone. Besides a few people cleaning up on the field, there wasn’t a soul in the giant stadium. So I went to our old section, where my grandpa always got season tickets, and I sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking about my dad and how much those days together meant in retrospect.

It was hard not to have him there. But I know a part of him will always be with the Big House now. And I’m happy to know, with USC in the Big Ten, I’ll be back again to visit soon enough.

I’m not sure Josh Henson would like to make a return trip to Ann Arbor any time soon … or ever.

No one on USC’s staff comes out of the loss to Michigan looking worse than the Trojans offensive line coach, whose unit was terrorized from start to finish by Michigan’s fearsome front.

Redshirt freshman Elijah Paige (6-7, 320, Phoenix Pinnacle, AZ), whose progress at left tackle was the talk of fall camp, was a turnstile on Miller Moss’ blindside, to the point that he had to be benched at halftime, in order for USC to even run its offense.

Paige struggled in pretty much every facet of protection, with speed rushers off the edge and bull rushes on the interior, and clearly lost confidence as the first half went along. For Paige, someone who’s needed a push in the past to ignite his competitive fire, that confidence is crucial. I expect he’ll see Michigan’s Josaiah Stewart in his nightmares for a few days after allowing him four pressures over just 31 first-half snaps.

Will Paige be able to bounce back by next week? Or might Mason Murphy take his spot at left tackle? That’s a major question that needs answering from both Henson and Riley this week.

“I don’t want to pass a lot of judgment until I can sit there and study it,” Riley said. “I know those guys battled.”

Fortunately, it’s my job to pass judgment! And personally, I don’t see how USC could withstand sidelining Paige at a position that was already frighteningly thin. Tobias Raymond, who came to USC as a raw prospect, didn’t look like the answer to USC’s problems in his 45 snaps, even if Riley praised his performance. After Raymond, the only option would be to move Jonah Monheim back to left tackle, while redshirt senior Gino Quinones steps in at center when he’s deemed healthy enough.

Quinones could be needed elsewhere first. Right guard Alani Noa was actually the first USC lineman to be replaced Saturday, and his status as a starter is even more uncertain than Paige. Amos Talalele, who saw 24 snaps as Noa’s backup, could very well get a turn at starter next week.

The truth is no one looked good along USC’s offensive line Saturday. Michigan blitzed only 27% of the time — a particularly low rate for a Wink Martindale defense — but pressured Moss 22 times.

Look, I’m not one to give much credence to Pro Football Focus grades, especially for the offensive line. But against Michigan, USC earned a grade for its pass blocking of eight … out of 100! It was the lowest pass blocking grade PFF had ever recorded for a USC offensive line in its 10 years of grading.

Not exactly an ideal first impression for a team that arrives in a new conference with the reputation of not being physical up front.

That’s on Henson, who came into the season with plans to trust his young linemen’s development, as opposed to adding in the portal.

“At some point, you’re going to take young guys and say, it’s time for that guy to make the jump, make the leap to where he’s performing at a level that’s good enough for us to go win championships,” Henson said in August. “That’s why they call us coach.”

And now, it falls to the coach to figure it out. And fast.

Extra points

USC TE Lake McRee during a game last season. (Kyusung Gong / AP)

—  Lost in the aftermath of Michigan’s three big runs was a truly stellar performance from linebacker Eric Gentry, who has quickly established himself this season as the most disruptive player on USC’s defense. It’s a wonder what’s happened with a staff that actually understands him. Gentry had 12 tackles, three of which were for a loss, and even punched out a fumble that seemed, for a brief moment, to secure a win for USC. Working primarily off the edge, Gentry contributed four pressures on just 17 total Michigan dropbacks, a truly insane rate. It baffles me, to this day, that it took this long to figure him out. Maybe Riley should have read my story back in 2022.

—  It was heartbreaking to see Lake McRee in tears on USC’s bench after a Michigan defender tackled him low in the second half Saturday, leaving him writhing on the field. McRee had just worked his way back from an ACL tear he suffered before last year’s Holiday Bowl, his second in four years. It wasn’t clear then he’d even make it back in time for the season. But he did, and through three games, McRee had emerged as Moss’ most trusted receiving option. We don’t know how serious his injury is, but his reaction certainly gives some pause. If he’s forced to miss time, USC would probably turn to Kade Eldridge as the starting tight end,

—  Is it possible that Bear Alexander isn’t the game-wrecking force on the interior we thought he was? While the rest of USC’s defensive line has clearly leveled up, Alexander seems to have faded more into the background. He played the same amount as longtime reserve Kobe Pepe, while Gavin Meyer had another strong showing. Neither Riley nor Lynn have offered much on why Alexander’s role keeps shrinking, but his 21 snaps are his fewest in a game since coming to USC.

latimes.com

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