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Can USC Trojans Stay Undefeated? Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska, Tough Schedule Looms

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Can USC Trojans Stay Undefeated? Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska, Tough Schedule Looms


After the No. 11 USC Trojans return from their bye week, the team plays seven straight weeks of football games before the second bye. A gauntlet for any program, the next seven games for USC will also be the first time the Trojans clash with their new Big Ten opponents.

Can USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley and his team navigate the rest of the season and remain unscathed?

As of Sept. 16, the Trojans are scheduled to face four ranked opponents for the rest of the season. USC will face No. 10 Penn State, No. 17 Notre Dame, No. 18 Michigan, and No. 22 Nebraska.

The first ranked matchup is on Saturday, Sept. 21, as USC travels to Ann Arbor to face No. 18 Michigan. Although defending national champions, the 2024 Wolverines have struggled at the start of the season. The Wolverines have an ugly loss to No. 1 Texas, and they beat Arkansas State by 10 points.

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Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) celebrates with Kyron Hudson (10

Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) celebrates with USC Trojans wide receiver Kyron Hudson (10) after scoring a touchdown against Utah State Aggies during the first quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Should USC leave the Big House with a win, they could set themselves up for an undefeated showdown with No. 10 Penn State on Oct. 12. In between the Michigan and Penn State games, the Trojans are scheduled to face the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Both Wisconsin and Minnesota are having down years compared to expectations. Minnesota lost 19-17 to North Carolina in week zero, and Wisconsin recently lost to Alabama 42-10 at home. Should the Trojans get past both of those teams, Riley and his team might have a top-10 matchup on their hands.

On paper, the toughest game of the Trojans season will be when the Nittany Lions travel to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. According to the AP Poll, this midseason matchup figures to be the toughest game on USC’s season.

After playing Penn State, USC will fly across the country to face Maryland on Oct. 19. The stretch of seven games will end on a Friday night against Rutgers followed by a road trip to Washington. On Nov. 9, the Trojans will have reached the second bye week of the season.

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley against LSU.

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts in the first half against the LSU Tigers at Allegiant Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Should this Trojans team win its first nine games, its resume will feature wins over LSU, Michigan, and Penn State. In the first two games of the season, USC Trojans quarterback Miller Moss has impressed, and defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn has already improved the defense in his short time with the team.

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Already a strong collection of wins, USC has the chance to add another against a surging Nebraska on Nov. 16.

After an impressive 3-0 start under quarterback Dylan Raiola, the Nebraska Cornhuskers have climbed into the AP poll at No. 22. If the Trojans and the Cornhuskers continue to win, the game will assuredly be one of the marquee matchups across the country.

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) reacts after beating LSU.

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) reacts after the game against the LSU Tigers at Allegiant Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Both Nebraska and Penn State travel to Los Angeles to play the Trojans, giving USC a legitimate chance to host College GameDay. In the final home game at the Coliseum, USC will host the Fighting Irish, currently ranked No. 17 in the week four AP Poll.

A difficult opponent after playing a grueling schedule, Notre Dame has already suffered an upset at home to No. 23 Northern Illinois.

While certainly difficult, this Trojans team has the potential to rack up some impressive wins should they survive the season. However, teams can afford to lose a game and still have a path to the postseason in the expanded playoff system.

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MORE: USC Trojans Recruiting: 5-Star Target Makes Heartbreaking Social Media Announcement 

MORE: USC Trojans Open Up As Betting Favorites Over Michigan Wolverines

MORE: How Has USC Trojans Defensive Coordinator D’Anton Lynn Transformed Team’s Identity?

MORE: Caleb Williams Struggles On Sunday Night Football, Suffers First NFL Loss

MORE: Ranking Best Big Ten Quarterbacks Through Week 3: Is USC Trojans’ Miller Moss No. 1?

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MORE: USC Trojans vs. Michigan Wolverines Official Kickoff Time and TV Broadcast Schedule



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Nebraska

Quotebook: Rhule, Raiola, Rahmir + Robinson post-Pinstripe Bowl

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Quotebook: Rhule, Raiola, Rahmir + Robinson post-Pinstripe Bowl


NEW YORK – Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule and a few players were chosen for Saturday’s postgame interviews with the media following the Huskers’ 20-15 win over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.

Below, we dig into the Quotebook from the postgame podiums as the Huskers – who finished their season at 7-6 overall – didn’t just finally get over the hump by reaching a bowl game but also finished the job by winning the bowl game. They took care of the Eagles, who also end the year with a 7-6 mark.

Following a perfect non-conference slate – highlighted by a dominant win over ranked Colorado – and an overtime loss to ranked Illinois, the Huskers bounced back with wins over Purdue and Rutgers. Then, they fell on the road at Indiana and Ohio State in losses that felt drastically different in both vibes and the actual final score. Then, the UCLA game happened. Then, a hard-fought loss came – yet again – on the road at USC.

The Huskers finally broke through against Wisconsin, ending a four-game losing streak on the season, a 10-game losing streak to the Badgers – also a nine-game losing streak when bowl eligibility was on the line (including eight straight such losses under Rhule) – and finally returning to the postseason to end a seven-year bowl drought.

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The Huskers followed that breakthrough win with an equally debilitating loss by the exact same final score (13-10) as the Nebraska-Iowa game the previous November. (And the exact same final score as two other losses during that same 2023 season.)

But…

All’s well that ends well, right?

The Huskers are now officially in offseason mode, moving into the winter with a slight shift in momentum sparked by the bowl game victory.

And with that, we present Saturday’s postgame Quotebook with thoughts from Rhule, quarterback Dylan Raiola, running back Rahmir Johnson and defensive lineman Ty Robinson – plus thoughts from Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien and the Eagles.

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Rhule wants “complete and total overhaul” of special teams

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Rhule wants “complete and total overhaul” of special teams


NEW YORK — The good?

Nebraska won enough football games to qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 2016. Even more good? The Huskers beat Boston College 20-15 on Saturday in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York to mark the program’s first bowl win since 2015.

Clearly, there is positive momentum at Nebraska.

Now, the bad.

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The bad was Nebraska’s poor special teams rearing its ugly head once again. Mistakes in the third phase of the game caused Nebraska to nearly lose its 20-2 lead late in the third quarter in stunning fashion.

First, BC blocked a John Hohl extra-point attempt after Nebraska’s second touchdown of the first half. The snap from Camden Witucki was fine, but holder Brian Buschini dropped the ball as Hohl was making his approach.

With the chaos in front of him, Hohl’s kick went low and was easily blocked by BC’s Max Tucker. Ashton McShane scooped it and scored 2 points from 87 yards.

Then in the fourth quarter, Buschini had a punt blocked after BC’s Victor Nelson split both Jason Maciejczak and Dylan Parrott, who were part of a three-man shield (Mason Goldman was the third member of the shield, but had his own Eagle to block).

And just like that, BC scored a touchdown one play later to make it a 20-15 Husker lead. The Eagles scored 13 points in under 2 minutes of game action.

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The collective gulp from Husker fans was heard everywhere.

“It’s no secret. To be where we want to be next year, we have to be the same defensively, probably a little better in some areas,” Matt Rhule said after the game. “We have to really improve on offense, and I think we’re all seeing at times signs of what it’s going to look like. And then special teams, we need a complete and total overhaul of that. We have to be better at that. I always put those things on my shoulders, we’ll get it done. But it has not been good enough this year.”

There was also a moment where Nebraska tried a fake field goal, where Buschini, the holder, took the snap and tried running for a touchdown on BC’s 8-yard line. The play didn’t come close to working.

“The fake field goal, probably should have just dropped back and thrown it again,” Rhule said. “But we had the numbers there and the kid just made a good play.”

Ed Foley’s special teams haven’t performed up to the standard he and his boss, Rhule, constantly talk about. Both the field goal and punting units have struggled with snaps throughout the season.

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Nebraska went to the transfer portal for help at long snapper and added New Hampshire’s Kevin Gallic.

“We’ve had snapping issues all year long. I think we’ve tried to already address that for next year,” Rhule said.

With Buschini playing his final season at Nebraska in 2024, the Huskers also added veteran transfer punter Jack McCallister, who started for Washington the past three seasons.

As Rhule always does, he tries to remember the positives, too.

In that regard, Rhule liked how the unit executed a fake punt pass vs. BC, where Buschini completed a pass to Isaac Gifford for a first down. That was Buschini’s second completion for a first down of the season.

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“The fake punt was kind of a big call. A gutsy call that they’ve worked and executed,” Rhule said.



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Key stats of the game in Nebraska's win over Boston College

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Key stats of the game in Nebraska's win over Boston College


Key stats of the game in Nebraska’s win over Boston College

NEW YORK — Nebraska held on and got the job done on Saturday.

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The Huskers traveled to New York City to play in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College and will fly home with a 20-15 win.

It wasn’t pretty — is it ever with this program? — as NU led 20-2 with three minutes left in the third quarter but allowed BC to score two touchdowns in the final 6:11 of the game.

NU ends its 2024 season with a record of 7-6 (3-6 in Big Ten). That’s the most wins since the 2016 team went 9-4. It’s also the first bowl victory for the Huskers since the 2015 team beat UCLA 37-29 in the Foster Farms Bowl.

Here are three key statistics that stood out from NU’s win over the Eagles.

A good showing in the red zone from Nebraska’s offense

One of the top stats that usually equals winning football involves making the most of your trips to the red zone. On Saturday, the Husker offense was good enough once it entered BC’s 20-yard line.

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NU finished the game by scoring points on three of its four red zone opportunities, and all of them were touchdowns. All three of NU’s scoring drives that entered the red area lasted at least seven plays, too, so the Huskers were going on some drives in Yankee Stadium.

The only red-zone appearance that didn’t end in a score was a fake field goal that had punter/holder Brian Buschini attempting to run the ball on a fourth-and-goal from the BC 8-yard line. That didn’t work as Buschini got 1 yard to seal a turnover on downs.

Nebraska turned the ball over twice, but John Butler’s defense put out the fires

NU’s offense turned the ball over twice in the game, both of which came in the first half thanks to a Dylan Raiola interception and an Emmett Johnson lost fumble.

Those could have been back-breaking mistakes, but they weren’t because defensive coordinator John Butler’s defense, which featured several young players getting opportunities, stood tall after each turnover.

The Huskers did not allow BC to score points off those turnovers. NU may have bent — the Huskers allowed BC to convert 5-of-10 third downs in the first half — but it never really broke until late in the game when the Eagles scored their first touchdown at the 6:11 mark of the fourth quarter.

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On a wet and slippery field, yes, there were missed tackles and sloppy play at times. But the Huskers flew around like a team who had fun in the city for a week before flipping a switch and winning a football game, just like Matt Rhule wanted.

If BC was going to win this game, it needed to run the ball — that didn’t happen

Nothing against BC quarterback Grayson James. He played as well as he could and made some good throws while being pressured by NU’s defense all day.

But if BC was going to win this game, it needed to have an effective run game. That didn’t happen — BC would have liked to have its first-team All-ACC right tackle Ozzy Trapilo, who opted out — as the Husker defense limited the Eagles’ rushing attack to just 47 yards overall and 40 in the first half. That rushing total rises to 64 yards if you take away the 17 sack yards NU’s defense had.

BC entered the game with a top-50 rush offense nationally at 176 yards per game, good for 46th in the country.

The defensive front that played for NU today — guys like Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher, Cam Lenhardt, Elijah Jeudy, Keona Davis, MJ Sherman, Willis McGahee and Co. — held up well against BC’s offensive line and tight ends and allowed the linebackers behind them, like Javin Wright, Vincent Shavers Jr. and John Bullock, to clean up, which they did.

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The Wright-Shavers-Bullock trio combined for 18 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

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