Nebraska
USC Trojans’ Three Keys To Victory For Bounce-Back Win Over Nebraska
The No. 23 USC Trojans are through with both bye weeks, and enter their five-game stretch starting with a road contest at Nebraska in week 10.
The last time USC was on the gridiron they suffered their second loss over No. 12 Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Now, back in the Big Ten competition, USC has a chance to cement themselves as Big Ten title and College Football Playoff contenders over the next five matchups.
Entering a high stakes matchup, with both USC and Nebraska as two-loss teams, the need to pull out a win is crucial. If USC can stay consistent on both sides of the ball, effectively stop the run and score early, the Trojans can pull off another road, and conference, win.
USC has benefitted from efficient play on both sides of the ball, but against the Fighting Irish, USC lacked a balance.
When looking at the Trojans season so far, who lead the nation in offensive yards per game with 530, they have been nothing short of impressive on offense. Especially against a physical defense like the Cornhuskers, executing a well-balanced and efficient attack will be key to USC’s push to earn a road win.
As for the defense, the Trojans have proved they can both stop the run and pressure the quarterback to breakdown offensive production. Most notably against the Michigan Wolverines, when USC upset the Wolverines 31-13 in Los Angeles.
The Trojans defense held the Wolverines to just 109 rushing yards, their lowest of the season, and 20 passing yards from Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood to 207.
Since quarterback Jayden Maiava has taken the reins as USC’s starting quarterback, the leadership and talent, surrounded by wide receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, has helped coach Lincoln Riley’s offense flourish.
Riley commented on what Maiava brings to the Trojans program, highlighting what he does every time he steps onto the field.
“Every time the guy’s touched the field for us as a USC Trojan we’ve had a chance to win the game. He always gives us a chance to win. That’s one of the things I really love about him as a player. And again, he’s just continuing to improve as time goes on,” Riley said on Trojans Live.
The Trojans were weak in one area in their week 8 loss — stopping the run. Now heading into another road contest, USC faces another talented running back in Nebraska tailback Emmett Johnson.
Johnson, the junior running back from Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been one of the Cornhuskers’ secret weapons on offense. Through eight games, Johnson has rushed for 837 yards on 146 carries and nine touchdowns.
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Defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn spoke to the media following Wednesday’s practice, and when asked about what stands out about Johnson, his answer delivered what USC needs to focus on come game time.
“Tackling in space is going to be huge this week. Even if it’s a six-yard gain, he’s breaking four or five tackles. It seems like (he) will hold on to the ball a little bit longer,” Lynn said after Wednesday’s practice.
With another chance to stop the run, the Trojans defense will be a huge factor into a competitive performance.
For USC’s loaded offensive unit paired with a strong and physical Nebraska defense, the need to score when USC has the ball will be vital to taking off early.
The week 10 matchup holds a lot of notable elements that gets the Cornhuskers excited to host a ranked opponent – coach Matt Rhule’s contract extension, blackout uniform and an all black stadium design.
What Nebraska does hold is a wild record against ranked opponents, with the Cornhuskers on a 28-game losing streak against top 25 teams, with their last ranked win coming from 2016 over No. 22 Oregon. USC coming into town gives Nebraska another chance to change that narrative.
The Nebraska defense has been exceptional through eight games, especially when stopping the run against their opponents. The Cornhuskers rank second in the Big Ten with rushing yards allowed with 127, right behind the No. 6 Oregon Ducks who average 124.
If Maiava and the USC offense can run a strong attack from their pass and run games, they can wear down the Nebraska defense early and take advantage of an early run.
The future of data centers in Nebraska took center stage at a North Omaha town hall Thursday evening.
The event was hosted by State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Ashlei Spivey, who alongside Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh sponsored a bill in the Nebraska Legislature that looked to help regulate data centers.
Parts of their bill were adopted and passed in LB1010, which requires reports on annual power usage, water usage and ownership.
“Having this passed in a package showed a lot of bipartisan work,” Spivey told a crowd of attendees at Nelson Mandela Elementary School.
The proposed regulations were shaped in part by Bold Nebraska, an advocacy group focused on eminent domain and clean energy. Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and founder of Bold Nebraska, said before the bill passed there were “zero laws on the books” to address a boom in data centers.
“If one is coming into the community, we wanted to make sure that there were some basic transparency things in place,” Kleeb said.
Political discussions around data centers heated up in recent months following reporting by the Flatwater Free Press that showed Google is considering a data center in Nebraska that could require more than three times the amount of power the entire city of Lincoln uses at peak demand in the summer.
The Nebraska Legislature recently passed another bill, LB1261, that allows private developers to build and own power plants to serve a large industrial customer, including data centers. That bill was proposed by the governor’s office and celebrated by Gov. Jim Pillen.
“Our state is once again taking a bold and strategic step – one that will create an environment that attracts business and multibillion dollar investment, while legally preserving Nebraska’s unique and consumer-friendly public power model,” Pillen said at the time.
At Thursday’s town hall, McKinney called LB1261 “the bogeyman bill.”
“It’s a bill that the governor pushed through the legislature to allow for data centers to create their own power,” McKinney said. “It’s a bill that I stood on the floor and said this is going to harm our communities.”
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Hundreds of people are without power in southeast Nebraska after a severe storm passed through Thursday morning.
The Lincoln Electric System outage map showed 115 customers without power across the city at 11:36 a.m.
Norris Public Power District’s outage map also shows 45 customers affected by the storm. As of 11:36 a.m., there were nine active outages.
According to the Nebraska Public Power District outage map, 657 customers were affected by the storm. Most of the affected customers were near Plattsmouth in southeast Nebraska. As of 11:37 a.m., 27 customers remain without power.
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Mandatory evacuations have been ordered near Crawford, including Fort Robinson State Park, as the South Fork Fire continues to spread in western Nebraska.
According to the City of Crawford, evacuations are currently underway for an area north of Crawford that includes the area south of Dodd Road, west of Dodd Road, and FF Street.
Fort Robinson has also been evacuated.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission said Fort Robinson State Park and Peterson Wildlife Management Area have been temporarily closed due to the fire.
The fire has burned approximately 9,000 acres and is currently 0% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Nebraska Game and Parks said the park and the WMA will remain closed until further notice to support firefighting operations and protect public safety.
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