This week, Nebraska travels to Southern California to take on the USC Trojans. Both teams are coming off a bye week and are in desperate need of a win. Nebraska is one win away from becoming bowl-eligible for the first time in eight years and USC needs another win to help them have a chance at the postseason. Therefore, this is a crucial game for both teams. Let’s look at the Trojans lineup.
USC Defense
The USC defense has had its fair share of struggles this season. Although they have improved since last year, they still have a lot to work on. The Trojans rank in the bottom half in both rushing and passing defense in the Big Ten. They give up more than 370 yards per game, statistically. This is also near the bottom in the conference. Nebraska should look to take advantage of this and exploit these weaknesses.
Although the Trojans have had some difficulties on defense, they have talented players. It starts with linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold. He is a senior transfer from Oregon State. His 73 total tackles leads the team this far. He has also contributed by getting sacks and having multiple interceptions. As for the secondary, they are a little banged up and have been hit or miss this season. The corner and safety positions are extremely talented, but there are a lot of health concerns coming into this game. UCLA transfer Kamari Ramsey has had a fairly good season at Safety so far. He has totaled two sacks and two force fumbles this season. He also has 27 tackles. As of right now, it is unclear whether he will play or not, but he is a key piece to the secondary. Overall, the Trojan defense is extremely talented but has faced a lot of difficulties.
USC Offense
The USC offense is where the team thrives. They have been productive, both running and passing the ball. Currently, they rank 13th in the nation in passing offense. They have a ton of weapons, both in the running game and the passing game. Let’s look at some of their star players.
Leading the team is Mississippi State running back transfer Woody Marks. Marks is a threat in both the rushing and passing game. He has rushed for 878 yards and has totaled nine rushing touchdowns so far. He also has 260 receiving yards. He is very talented and will definitely challenge Nebraska’s defense. Jayden Maiava is the team’s new starting quarterback. It was announced last week that he will be taking over at this position. Maiava is a redshirt sophomore transfer from UNLV. He is a dual threat quarterback, effective both in passing and rushing. While at UNLV, he passed for 3085 yards. He also scored 17 touchdowns and had only 10 interceptions. The wide receiver group has had a great season. Leading this core is Ja’Kobi Lane. He has 368 receiving yards and five total touchdowns. Lane is most effective when it comes to the 50/50 balls. He rarely misses them, so this will be some thing that will challenge Nebraska’s defense. All in all, the Trojans have a great offense, which will surely keep Nebraska’s defense on their toes.
Fundamentals For Nebraska to win
With a new offensive play collar, I am excited to see how Nebraska does this week. When it comes to what we will need to do to win this game, it’s pretty simple. As for the offense, we should try to get our run game going, which may open up the passing game. It would be great if we can get some explosive plays and take advantage of some of the Trojans weaknesses on defense. As for the defense, we need to prevent USC from getting explosive plays. Another key to our success on defense will be stopping the run. I expect the Trojans to run the ball as much as possible. Therefore, our defense will need to stop this. If we can do this, I think we could keep it close.
Score Prediction
If I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure what to expect this week. With a new offensive coordinator and play caller, I think that we will improve. I’m just not sure how much. I think Nebraska will keep it close for a while, but USC will pull away in the fourth quarter.
I predict USC wins 30 to 24.
