J.J. McCarthy trolls Sam Darnold after Michigan beats USC

An NFL locker room is a melting pot where players come from all over to form a team. With so many backgrounds, a player's alma mater is an instant conversation starter and leads to plenty of trolling throughout the year.

The tradition of trolling hit the Minnesota Vikings locker room on Saturday when J.J. McCarthy's Michigan Wolverines battled Sam Darnold's USC Trojans.

While Michigan only threw for 32 passing yards in the 27-24 victory, McCarthy referenced the Wolverines' 290 yards on the ground and a classic quote from Marshawn Lynch in a post to Darnold on his Instagram account.

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The photo shows a play select screen from the College Football 25 video game with a run up the middle renamed to "Run Through A Motherf*****'s Face." Michigan did a lot of that on Saturday with Kalel Mullings running for 159 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.

McCarthy had a standout career at Michigan, leading the Wolverines to the National Championship last season. The Vikings selected McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in the NFL Draft but McCarthy tore his meniscus during the preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders and will miss his entire rookie season.

Related: Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy to undergo surgery for meniscus injury

Darnold also enjoyed a standout career at USC before being selected by the New York Jets with the third overall pick in the 2018 draft. Darnold was signed by the Vikings to be their starter this season and has thrown for 476 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions this season.

It's unknown whether there was something extra on the game between the two quarterbacks – such as San Francisco 49ers tight end and Iowa alum George Kittle wearing an Iowa State helmet after Brock Purdy's Cyclones won the CyHawk trophy on Sept. 7 – but it's all in the name of fun, which is something the Vikings are having a lot of after winning their first two games.