Trojan Travails Terminated as Huskers Trumped in Tinseltown

On a beautifully sunny November afternoon in Los Angeles, the Southern California Trojans held off the Nebraska Cornhuskers 28-20 to avoid their sixth one-score loss of the season. Going into the game, the Huskers were 1-3 in one-score games and USC had lost five games by a total of 19 points. But the Huskers relied on their vast experience in losing close ones and are now 2-9 in one-score games under Matt Rhule. In what feels like Groundhog Day all over again, the Huskers are 0-9 in games that would have clinched bowl eligibility the last two seasons.   The memory of the Huskers being 5-1 is fading as another late-season swoon has left the squad at .500.

Despite opening the scoring with a pick-6 return of 45 yards by Ceyair Wright, the Huskers were repeatedly on the wrong side of 50-50 balls, batted balls and bobbles as the Trojan receivers repeatedly turned near interceptions into touchdowns and big plays. Tommi Hill had two shots at picks that turned into Trojan receptions. On the Trojans 13-play 84-yard game-clinching drive that consumed 7:39 of the fourth quarter, a third and 10 pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage then off the receiver to bounce off the defender and back to the receiver for a 9 ½ yard gain. A 34-yard gain on an option play on 4th down was the final ironic twist.

I’ve ranted before about the blind ineptitude of Big Ten officials, and today was another prime example of them impacting the game by refusing to call defensive holding or pass interference. I’m not suggesting that it cost the Huskers the game, but it certainly influenced the final score. On two plays in particular, Jahmir Banks had his jersey stretched in holding him back from the ball. The first instance was on the Huskers initial drive of the second half where they faced a 3rd and 8 from the 10 and had to settle for a field goal instead of a 1st and goal from the one. The other egregious call was in the endzone on the last play of the game. When television announcers are noticing, it’s not just sour grapes by the Husker faithful. Is the Big Ten brass still ticked off because the Huskers wanted to play during Covid?

USC seems like they always have quality running backs and receivers, and this year is no exception. Just like UCLA, they were probably far better than their record indicated, and Nebraska seems like the perfect remedy for struggling teams. The Trojans used their superior talent at the skill positions to gash the Blackshirts for 441 yards, including 259 yards and three touchdowns through the air from new starter Jayden Maiava while Woodie Marks led the ground attack with 146 yards. USC had a long touchdown drive in each quarter to get to 28 points as Trojan receivers converted six third downs. USC came into the contest ranked 18th in the country in third down conversions (46.9%) and went 6 for 13 in this one. They also had that huge conversion on 4th down. The defense did force four punts, a fumble and a pick as well as blocking a field goal, but Nebraska has not won a game this season when they surrender more than 10 points. That puts a lot of pressure on the defense when the offense is so anemic. It also does not help when 130 of USC’s 259 passing yards came after the catch.

The defensive player of the game was cornerback Ceyair Wright who had transferred last spring from USC and returned to his hometown to score on a pick-6, block a field goal and garner four solo tackles. It was Wright’s second interception of the season (also vs Rutgers) and the third pick-6 of the season by the defense. The three interceptions for touchdowns are the most for Nebraska since the Huskers had four interceptions for touchdowns in 2013. Defensive lineman Ty Robinson had a 10-yard sack in the third quarter and forced a fumble on the play leading to a Nebraska field goal. The sack increased Robinson’s team-leading total to six sacks and 10 TFL.   John Bullock led all defenders with 7 stops and Isaac Gifford had six tackles in the game to increase his career total to 226, moving him into a tie for third place in career tackles among Husker defensive backs.

This week Matt Rhule replaced offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield with former West Virginia and Houston coach Dana Holgorsen. Did it make a difference? Probably so as the ball came seemed to come out of Dylan Raiola’s hand a lot quicker and there were several players that were more involved with the offense. Luke Lindenmeyer, who had previously just had one catch all season, made a nice one-handed grab over the middle for 8 yards in the second quarter. Janiran Bonner (six catches for 35 yards this season) caught a pair of balls for 11 yards each, including one on a screen. Jahmal Banks (8 targets and 5 catches) and Isaiah Neyor (5 targets and 3 catches) were more of a focus and running back Emmett Johnson also had a bigger role. The offense was better considering it was the first game with a new OC but is still too inconsistent to secure a win in crunch time.

Raiola completed 27-of-38 passes for 191 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. One of the picks was a very ill-advised throw and the other was into double coverage on the last play of the game. Over the first five games of the year, Raiola had a 9-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio. Across the last five games, that ratio is 2:9. Here’s hoping that Holgorsen can make more of a difference in the two games remaining. The offense struggled again in the red zone netting just two field goals on three trips. This is the stat that costs games. You have to get touchdowns in those spots.

Emmett Johnson (10 carries for 55 yards) and Dante Dowdell (8 carries for 52 yards) both eclipsed 50 yards rushing on the day. Johnson also showed some zip when Railoa checked down to him and he scooted 29-yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, marking his first career receiving touchdown. Jacory Barney Jr. also caught two passes to increase his season total to 40, tying Wan’Dale Robinson (2019) for a Nebraska record for receptions by a true freshman.

Special teams were highlighted by the Wright field goal block, Nebraska’s second of the season (also vs. Colorado), and the punting of Brian Buschini who averaged 46.0 yards on five punts with a long of 57 and three inside the 20. John Hohl has also rebounded from a 1 for 5 field goal start this season with five conversions in a row including today’s 29 and 30-yard kicks.   On the downside, the kickoff team yielded a 32-yard return and what was Isaiah Garcia-Casteneda doing fielding a punt inside the 4-yard line?

Every game the Huskers fail to become bowl eligible increases the pressure to do so. Two more chances with next week’s final home game against the Wisconsin Badgers becoming even more difficult because, as of this writing, they are tied with the #1 ranked Oregon Ducks 13-13 in the fourth quarter. If the Badgers can hold the Ducks to 13 points, what does that mean for our offense? Thankfully, the adage “any given Saturday” is true for most teams. Hopefully, that includes the Huskers. It’s put up or shut up time. Go Big Red!!

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