This Trojan football season has been an amalgamation of contradictions. After a momentum-turning home win against No. 21 Michigan in a packed Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Trojans’ trip to South Bend ended with a whimper as No. 12 Notre Dame and its star junior running back Jeremiyah Love ran — literally and figuratively — all over USC. 

Now, sitting at 5-2, 3-1 Big Ten, and ranked No. 23 after returning to the top 25 during the bye week, the Trojans have another Big Ten try against similarly-placed Nebraska (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) on Saturday in Lincoln. The game reads like a last chance for USC and Head Coach Lincoln Riley, either proving themselves in their sophomore Big Ten season or falling once again when the lights shine the brightest, in particular on the road.

“We’re still in a good place,” sophomore tight end Walker Lyons said in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “We still control our destiny where we’re at right now.”

USC’s chances to make a College Football Playoff debut also hang in the balance, as a three-loss team will almost assuredly fall short of the 12-team bracket. With a win, the Trojans would also secure bowl eligibility. 

“We’ve put ourselves in the position to win a lot of these games, but obviously you’ve got to go win them,” Riley said in a post-practice news conference Oct. 21. “The expectation is to win them, and we got some great opportunities coming up.”

‘Everything is right there in front of us’

USC has been defined by immense offensive production this year, with redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava linking up for big receiving plays with junior wide receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane. So far, the Trojans lead all Football Bowl Subdivision teams in total offensive yards per game at 530. 

Lemon, specifically, has been performing extremely well with Maiava, racking up 758 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns so far. 

Lane has been a little more shaky for the Trojan offense due to battling multiple injury issues throughout the season. Against the Fighting Irish, however, Lane went for 111 yards and a touchdown on six receptions, pointing to signs of a full recovery for the star receiver.

Maiava has also held pretty steady for USC in his first full season in the cardinal and gold, throwing for 2,180 yards and 15 touchdowns, second in passing yards in the Big Ten. However, after a clean start to the season, Maiava has racked up four interceptions in his last three games. This number, though, is still much less than his six interceptions last year in just four starts, demonstrating surefire improvement in ball protection and decision making.

“Nobody likes to lose, but the mindset right now is that everything is right there in front of us,” Maiava said in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “We just have to continue to stack plays and keep executing.”

Battered O-line, running backs holding steady

USC is still struggling with injury issues on the offensive line. Redshirt sophomore left tackle Elijah Paige, who has missed the last three games after sustaining an injury against Michigan State, and redshirt junior center Kilian O’Connor, who was injured against Michigan, were both practicing Tuesday, according to Sports Illustrated. 

“We’re better,” Riley said, “but we’re not at a point where I’m like, ‘Yeah, those guys are ready to go.’ We’re just not to that point yet.”

As for the run game, junior running back Waymond Jordan and redshirt senior running back Eli Sanders’ injuries have stunted rush production slightly, as both of the starters are out of the lineup for the foreseeable future. 

Redshirt freshman running back King Miller has stepped up for USC’s rush offense, on display especially against Michigan, where Miller picked up an incredible 158 yards on 18 carries. Miller punctuated his breakout performance with a rushing touchdown. 

However, the Fighting Irish defensive line stifled most of the Trojan rush two weekends ago, holding USC to just 68 yards on the ground. 

Against Nebraska, USC must turn this stat on its head, especially since the Huskers are ranked No. 2 in the country when it comes to fewest passing yards allowed. Led by senior defensive backs Ceyair Wright and DeShon Singleton, the Huskers have recorded five interceptions and 18 broken passes this year, with Singleton racking up two of those takeaways. 

Defense ‘panicked’ against Notre Dame

The defensive line, specifically, has been inconsistent so far in Defensive Coordinator D’Anton Lynn’s second season at USC, displayed especially by Love’s performance for the Fighting Irish a weekend ago. In a team that led college football in sacks early in the season, errors have run rampant, especially in the secondary and against the run. 

“We overcompensated and at times panicked [in the Notre Dame game] … We had a lot of guys not stunting into the correct gaps or fitting into the correct gaps,” Riley said in a postgame news conference after the loss to Notre Dame. “The execution there was just not good enough.”

However, the Michigan game demonstrated what an all-cylinders USC defense could be, with the Wolverines held to 316 yards of total offense and just 13 points. Specifically, redshirt senior linebacker Eric Gentry picked up six tackles, leading the team in quarterback pressures. 

Nebraska sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola has 1,909 total passing yards on the season, sixth in the Big Ten. On the ground, junior running back Emmett Johnson has amassed 837 total yards, with a season-high of 176 to lead the Cornhuskers over Maryland (4-3, 1-3) three weeks ago.

Most recently, Nebraska won against fellow Big Ten opponent Northwestern (5-3, 3-2). While the Cornhuskers were ranked No. 25 in mid-October, a brutal 24-6 loss to Minnesota (5-3, 3-2) and a previous narrow defeat against Michigan — their only ranked opponent prior to USC — have kept them off the polls as of late. 

USC will take on the Huskers at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., hoping to record another Big Ten win and stay in the playoff conversation.