Saturday night was Nebraska football’s 404th straight home sellout.
Over 86,000 people crowded into Memorial Stadium like black ants following one after another into stands that were completely void of color. It was a blackout night game, and the Cornhuskers had pulled out all the stops when washing out all of its bright red hue.
The field logo and end zones were black. The uniforms, the sidelines, the flags around the stadium — all blacked out.
“It’s looking like a funeral,” one Nebraska fan remarked prior to kickoff.
The Cornhuskers (6-3 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) were hoping to beat the betting odds in an unforgettable environment, but it was No. 20 USC that laid doubts to rest. The Trojans (6-2, 4-1) pulled out a 21-17 win and finally showed that they can succeed on the road, even when the going gets tough.
“You hear it all the time — a program learning to win or expecting to win,” head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters after the game.
“That is a real thing. And if we keep taking the steps that we’ve been taking, we’re going to continually put ourselves in there. And once you do it, it can be like a domino effect. It can really take off. Especially one like this, on a night like this and in a venue like this.”
It wasn’t pretty. The Trojans’ offense, which has mechanically churned out chunk plays, met a Huskers defense that gives up, on average, 9.1 yards per catch and forced them to a three-and-out on their first drive.
USC’s red zone offense, which had scored 69% of the time heading into the game, had stalled and left kicker Ryon Sayeri to finish the job with field goals on two occasions.
Riley’s fearless play-calling, which had failed USC against Notre Dame, benefitted the Trojans on Saturday. He dialed up a flea-flicker that had running back Bryan Jackson convincingly charging forward, then tossing the ball back to quarterback Jayden Maiava.
He didn’t even drop back before slinging the ball 43 yards to Jaden Richardson for the longest catch of the receiver’s career.
“He’s one of our best competitive catch guys,” Riley said. “Bryan Jackson and the guys executed that one. That one’s tough because you gotta have a lot of patience in Bryan and the protection to give Jaden time to get down the field. It was an incredible throw and catch.”
Few of Maiava’s throws could compare that evening. He was held to a season-low 135 passing yards, marking the first time USC passed for fewer than 150 yards in 83 games — a streak that goes back to the 2018 season.
The quarterback’s bootlegs and scrambles, however, gave him a season-high 62 rushing yards and a season-long rush of 17 yards.
“(Good quarterbacks) give teams the ability to win when the offense is rolling, and everything looks in sync and perfect,” Riley said. “And they also give the team a chance to win when it doesn’t. Wasn’t any of our best games offensively. But the name of the game is winning.”
Saturday’s game served as an unofficial College Football Playoff eliminator. Had USC lost and dropped a third game, it would have virtually crushed any chances of the Trojans earning a playoff bid.
Three home games remain on USC’s schedule in Northwestern, Iowa and UCLA. No. 6 Oregon is the one away game left on Nov. 22, which will be a true test to the progression the Trojans are making on the road.
“Road wins are never easy,” Riley said. “They just aren’t. They just find a way to never be easy. It’s the hardest thing to do in college football. This was a big win for this team, big win for our program. You keep winning these, you just keep putting yourself in a better and better position. And this team’s in a great position right now.”