Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans are preparing from one of the biggest tests of the season when they face Michigan on Saturday.

Michigan decided to announce that quarterback Alex Orji wil start against USC and Davis Warren — who has been the Wolverines’ starter for the first 3 games — will move to the bench.

Riley was asked about Michigan’s decision to announce the starting QB ahead of the matchup rather than keep that news a surprise until Saturday.

“I understand it, I can understand where they are coming from on it,” Riley said. “There are two trains of thought, they both have relevance. I’m not going to sit here and guess why they did it, that’s their decision. We have to be ready for everybody.”

Orji has a much different skillset than Warren, so USC’s week of preparation for this game will likely look a lot different than it would have if Michigan had not announced a starter.

Orji is known as a run-first quarterback and only has 15 passing yards and 2 touchdowns on the season. After 3 games as the starter, Warren threw for 444 yards, 2 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.

Riley said that Orji has the tools to beat the Trojans through the air and USC needs to be prepared for him as a passer.

“You don’t play quarterback at this level without being able to throw the ball,” Riley said. “To sit there and think if he plays the whole game they are going to run the ball 70 times and he throws it 1 time I don’t see that being the case. We definitely have to account for him as a thrower and he could make us pay.”