USC makes the big plays late to finish off a 28-20 win against Nebraska

TROJANS WIN IT

Greedy Vance Jr. picks Raiola off in the endzone on the final play of the game and USC comes up with a 28-20 win against Nebraska to move to 5-5 on the year and one win away from bowl eligibility.

Nebraska going to get a chance to tie

Raiola leads Nebraska all the way down the field and just connected with Jaylen Lloyd on a phenomenal 24-yard pass on 3rd-and-10 to set the Huskers up at the USC 14-yard line with 5 seconds left.

Maiava magic

Maiava keeps the ball and gets around the right side for a 2-yard touchdown. The extra point pushes the USC lead to 28-20 with 2:45 left and the USC defense will have a chance to finish this one off.

Maiava and Marks combine for a big play

On fourth-and-one, Maiava ran an option to perfection and pitched to Woody Marks who took it upfield for 34 yards and a HUGE first down. The Trojans are set up in the redzone with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game.

Back-to-back heartstoppers

USC snapped a ball directly into Lake McRee who was in motion. The Trojans were able to recover the loose ball and set up a 3rd-and-10. On that play, Maiava was under immediate pressure and somehow got a wobbly pass off to Makai Lemon across the middle. The ball was tipped up, off a Nebraska defender and Lemon somehow brought it down for nine yards setting up a huge fourth-down.

Ramsey with a big stop

Kamari Ramsey makes a big third-down stop on a play that looked like it could have gone for a big gain. Instead, it’s a two-yard gain and the Huskers will punt on fourth down. USC’s defense makes another big second-half stand and the Trojans take over at their 16-yard line with 10:16 remaining in the game.

Blocked field goal

Nebraska special teams comes up huge as Ceyair Wright gets around the edge to block a 27-yard attempt from USC’s Michael Lantz. And USC once again can’t extend a fourth-quarter lead this season. The Huskers take over at their 20-yard line with 12:58 remaining in the game, down 21-20.

Here we go…

USC football goes into yet another fourth quarter with a slim lead and the ball with a chance to make the game-winning plays to put it away. They held the same 21-20 lead to start the fourth quarter at Washington two weeks ago before losing 26-21.

Another redzone field goal for the Huskers

The USC defense was put in a tough position but the Trojans force another Nebraska red zone field goal. It’s 21-20 USC with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter. Two Trojan turnovers have directly resulted in 10 Nebraska points now.

Maiava with another huge mistake

Jayden Maiava with some very sloppy ball handling and it gets punched out by Nebraska defensive end Ty Robinson. The USC defense is facing a tough situation here as the Huskers take over at the USC 16-yard line.

Trojans with momentum

USC forces a Nebraska punt thanks in part to a big tackle for loss by Kamari Ramsey on third down. The Trojans take over at their own 15-yard line with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter with a chance to add on to their lead.

Maiava to Duce

Jayden Maiava goes up top to Duce Robinson off play action for a 48-yard touchdown pass. Zachariah Branch held the attention of the Nebraska cornerback on the left side and Robinson ran across the field wide open and got on the end of a perfect pass from Maiava. The Trojans jump back in front 21-17 with 7:15 remaining in the third quarter.

Trojans force a red zone field goal

Nebraska looked like it was absolutely cruising to a touchdown to open the second half but USC found a couple of stops in the red zone and forced a 29-yard field goal. Nebraska uses it to take a 17-14 lead with 9:37 left in the third quarter.

Nebraska rushed for 45 yards on that drive after rushing for just 33 yards total in the first half.

Halftime stats

Score – USC 14, Nebraska 14
Total yards – USC 216, Nebraska 138
Rushing yards – USC 85, Nebraska 33
Passing yards – USC 131, Nebraska 105
Penalties – USC 5 for 70, Nebraska 3 for 30
Third down conversions – USC 3-for-8, Nebraska 3-for-6
Turnovers – USC 1, Nebraska 1

Passing
USC – Maiava 16-for-24 for 131 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Nebraska – Raiola 12-for-18 for 105 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Rushing
USC – Marks 8 for 55, Joyner 5 for 13
Nebraska – Johnson 4 for 25, Dowdell 3 for 9

Receiving
USC – Marks 5 for 36, Branch 4 for 6 and 1 TD
Nebraska – Johnson 3 for 35 and 1 TD, Banks 2 for 24

Elijah Hughes big stop

USC calls a timeout as Nebraska faces a third-down with 1:50 left and Elijah Hughes gets a big third-down sack to force a punt. The Nebraska line helped out there as it looked like none of them knew the snap count or reacted to the play starting. USC takes over but a 10-yard penalty on the punt pushes the Trojans back and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Branch puts USC in bad shape for a potential scoring drive to end the half.

Trojans can’t take advantage

USC can’t move the ball as the Trojans open the drive with a three-yard loss by Branch. Maiava then throws an off-target pass to Branch on third down and the Trojans punt for the second-straight drive. Nebraska takes over at its own 13-yard line with 2:28 remaining in the half.

Jaylin Smith comes up big

USC cornerback Jaylin Smith comes up with a huge interception as Nebraska was driving into Trojan territory. That’s Smith’s second interception of the season and he was in great position on Nebraska wide receiver Isaiah Neyor the entire route.

Nebraska gets its offense going

The Huskers put together their first sustained drive of the game as they go 75 yards in nine plays and finish it with a 29-yard catch-and-run touchdown by running back Emmett Johnson.

Maiava to Hudson

USC caps off the drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Maiava to Kyron Hudson. The Trojans got a bit lucky on it as the toss was underthrown by a bit and went through the hands of Malcolm Hartzog Jr. It then bounced off Hudson a couple of times before he was able to bring it in as he went to the ground. USC goes up 14-7 with 13:05 remaining in the second quarter.

First in-game flare up

We saw some talking back-and-forth pregame between these two teams and it just flared up again as Woody Marks was tossed into the USC bench well out of bounds. The teams jawed at each other for a bit and former Trojan Ceyair Wright was in the middle of it.

Right after, USC wide receiver Makai Lemon is flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct that turns a second-and-goal from the 2 into a second-and-goal from the 17.

Another stop for the USC defense

Nebraska took a look at a fourth-and-2 from its own 46-yard line but elected to punt. That’s two drives and two punts for the Huskers offense this afternoon. Trojans take over at their own 14-yard line with 2:06 remaining in the first.

Zachariah Branch into the endzone

USC got two spectacular catches from wide receivers on the drive — one from Kyle Ford and another from Duce Robinson — and Zachriah Branch goes into the endzone on a 6-yard reception by running through an attempted tackle. That’s the first touchdown of the season for Branch. The Trojans needed an answer and something to feel good about offensively. That drive will do both. It’s 7-7 with 5:04 remaining in the first quarter. That was Maiava’s first touchdown throw as a Trojan.

First big mistake

Maiava throws a pass seemingly between two wide receivers and it goes straight into the arms of former USC cornerback Ceyair Wright, who returns it 45 yards for a touchdown. Nebraska goes up 7-0 with 9:37 remaining.

Trojan defense holds

Nebraska puts together a nearly identical opening drive to USC. The Trojans went 12 yards on six plays. The Huskers went 14 yards in six plays. Maiava and the Trojans will take the field at their own 26-yard line with 10:18 remaining in the first quarter.

Defensive starters

Cornerback Jacobe Covington will start for the first time since being injured against Minnesota five games ago. Safety Kamari Ramsey is back as a starter after two weeks ago. Same Greene and Kameryn Fountain are also getting starts at the defensive end spots.

Pass heavy Trojans

USC will punt on its first possession after six plays. The Trojans threw five times (one a jet sweep touch pass) for 12 yards and rushed once for zero yards. Maiava tried to hit two deep balls but neither Duce Robinson nor Kyron Hudson could create any space down the field. The drive ended after a third-down pass to Zachariah Branch was dropped, though it was well short of the sticks.

USC to receive the opening kick

Nebraska won the toss and elected to defer. The Trojans have gotten a spark with Makai Lemon returning kicks off late. We’ll see if he can get things going for USC. Regardless, new starting quarterback Jayden Maiava is set to take the field to open things up.

USC’s defensive starters in team warmups

The Trojans rolled their first group out for the team warmups and it featured Sam Greene and Kameryn Fountain at defensive ends, Devan Thompkins at defensive tackle, cornerback Jacobe Covington and safety Akili Smith.

USC Game Captains

USC has announced its four game captains for homecoming. They are cornerback Jaylin Smith, defensive lineman Gavin Meyer, wide receiver Zachariah Branch and center Jonah Monheim.

Good injury news for USC?

Safety Kamari Ramsey and cornerback Jacobe Covington are both in full uniform and warming up with the defensive backs ahead of the game. Both are listed as questionable for this one but if they can get any snaps, it would be a significant positive for the USC secondary. Ramsey did not play against Rutgers or Washington. Covington hasn’t played in any of the past four games.

Getting heated pregame

USC and Nebraska got into it a bit pregame at midfield. USC’s defensive line always huddles together at the USC logo and the Nebraska team came out to do the same. There was a disagreement and tempers flared a bit but nothing turned physical between the two groups. Should be some added heat to this one as both programs are looking for better finishes after disappointing years to this point.

USC injury report

WeAreSC pre-game reading