Behind King Miller’s 129 rushing yards and fourth-quarter touchdown, No. 23 Southern California overcame a sluggish offensive start to rally past Nebraska 21-17 on Saturday night in Lincoln, Neb.
USC (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten Conference), which came into Saturday’s matchup with the fifth-most prolific offense in FBS at 42.4 points per game, did not reach the end zone until late in the third quarter against Nebraska (6-3, 3-3).
Wearing special black uniforms, the Cornhuskers played a game reminiscent of the program’s famed Blackshirt defenses of yesteryear. Nebraska held USC quarterback Jayden Maiava to 9-of-23 passing for 135 yards without a touchdown.
Andrew Marshall came away with an interception of Maiava.
But while the Trojans’ quarterback struggled much of the way, he came through in a pivotal spot with a 43-yard completion to Jaden Richardson on a flea flicker in the fourth quarter. That big play set up the drive that culminated in Miller’s 6-yard touchdown carry, giving USC a 21-17 lead with 10:06 left in regulation.
Maiava also carried for a touchdown of 16 yards late in the third quarter. Miller tacked on a successful two-point conversion to erase what had been a 14-6 Nebraska lead.
The Cornhuskers scored touchdowns on a pair of 75-yard drives in the first half, capped on a 14-yard pass from Dylan Raiola to Dane Key and Emmett Johnson’s 10-yard rush.
The Trojans’ defense was otherwise as feisty as Nebraska’s, forcing the Cornhuskers into four punts and a missed field-goal attempt on the night.
Compounding Nebraska’s offensive woes was the third quarter departure of Raiola. Facing pressure from linebacker Eric Gentry, Raiola stepped out of the blitzing Trojan’s reach only to be taken down on the blind side by defensive end Anthony Lucas.
Raiola appeared to twist his leg and was taken out, with freshman TJ Lateef coming in. Lateef went 5-of-7 passing but finished with just 7 yards through the air.
The sophomore Raiola was 10-of-15 for 91 yards at the time of his injury.
Johnson rushed for 165 yards on 29 carries to buoy the Nebraska offense as much as possible, but on fourth-and-1 at the Cornhuskers’ 27 on the final drive, he slipped in the backfield and failed to convert.
