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Full Game Notes (Huskers.com)
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (5-4, 2-4) | at | USC TROJANS (4-5, 2-5) |
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WHEN: Saturday, November 16 | 3:00 PM (CT)
WHERE: L.A. Memorial Coliseum | Los Angeles, California
TV: FOX (Jason Benetti, Brock Huard, Allison Williams)
RADIO: Huskers Radio Network (Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
THIS WEEK'S NUMBERS
16 - USC and Nebraska have combined for 16 national championships, including 11 by the Trojans and five by Nebraska. Each school has twice won back-to-back national championships, including Nebraska (1970-71; 1994-95) and USC (1931-32; 2003-04)
38 - True freshman receiver Jacory Barney Jr. has 38 receptions in nine games this season. He is two receptions shy of the NU record for most catches by a true freshman (Wan'Dale Robinson, 40 in 2019). The overall freshman receptions record is 55 catches by JD Spielman in 2017.
46 - Nebraska senior punter Brian Buschini averages 46.4 yards per punt on the season. Buschini is challenging the Nebraska single-season punting average record, held by Sam Koch who averaged 46.51 yards on 71 punts in 2005.
HUSKERS
Record: 5-4 (2-4 Big Ten)
Last Game: vs. UCLA (L 20-27)
Streak: Lost 3
Rank: NR
Coach: Matt Rhule (10-11, 2nd year NU | 57-54, 9th year overall | 0-0 vs. USC)
TROJANS
Record: 4-5 (2-5 Big Ten)
Last Game: at Washington (L 21-26)
Streak: Lost 1
Rank: NR
Coach: Lincoln Riley (23-13, 3rd year USC | 78-23, 8th year overall | 1-0 vs. Nebraska)
THE MATCHUP
Nebraska returns to action on Saturday when the Huskers travel to the West Coast to take on the USC Trojans. The game is the first between the schools as Big Ten opponents, and will kick off at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at 3 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on FOX and can also be heard on the Huskers Radio Network and the Huskers App.
The Huskers stand at 5-4 on the season and 2-4 in Big Ten play after a tough 27-20 loss to UCLA in Lincoln on Nov. 2. Nebraska fell behind the Bruins 27-7 midway through the third quarter before rallying to within a single score in the game's final minutes. However, the Huskers; final drive ended in a turnover deep in Bruin territory, capping a second consecutive one-score loss for Nebraska. Three of Nebraska's four losses this season have been by a touchdown or less, including one overtime setback.
USC also comes into the game following a bye week. USC stands at 4-5 overall and 2-5 in its inaugural season in Big Ten Conference play. In its most recent action, USC suffered a 26-21 road loss at Washington on Nov. 2. The Trojans had multiple opportunities to pull out the win but were stopped on downs deep in Washington territory twice in the fourth quarter. Overall, USC's five losses have been by a total of 19 points, including an overtime loss and a one-point loss. Coach Lincoln Riley's team features a high-powered passing attack, as the Trojans average 291.2 passing yards per game to rank in the top 20 nationally in that category.
Saturday's matchup is just the sixth all-time meeting between two of college football's most storied programs. USC holds a 4-0-1 edge in the series between the schools, most recently defeating Nebraska, 45-42, in the 2014 Holiday Bowl.
SERIES HISTORY
Nebraska and USC will meet for the sixth time on Saturday, and the third time in Los Angeles. The Trojans hold a 4-0-1 advantage in the all-time series between the schools.
- The most recent meeting between the schools was at the 2014 Holiday Bowl in San Diego, where the Trojans won a 45-42 shootout.
- USC is the only opponent Nebraska has played more than once and not defeated.
- Saturday's game will mark the first series matchup with neither team ranked. USC has been ranked in each of the first five matchups, including four times in the top 5, while Nebraska was also ranked in the four most recent meetings.
- The 21-21 tie in 1970 immediately preceded Nebraska's 23-game win streak that produced back-to-back national championships in 1970 and 1971.
- USC is set to travel to Lincoln in 2025, with the Huskers set to travel to Los Angeles again in 2028.
ABOUT USC
USC has fielded a football team since 1888 and the Trojans have tallied nearly 880 wins as a program. USC has claimed 11 national championships and 37 conference titles.
The Trojans have made 55 bowl game appearances, claiming 35 wins. USC's last bowl game appearance came last season when the Trojans took on Louisville in the Holiday Bowl. Southern Cal came away with the 42-28 win over the Cardinals.
First Year: 1888
All-Time Record: 879-373-54
Bowl Record: 35-20
Conference Titles: 37
National Titles: 11 (1928, 1931, 1932, 1939, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003, 2004)
Stadium: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Capacity: 77,500
Surface: Natural Grass
Location: Los Angeles, California
Enrollment: 47,000
Colors: Cardinal & Gold
ABOUT 2024 TROJAN FOOTBALL
Schedule/Results
vs. LSU (at Las Vegas) (W 27-20)
Utah State (W 48-0)
at Michigan (L 24-27)
Wisconsin (W 38-21)
at Minnesota (L 17-24)
Penn State (L 30-33 OT)
at Maryland (L 28-29)
Rutgers (W 42-20)
at Washington (L 21-26)
Nebraska
at UCLA
Notre Dame
USC holds a 4-5 record this season, picking up wins against LSU, Utah State, Wisconsin and Rutgers.
The Trojans enter Saturday's game averaging 30.5 points and 437.8 yards per game, with 291.2 yards per game through the air and 146.6 yards per game on the ground. Jayden Maiava is expected to make his first start at quarterback this weekend and has completed 8-of-11 passes for 66 yards in limited action this season. Makai Lemon lead USC with 33 receptions for 448 yards and three touchdowns followed by Zachariah Branch with 35 grabs and 404 yards. Woody Marks paces the rushing attack for the Trojans, carrying the ball 155 times for 878 yards and nine touchdowns, followed by Quinten Joyner with 42 rushes for 352 yards and three scores.
Defensively, the Trojans are allowing 22.2 points and 370.8 yards per game this season. Easton Mascarenas-Arnold leads the USC defense with 74 tackles and is tied with a team-high two sacks and two interceptions. Mason Cobb has 52 tackles and two interceptions, while Kamari Ramsey and Eric Gentry each have recorded two sacks on the year.
ABOUT LINCOLN RILEY
Lincoln Riley is in his third season at the helm of USC after spending five seasons as the head coach at Oklahoma.
Riley has developed three of the last seven Heisman Trophy winners and is the only head coach to coach three Heisman-winning quarterbacks, including the only coach to have three players selected No. 1 overall on the common era of the NFL Draft.
In his first season with the Trojans in 2022, Riley led USC to a seven-win turnaround while appearing in the Pac-12 Championship Game and Cotton Bowl.
Riley posted a 55-10 overall record in his five years at Oklahoma, leading the Sooners to four Big 12 titles and four New Year's Six bowls with three College Football Playoff appearances.
Riley began his coaching career at Texas Tech (2003-2009) before coaching the quarterbacks and serving as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at East Carolina (2010-2014). Riley worked two seasons with the Sooners as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2015 and 2016 before being named head coach.
Riley vs. Nebraska
Saturday's matchup is the second all-time for Riley against the Big Red. Riley recorded a 23-16 win over the Huskers at Oklahoma in 2021.
LAST MEETING: DECEMBER 26, 2014
HOLIDAY BOWL
#24 USC 45, Nebraska 42
SAN DIEGO - In a high-scoring shootout between two of college football's most storied programs, Tommy Armstrong Jr. racked up 422 yards of total offense, but Nebraska came up short on its final two drives of the fourth quarter in a 45-42 loss to No. 24 USC in the National University Holiday Bowl on Saturday night at Qualcomm Stadium.
Both teams finished their seasons with 9-4 records, while teaming up for 1,040 yards of total offense in the game. Nebraska finished with 525 total yards, including 379 passing and 146 rushing, while the Trojans managed 515 yards, including 321 through the air and 194 on the ground.
Armstrong, Nebraska's sophomore quarterback completed a career-high 32-of-51 passes for a career-best 381 yards and three touchdowns setting NU bowl records for yardage, completions and attempts, but his Hail Mary attempt on the game's final play was batted to the ground to seal the USC victory. Armstrong added 41 rushing yards on 12 carries, including a 15-yard touchdown run on fourth down midway through the fourth quarter. He followed up his scoring run with a two-point conversion pass to Kenny Bell to cut the USC lead to 45-42 after the Huskers trailed 45-27 late in the third quarter.
Armstrong and Bell also connected on Nebraska's first touchdown of the night, an 18-yard connection to give the Huskers a 10-7 lead with 8:23 left in the first quarter. Bell finished his Nebraska career with seven catches for 71 yards to push his school-record totals to 181 receptions for 2,689 yards in his four-year career.
NU had opened the scoring with a Drew Brown 34-yard field goal, before USC's Adoree' Jackson uncorked a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
After USC tied the game at 10 on 42-yard Andre Heidari field goal, Armstrong sent the Big Red to the second quarter with a 17-10 lead after a nine-yard touchdown pass to De'Mornay Pierson-El.
Pierson-El finished the night with his first career 100-yard receiving game, hauling in eight passes for 102 yards.
Although Nebraska led at the end of the first quarter, the second quarter belonged to the Trojans, who put together a pair of long touchdown drives to take a 24-17 lead to the locker room at halftime.
USC pushed its lead to two scores for the first time early in the third quarter when the Trojans' Cody Kessler hit Jackson on a 71-yard touchdown strike to put USC up 31-17 with 12:01 left in the quarter.
But Nebraska showed its fight, answering with a touchdown drive of its own capped by a 20-yard run from senior I-back Ameer Abdullah to make it 31-24 with 9:41 left in the third quarter. Abdullah finished his career as Nebraska's all-time all-purpose yardage leader, rushing 27 times for 88 yards and a score. He added six catches for 61 yards and three kickoff returns for 120 yards including a 49-yarder to finish with 269 all-purpose yards in the game.
Abdullah finished his career No. 11 on the NCAA all-purpose yardage list with 7,168, while closing his illustrious career at No. 2 on the Nebraska rushing list with 4,588 yards.
USC then answered the Javorius Allen's second touchdown run of the game, as he sprinted 44 yards to paydirt to put the Trojans up 38-24 with 8:06 left in the third. Allen finished the game with 152 rushing yards on 26 carries.
The Big Red pulled within 38-27 on Brown's 44-yard field with 2:28 left in the quarter, before the Trojans took their biggest lead of the night just 25 seconds later when Kessler connected with Bryce Dixon on a 20-yard touchdown pass to make it 45-27 with 2:03 remaining in the third.
Kessler finished 23-of-39 for 321 yards with three touchdowns and one Josh Mitchell interception. Dixon finished with four catches for 44 yards, while Nelson Agholor led USC with seven receptions for 90 yards and a score.
Armstrong struck again before the end of the quarter, finding Jordan Westerkamp on a 65-yard touchdown pass to make it 45-34 with 24 seconds left in the quarter. Westerkamp finished the night with three catches for 81 yards.
While Armstrong's run was the only score of the fourth quarter, the Huskers drove near the USC 30 with three minutes left and faced 3rd-and-3. After a timeout, Armstrong's short pass across the middle to Pierson-El was batted down by a USC defender to set up a fourth down. On fourth down, Pierson-El came up short on a solid defensive play by the Trojans.
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