Desmond Howard Shocks ESPN Crew With Pick in Michigan-USC Game

When it comes to Michigan Wolverines legends, there are few who stand as tall as Desmond Howard. The former Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl champion wide receiver is as big of a Michigan fan as there is in the sports media world.

So when Howard goes on ESPN's College GameDay and picks against his former team, it turns some heads.

That's what happened on Saturday morning ahead of the Wolverines' top-25 clash with the USC Trojans. When asked to make his official game pick, Howard shocked everyone watching when predicting that his alma mater would lose.

"With the quarterback change, I think there's just too much going on in Ann Arbor," Howard said. "I think the Trojans walk away with the victory over Michigan."

The statement was so shocking that others on the desk let out an audible reaction, and Kirk Herbstreit had to make sure that Howard was feeling okay.

Looking at things objectively, it's not a crazy pick from Howard. Michigan has struggled so far in 2024 as they go through a tough national championship hangover. After starting out 2-1 with a loss against the Texas Longhorns, the Wolverines are already making a quarterback change, replacing Davis Warren with Alex Orji.

Meanwhile, the Trojans and looking as good as we've seen in quite a while under Lincoln Riley, with a revamped defense leading the way and quarterback Miller Moss playing spectacular football after the departure of Caleb Williams.

Nonetheless, Howard's pick elicited some shocked reactions on social media from fans.

"Not even Desmond can pretend our offense doesn't suck," one Michigan fan wrote .

"Oh my God, I think I just fainted," wrote another .

The game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET in Ann Arbor, and USC is currently favored to win by 4 points.

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