Lincoln Riley signals to his players from the sideline during the loss at ND on Oct. 18. (Paul Beaty / AP)-
Last November, USC coach Lincoln Riley made a big move that dramatically improved the team. The Trojans need similar improvement this month.
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USC fell to Notre Dame before a bye week, but the Trojans are 5-2 with the College Football Playoff still within reach.
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The Trojans, however, must address many issues that include a defense that surrendered 306 rushing yards against Notre Dame.
Ryan Kartje (LA Times) — USC had lost four of five, its season already all but lost, when Lincoln Riley made a bold move early last November that would have lasting ripple effects. He benched starting quarterback Miller Moss, in favor of backup Jayden Maiava, whose big arm and mobility gave the Trojans’ offense a different, more dynamic look.
The sudden switch made for a tense two weeks leading up to last season’s meeting with Nebraska. Not everyone in the locker room, you see, was thrilled with Moss’ removal.
But the move paid dividends in the end. Maiava injected life into the offense, USC returned from its bye and won three of its last four to finish the season. More critically, Riley found his quarterback of the future.
“The way that Jayden handled both when he wasn’t the starter, then when he was, I think set the stage for the player he has started to become and what he means to this program and this team right now,” Riley said this week. “He handled it with class both ways, and that makes a huge difference.”
A season later, USC is once again searching for answers coming out of its second bye, with Nebraska looming in November. Though, none of the questions this time concern the quarterback, who has been one of the best in the Big Ten. Nor are they as easy to solve as plugging in one player.
USC’s defensive front was just steamrolled for over 300 yards by Notre Dame’s run game. The offensive line is still dealing with nagging injuries. And the Trojans own rushing attack left a lot to be desired in their last outing.
Nevertheless, USC is 5-2, still within conceivable reach of the College Football Playoff conversation. The Trojans should be favored in four of their final five games, the lone exception being a trip to Eugene in late November. You don’t have to squint too hard to see a potential path to the Playoff … assuming USC can iron out its issues, first. That’s more encouraging than the circumstances were at this time last year.
“We’re still in a good place,” tight end Walker Lyons said. “We still control our destiny where we’re at right now.”
That’s been the message since USC left South Bend in bitter defeat. But control could slip through their hands in a hurry if Riley can’t right the ship this week on the road at Nebraska. A single loss, especially one outside of Oregon, would all but sink those hopes.
“I think we’ve learned a lot about ourselves with some of these really good matchups we’ve had as of late,” Riley said. “We know what we’ve gotta do. It’s very clear to us. Now we’ve just got to do a great job of it.”
That part hasn’t been so easy for USC as it unraveled down the stretch in each of its last three seasons. The Trojans are 6-11 in October and November since winning seven of eight during that stretch of Riley’s first campaign.
Adding a hostile road environment to that equation this week only makes matters more complicated. The Trojans haven’t won a true road game in October or November outside of Los Angeles since Oct. 28, 2023.
Nor do they seem to have pinned down precisely what’s ailing their defense at the moment. A week after one of USC’s best defensive performances of the season in a win over Michigan, the Trojans suddenly had major errors in execution, leading the Irish to rack up 306 rushing yards, the most ever allowed by a D’Anton Lynn-led defense. Lynn, the Trojans’ second-year coordinator, called the mistakes “extremely” frustrating.
But like Riley, he’s confident a week away will have done USC’s defense well.
“At the end of the day, when we’re on the same page, we know we can be a good defense,” Lynn said. “But we have to be on the same page and trust that the guy next to us is going to do his job, and we don’t have to overcompensate for anything.”
ND’s Jadarian Price (24) pulls away from USC’s Bishop Fitzgerald on Oct. 18 in South Bend. (Paul Beaty / AP)
That trust comes much easier now for Maiava, after a full year as USC’s starting quarterback. Though, Nebraska and its top-rated pass defense won’t make it easy, per se. The Huskers are allowing a mere 127 yards passing per game through seven games.
It all makes for a test that the Trojans can’t afford to fail, one where its quarterback will be critical.
“Keep your head down, keep fighting,” Maiava said. “Just stay in it no matter what. We had this bye and we got to rest up a little bit which is great. But we need to be that beast every single day.”
Injury update
Left tackle Elijah Paige and center Kilian O’Connor both dressed for practice on Tuesday, but Riley expressed some doubt that USC would have its full starting offensive line available in time for Saturday’s game.
“We’re better,” Riley said, “but we’re not at a point where I’m like, ‘Yeah those guys are ready to go.’ We’re just not to that point yet.”
latimes.com
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Damn. The Nebraska crowd looks like Antifa.
And the band couldn’t even wear their normal uniforms. Looks like they stopped at lululemon for black sweats
Sorry, bad look.
Darth Vader would be proud.
Any of them wearing gas masks or carrying umbrellas?
From Football Scoop:
Congressman Michael Baumgartner is pushing the COACH (Correcting Opportunity and Accountability in Collegiate Hiring) Act, which states that athletic department employees would not be able to receive total compensation – including annual salaries and buyouts – that are worth more than 10 times what a school charges in tuition and fees for undergrads in the most recent academic year.
If this happens there is going to be some serious pay cuts for head coaches coming up. Not likely to ever happen though but it is humorous.
Urban Meyer: Asked if he would ever consider returning to coaching, Urban Meyer said flatly, “I don’t have a desire.”
Updated weather….no wind……no rain………for an LA team…..colder than the North Pole……..37 to 40 degrees. Should be ok. Hopefully Riley earphones freeze off.
LR is immune to gravity. Brian Kelly melted down in Baton Rouge, James Franklin’s nuked at PSU, and Florida’s coach spit roasted in Gainesville.
Riley, untouchable, like he’s made of titanium — or maybe just holding a stack of 8×10 glossies of ex-AD Mike Bohn?
While other coaches are getting buyouts, Riley’s got his index-card playbook and a Texas country grin, living on Easy Street like a possum eating a sweet tater.
“Living on Easy Street like a possum eating a sweet tater.”
Tennessee Williams couldn’t have said it better.
They talk that way down here….
A $95 million bet by LSU gone wrong Bruce Feldman, Ralph Russo and Christopher Kamrani (The Athletic) — LSU’s 49-25 loss to Texas A&M in Baton Rouge dropped LSU to 5-3 and out of the AP Top 25. Through 48 games at LSU, Brian Kelly’s record was 34-14. For a coach who signed a 10-year, $95 million contract in December 2021, that wasn’t good enough. “He really stripped the culture of what this place is,” an LSU staffer said. The LSU football program is unquestionably one of the most fruitful places to win big, and has been since the turn of the century. The… Read more »
Kelly might have survived if the players’ names were on BOTH sides of their jerseys, and on practice uniforms and everything else.
Have a stack of black markers and paper stick on name tags on a table at the entrance to team facilities!
My dad, when he was teaching at the dental school, always had the photo roster of the 2nd year dental students on the podium when he lectured. He saw the group of 110-120 students only one day per week. By the end of the trimester he pretty much knew every student’s name. And he did this for close to sixty years.
just shows that Kelly is a detached prick.
The only news to me about Kelly was learning he is detached.
Ya, I was surprised he was so out-of-touch and aloof from his team. He shouldn’t be coaching anymore. Who would want Kelly now anyway?
Sounds like a guy who needs to retire, take his money some where nice away from Baton Rouge.
Against the spread (USC -6.5) picks by The Athletic Matt Baker — NEB Mark Cooper — USC Seth Emerson — NEB Sam Khan, Jr. — NEB Austin Mock — NEB Dan Santaromita — USC Daniel Shirley — NEB Davis Ubben — NEB Chris Vannini — USC Elimination games for fringe contenders No. 9 Vanderbilt at No. 20 Texas, noon ET on ABC No. 18 Oklahoma at No. 14 Tennessee, 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC No. 23 USC at Nebraska, 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC USC is favored in Lincoln this week and has three of its last four games at… Read more »
The spread is down to USC -4.5. I figure it to be a 2-3 point game. Who knows what Riley will do that close in the 4th on the road.
From a Nebraska fan standpoint I really don’t see it being that close… unless your team plays terrible. I took USC -6.5. Nebraska has to commit to 7-8 in the box to stop the run. We have great DBs but on an island against your QB and receivers, they just won’t hold up imo. If it is a close game in the 4th, bring your ear plugs because that stadium will be absolutely crazy.
This season, USC averages 30 ppg on the road while Nebraska averages 28 at home against Power 4. Add to that USC under Riley is 1-7 (2-6 against the spread) when traveling >1000 miles from LA. Looks like a back and forth down to the wire.
I agree…..next year if Rhule can continue to add to the OL and protect your QB……everything could change. He is talented if given time to throw. A few more defensive folks and you could be playoff bound.
Why aren’t they billing this game as “Lincoln Takes on Lincoln.”
Pass… That has a creepy adult film vibe.
Expect poor clock management, trick plays and rapid scoring when you need to burn clock to keep your defense off the field to close out the game.
That’s what I will expect from LR.
Here are some other predictions:
College Football NewsBig Game Ben: USC*
E: USC
Nathan Erbach: USC*
Pete Fiutak: USC
John Kennedy: Nebraska
Jackson Langendorf: USC
Andrew Margolick: USC
Jake Margolick: USC*
Doug Millen: USC*
Johnny Rosenstein: USC
Joshua Schulman: USC*
Nick Shepkowski: Nebraska
Fiutak: USC 30, Nebraska 24
Joel Klatt USC 31 Neb 21
Josh Pate USC wins Neb covers the spread
JD PicKell USC 31 Neb 24
WEARESC USC 31 Neb 28
Myself: USC 42 Neb 24
I agree with your take.
Steveg — You left off this one, also from WeAreSC CBS Sports Prediction: Nebraska to cover Tom Fornelli: USC has been on the road three times this year, and all three road games involved flying more than halfway across the country. The only victory the Trojans picked up in those games came against a Purdue team that’s 2-6 and hasn’t won a Big Ten game since the final game of the 2023 season (a 35-31 win over Indiana before Indiana got Cignetti-pilled). It’s been 14 straight conference losses since. The Trojans lost to Illinois and Notre Dame. They’re now 2-6 on the road since joining… Read more »
Ha ha I read it and decided my post was long enough as it was. Thanks.
Can USC limit elite NEB RB Emmett Johnson? Joseph Maier (HuskerOnline) — Emmett Johnson is single-handedly carrying Nebraska’s rushing attack. No other Husker RB has more than 16 carries on the year. If you can slow down Johnson, you can stifle Nebraska’s ground game completely, though few teams have. When Johnson gets 20+ carries the Huskers are 3-0 against Power Four opponents. When he gets less than 20, they are 1-2. Michigan and Minnesota are the only two defenses that found success against Johnson, although Nebraska was playing from behind against the Wolverines and became one-dimensional. Minnesota loaded up the box in an attempt to… Read more »
Load the box and dare Raiola to beat us seems the way to go.
Exactly. Maybe I’ve just caught Raiola on bad days, but he doesn’t seem to be the type who would take USC down. Seems to not be that big of a playmaker and struggles when pressured, whereas Johnson has proven he has the goods.
We should beat this NEB team I think. “Burn the boats” is the watchword around the team this week. No turning back. Get the bad taste of the Notre Dame game out of our mouths and show the Huskers they can’t beat USC on the ground.
But this is still the team that makes opposing quarterbacks look like Heisman candidates.
USC does tend to do just that nowadays. Weird.
If Raiola takes us apart, oh boy.
If Raiola beats us I’ll be stunned. I’ve watched every one of their games and he is not an elite QB. He holds it too long…..can’t run much…..and his receivers are nothing special. Once hit he falls apart.
Their defense can’t stop the run……or the pass. If we are truly the #1 offense in the country we ought to put up 50.
If Riley loses this one…….jeez. What a clown.
The flight is no further than Eugene or Seattle.
Winning opens the door to 10-2. Do I expect to beat Oregon….no…..but anything can and does happen.
Let’s just get after it tomorrow in Lincoln and go on a run to make the playoffs. If not now, when?
Play some punishing D for a change and show CFB that USC can perform big-time in a hostile away game atmosphere against a big brand team. That shouldn’t be too much to ask. It just shouldn’t.
Nebraska is an underachieving team with limited talent but if the Trojans show up tomorrow later afternoon not mentally ready to play the game like we were told happened at ND, and plays down to the level the Huskers will play, all bets are off and it will be determined by turnovers. That is not playoff caliber football. There is another team on our schedule that will play tough hard defense and not make too many turnovers and it’s coach can easily outcoach Riley. That’s Iowa. 9 & 3 will not come easily especially if our defense doesn’t match the… Read more »
2x
“Once hit.” But can we hit him once?
Nebraska is in the bottom 10 nationally with 3.25 sacks per game allowed. You will hit him more than once. However, the comment above isn’t really correct. He kind of seems used to it and has played ok through those games he got demolished save Minnesota. The problem is those sacks have killed almost every drive. One thing that hasn’t been mentioned much here- If it wasn’t for special teams, we would be a 4-4 team right now. Our punt and return game has been very good this year. We are in the top 10 nationally in virtually every special… Read more »
Bruins in a Giant Fight with the Rose Bowl over possible move to SoFi! Rose Bowl Sues UCLA Over Alleged Plan to Relocate Football Games. The Bruins have drawn poorly of late at the historic venue. Patrick Andres (si.com) — It’s not often you see a college team move cities, but according to a new lawsuit from the Rose Bowl, UCLA is allegedly aiming to do just that. The Rose Bowl, where UCLA has played for the last 43 years, has formally accused the Bruins of attempting to break their Rose Bowl lease in order to move home games… Read more »
Simple solution for the Southern Branch. Do what Northwestern did. Add some bleachers and a Jumbotron to the intramural soccer pitch and voila, you have a field that will hold everyone inclined to come. And think of the money they’ll save on tarps.
It would seem simple, perfect and I agree. I’ve talked to some UCLA people about it and they would support the usage of Drake Track Stadium and Marshall Field as their new football digs — but they don’t think think the “neighborhood” of Westwood and immediately surrounding very expensive areas would let it fly. I know nothing of the local politics or the legalities of campus restrictions on added large attendance facilities/parking, etc, but I’m sure it would be a battle in such an upscale residential area. As far as the massive Bruin Blue Tarps go, they could sell off… Read more »
Nebraska’s Rhule signs 2-year extension through 2032. Good for the Huskers. Nice pre-USC game shot in the arm. Pete Thamel (ESPN) — The extension includes an increase in Rhule’s buyout this season to $15 million from $5 million, which would effectively eliminate him from taking another job in this cycle. Rhule and his family’s happiness at Nebraska, where he’s in his third year as head coach, was the primary driver behind him agreeing to a new deal, per ESPN sources. Nebraska is 6-2 this year, and Rhule led the program to its first bowl game since 2016 last year.… Read more »
So here’s why USC got mauled by it’s biggest rival, Notre Dame. “I feel like Michigan, we were just hungry,” LB Jadyn Walker said. “We were way hungrier throughout the week, and at Notre Dame I felt like we were still hungry, but it wasn’t the same. I guess we just weren’t prepared; we didn’t come out ready to play.” When I read Walker’s quote, I had to shake my head. USC players literally admitting they didn’t get ready to play ND in South Bend. Times have sure changed for Trojan football. At least we got an honest answer on… Read more »
Very sad day.
Frankly……the game was close until it started to rain……we melted like wet cardboard.
Another Riley Failure. An SC head coach traditionally plans the season with big red circles around the ucla and ND games on the schedule and makes sure he can beat the two uber rivals. The rest of the season takes care of itself if you have prepared to beat those two rivals. I saw my first SC-ucla game in 30 years at the Coliseum 2023. I couldn’t believe how flat and unprepared the guys were for that game. A vastly inferior bruin team embarrassed us. That’s Riley. from the sound of what Jadyn Walker said, it appears we have the… Read more »
DDS, instead of trying to follow tradition, Riley is ignoring it and that is why he will never be truly accepted here no matter how successful he becomes as an outsider .
Coming out flat for ND in South Bend?! Guess now we should take the pregame pep talk duties away from Riley. $11Million/yr for a QB coach. Oh well the new S/C coach will have them stronger and faster NEXT year! HA! How fired up will they be on a cold Halloween weekend night in Nebraska?
On one of the sites….I apologize because I don’t remember which……they had the USC financial statements which disclosed that our head coach is accruing a total of nearly 20 million per year when everything is included.
He would have made a great bank robber.
Which one is Lincoln?
Never before noticed the blond Redford with a black mustache.
Good observation. Maybe stiff upper lips have to be black?
“Hell, the fall will probably kill ya!”
“Who are those guys?”
Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head — B.J. Thomas
Whoever thought of putting a long romantic bicycle scene in a cowboy outlaw flick?
It can’t be Newman, he had a personality.
More like the Flim Flam Man.
George C Scott has nothing on Lincoln!
Very entertaining movie as I remember it. I need to see it again. It’s been way too long.
I tried to attach a pic but it wouldn’t go, too big I guess. John will do it.
Is that Mike Bohn in the middle!😂 All USC fans on the left!
Bohn — “How much money would you like Lincoln? How about a little more? Perhaps you might also enjoy a buy-out that eclipses the sun. No need to thank me. It’s my pleasure. Now let’s get on Rick Caruso’s jet and get this party started!”
Pretty much how it went…..except Riley declined the party because he had to meet with his financial planner…..for the 3rd time that day.
Both HC’s in tomorrows game must feel they need to win. Rhule after getting a nice bump in his contract has to feel some pressure to win. And Riley losing two games in a row or 3 of the last 4 games? Wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.
Scott should have won the Oscar for that role……outstanding acting and film. Every kid in school should be required to watch it to prepare for their corporate careers.
Long live Mordecai Jones!
Not wanting to expand my pessimistic attitude about the truth in holding this program back going on 4-long seasons and countless excuses….. adding not being mentally prepared at game time to the facts already piled up on a long list to where it is obvious Lincoln Riley is simply over his head here and the sooner we can get over the embarrassment & regret of hiring him, the sooner this program will be ripe for the right person to move this program straight to the top. Jen & the administration has got to deal with this obvious issue. Maybe/probably it… Read more »
To Fire Or Not To fire Stewart Mandel (The Athletic) — “Your column on Monday ends with saying that all Penn State, Florida and LSU’s ADs need to do is ‘win the hiring lottery.’ Fair. With that being said, if I’m a Wisconsin/ Auburn AD, am I better off waiting one more year for a coaching change and having better ‘odds’ in the hiring lottery next year when I’m not competing with all these elite programs?” Mandel — If you’re Auburn, absolutely. Why go into a market where you’re, at best, the third-best job open in the SEC? And frankly not at… Read more »
Ratings of the D lines B1G
Cam Mellor
@CamMellor
Our @PFSNcollege
Big Ten Defensive Line Grades:
1) Indiana: 98.1
2) Michigan: 85.4
3) Washington: 85.3
4) Minnesota: 83.6
5) Ohio State: 82.6
6) Illinois: 80.8
7) Oregon: 79.0
8) Northwestern: 78.3
9) Wisconsin: 78.1
10) USC: 78.0
11) Iowa: 77.0
12) Rutgers: 77.0
13) Penn State: 76.4
14) Maryland: 75.0
15) Michigan State: 74.0
16) Nebraska: 73.1
17) Purdue: 70.5
18) UCLA: 62.3
Interesting, thanks Allen. Georgia Tech looks over rated but likely wins the ACC. Georgia will put them back to reality. Alabama and Georgia a bit under rated, of course both have their cupcake game 11/22 before rivalry games.
Well, USC already had our “cupcakes”, so everybody gets a bite at that apple. They sure didn’t help USC get ready for the ILL and ND disasters. USC isn’t ready for ALA or GA yet, regardless of when we schedule our cupcakes. It’ll be fantastic once that finally occurs. USC’s remaining schedule is remarkably interesting: NEB, NW, IOWA, ORE and UCLA. People are gonna pencil in NW as an auto-win, but all the others seem like they could go either way. The Ducks have definitely underwhelmed. NEB is 6-2 and gets USC in much colder Lincoln. IOWA is 6-2 but… Read more »
I have Iowa tickets. Have to bring my winning ways to the Coliseum this year. Pretty sure there won’t be a 3:45 rain delay.
I think IOWA’s gonna be dangerous for USC. They only lost to IU by five points and we all know how good the Hoosiers really are now. IOWA also destroyed MINN 41-3, and the Gophers ripped NEB 24-6.
IOWA hosts ORE before coming to the Coliseum and I’m hoping the Ducks put the Hawkeyes into a depression.
You doubt Brent Key at your peril, sir. His players will run through walls and follow him into hell!
It ain’t pretty, but Georgia Tech finds ways to win. To hell with Georgia, go Ramblin’ Wreck!
I’m just going by their SOS, 3rd easiest of Power 4 in the top 25. I would love to see The Wreck take out Georgia, but that would be a huge upset and not likely.
Nebraska has not played a team that is good at passing AND running the football. Their pass defense is rated high because of who they have played. These USC players are not going to individually get much better this season, but now is the time they get their groove on, move together fluidly as a unit with execution being much better and the stupid mistakes go away. That happens, they will have a very good season, starting with an away game in Nebraska.
As a Nebraska fan, I agree with you Steve- Nebraska has not faced an offense anywhere close to the level USC is on. Our only hope is that the crowd and weather have an impact to help keep the game close. Even with that, I think Nebraska has to score 30+ to be in the game.
I whole-heartily agreed with Tom Osborn the Nebraska administration should have never fired Frank Solich when they did. The huskers football program has never recuperated since then. Maybe Solich wasn’t as good as Osborn, but he kept the same offense & defense schemes that fit the players abilities Osborn had recruited to execute. All the naysayers who wanted Solich out cannot say the program would have been in worse shape had he remained.