After a very eventful week, the Huskers are ready to make the trip to Southern California to take on the USC Trojans.
These two very storied programs have not played each other since the Trojans beat the Huskers 45-42 in the 2014 Holiday Bowl, just weeks after the firing of Bo Pelini.
The Huskers will be looking to snap a few different streaks on Saturday.
A win and that seven year long bowl game drought is over. A win would also mean the Huskers would get their first ever victory over the Trojans, as USC leads the series 4-0-1.
Both the Huskers and Trojans come in with storylines attached to their names.
It was announced by USC last Tuesday that UNLV transfer quarterback Jayden Maiava would be starting in favor of Miller Moss, who has struggled in the past weeks.
The Huskers on the other hand, announced on Monday that newly hired offensive consultant Dana Holgorsen would be the play caller and offensive coordinator for the rest of the season.
There should be a good amount of Husker fans in attendance at this game, lots of Husker fans live in Southern California, and this game was sold out before the season began.
Play Calling:
If there is any noticeable changes right off the bat on Saturday, my best guess is we see it come from the play calling by Holgorsen.
We should see skill guys like Jacory Barney Jr. and Jaylen Lloyd have an increased use in this offense.
It will also be interesting to see how Holgorsen and true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola are able to connect with each other.
Raiola has not looked himself at all really ever since the loss to Illinois, and it was looking more and more like former play caller Marcus Satterfield was holding back the potential of Raiola with his play calls.
If Holgorsen can get Raiola in a groove quickly and establish a run game, it will go a long way for the Huskers in their final three games of the season.
Quick Start Defensively:
Besides the Ohio State game, the blackshirts defense has gotten off to slow starts in the early part of their losses this season.
Illinois, Indiana and UCLA all drove 75 yards or more and scored on their opening possessions, putting the Huskers down early.
The Huskers may have a new play caller, but for an offense that ranks 97th in the country, it would not be ideal for them to play from behind.
Against Ohio State, the Huskers did an amazing job of controlling the line of scrimmage from pretty much the first snap.
If the blackshirts can come out and win on early downs, the opportunities are endless for what Tony White can draw up on third down.
Special Teams:
The Huskers will be faced with the challenge of stopping Zachariah Branch not only on offense but in the return game.
Branch is by far the most electrifying return man that the Huskers will have faced all season, so a big emphasis should be put on stopping Branch in the return game.
As important as it is to stop Branch, it might be more important that we get a big play on a return this week.
The longest kick off return for the Huskers this season was 40 yards, which came in garbage time during the Huskers 56-7 loss to Indiana.
If Jacory Barney Jr. can explode for a big kickoff return at anytime in this game, it will make it a whole lot easier for Holgorsen to get adapted and call this offense.
Prediction:
The Huskers enter Saturday around a 9 point underdog, which seems like a little too much to me.
Sometimes all it takes is for someone new to come in and take over the play calls for your offense to start to click, but we all shouldn’t panic if this happens on Saturday.
Nebraska: 21 USC: 24
