The USC Trojans boast one of the deepest receiver rooms in college football, thanks in large part to their 2023 recruiting class. Coach Lincoln Riley signed four receivers from the west coast, Zachariah Branch (NV), Duce Robinson (AZ), Makai Lemon (CA) and Ja’Kobi Lane (AZ) in his No. 9 ranked recruiting class, per the On3 Industry Rankings.

Against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, it was Robinson who shined for the Trojans offense.

“We got such great guys in receiver room, you guys have barely seen the talent we got in that room, said USC coach Jayden Maiava. “Definitely down to the stretch, we just gotta keep feeding those play makers.”

Branch, Lemon and Lane have all turned in career day performances this season and Robinson became the latest in the Trojans 28-20 win over Nebraska on Saturday. The Arizona native caught four passes for a career-high 90 receiving yards. Although the numbers may not be eye-opening, his performance helped propel the offense. 

On the Trojans’ second possession, Maiava, with a defender bearing down on him as he was drifting towards the sideline, flung a dangerous pass downfield that Robinson climbed the ladder to snag. The 28-yard catch set USC up inside the 10-yard line and the very next play, Maiava connected with Branch for a 6-yard touchdown that got the offense rolling.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. He’s (Maiava) a playmaker, right. So when you have an arm like that, of course you’re gonna have confidence in it,” Robinson said. 

“He does trust us to just put the ball out there and trust us to go up and get it.”

To start the second half, Maiava found a wide-open Robinson, who went untouched for a 48-yard touchdown. USC took a four-point lead and never relinquished it. Robinson’s fifth touchdown of the season is tied for first on the team with Lane.

Early in the fourth quarter, USC led by one with an opportunity to extend their lead. The Trojans faced a third-and-five, and Maiava stood tall in the pocket, delivering a dart to Robinson for a nine-yard completion. The play kept the drive alive, and seven plays later, Maiava’s 2-yard touchdown made it an eight-point game and proved too much for Nebraska to overcome.

The connection between the two was evident. Robinson spoke about his career-day after the game. 

“It’s a blessing, especially being able to walk out with the W but, I mean, I did set a career high, but it’s not me, it’s the guys around me, you know, without offensive line playing the way they did, I wouldn’t have been able to do that,” Robinson said. “Without Jayden playing the way he did, I wouldn’t have been able to do that without the guys around me, you know, playing the way they did. You know, the reason I got my touchdown was because of Zach, he cleared it out and so, so just having those guys around me, it’s truly a blessing.”

Robinson caught four touchdowns in five games between from weeks 3-7, but his role had begun to diminish as of late, something that can happen in a receiver room as deep as the Trojans. He recorded just one catch for five yards in the Trojans last two games. 

It would be easy for anyone to become discouraged by the situation, let alone a 19-year-old, but Robinson stayed ready for the moment when his number would be called, and he responded in a big way on Saturday.

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LOS ANGELES – Here are the final takes and grades following Nebraska’s 28-20 loss at USC on Saturday.

The Huskers dropped to 5-5 on the season and will return to Lincoln for the final time next week against Wisconsin.

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Rushing offense: C

Nebraska got 107 yards rushing on 18 carries from Emmett Johnson and Dante Dowdell. They found a few new things in the running game but still could not get enough to break through in the second half. Heinrich Haarberg also came in for two plays, including a 13-yard run.

Passing offense: D+

QB Dylan Raiola was 27-of-38 for 191 yards and two interceptions. Raiola also missed a key third down throw to Jahmal Banks where NU had to settle for a field goal. There were some new wrinkles by the Huskers in the passing game, but on nine third-down passing plays, NU could only convert three first downs.

Rushing defense: D

USC had 32 carries for 182 yards on the ground, including 19 for 146 yards from running back Woody Marks. As the game got deep in the second half, USC put things away with a 13-play, 84-yard drive that took up 7:39 off the clock. USC finished with seven runs of 10+ yards, including a 34-yard run on a critical fourth-and-1 play in the fourth quarter.

Passing defense: B-

Ceyair Wright had an interception return for a touchdown, and Ty Robinson forced a fumble out of the pocket on a scramble play. However, USC converted far too many third downs, as they had five passes of 15+ yards. The real early back breaker was on second-and-13 after the Wright pick-six Tommi Hill gave up a 28-yard pass where he was in a position to make the intercpetion. That led to a touchdown on the next play where Hill completely whiffed on the tackle.

Special team: B

John Hohl made both his kicks and Brian Buschini averaged 46 yards on five punts. The only thing the Huskers struggled in was they never were able to get good field position in the punt return game, as USC pinned one punt all the way down to the 1-yard line. The other big moment came when Wright blocked a field goal to keep the game at 21-20.

Sean Callahan can be reached at [email protected] and is heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm.

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The search for bowl eligibility for the Nebraska Cornhuskers continues.

NU fell at USC 28-20 Saturday. The Huskers are now 5-5 on the year and 2-5 in Big Ten play. The Trojans improve to 5-5 and are now 3-5 in the league.

Nebraska has never beaten USC, falling to 0-5-1 all-time. The Huskers also fall to 0-9 since 2016 in games that would have clinched bowl eligibility.

The Huskers struck first on what would turn out to be one of a couple big plays from Ceyair Wright. The former USC defensive back took a first-quarter interception to the house. He would block a field goal in the second half as well.

USC’s offense got rolling after that interception, though. After starting 2-for-7, new starting quarterback Jayden Maiava completed his next nine passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Nebraska answered with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Emmett Johnson caught a Dylan Raiola pass and outran his defender to the edge and took the ball upfield for the score.

Neither team did much in the way of productivity over the final 9:21 of the second quarter. USC punted the ball three times while Nebraska threw an interception, punted once, and ran out the clock into the half.

Out of the half, Nebraska got a 29-yard field goal from John Hohl. He would add a 30-yarder a couple drives later, but in the meantime the Trojans got a touchdown.

USC added another touchdown with 2:45. That drive saw the Trojans burn 7:39 off the clock.

On Nebraska’s final offensive drive, Raiola drove the Big Red to the USC 14. Before the final play of the game could commence, most of the offensive line commited a false start.

With five seconds left, Raiola threw an interception in the end zone.

USC gained 441 yards on the day, clearing the 310 that Nebraksa posted. The Trojans got 259 yards and three touchdowns through the air from Maiava while Woodie Marks led the ground attack with 146 yards.

Raiola completed 27-of-38 passes for 191 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Emmett Johnson and Dante Dowdell both eclipsed 50 yards rushing on the day.

Over the first five games of the year, Raiola had a 9-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio. Across the last four-and-a-half, that ratio is 2:8.

Nebraska returns home next Saturday to host Wisconsin. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CST on the Big Ten Network.

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