Raiola Rocked and a Beautiful Blackout Bespeaks the Blues

On a chilly November evening in a blacked out Memorial Stadium, the #23 Southern California Trojans outscored the Nebraska Cornhuskers 15-3 in the second half to complete a comeback win of 21-17. The loss extended the Husker streak of losses to ranked opponents to 29 games. One day, someday, the cursed streak must end. The game turned on a play with 12:04 left in the 3rd quarter when the Huskers had advanced a Jayden Maiava interception from the USC 34-yard line to the 23. On a third and 3, Dylan Raiola was crunched on a strip sack and badly sprained his right ankle. Instead of potentially going up 21-6 and stepping on the throat of the explosive Trojans, Nebraska’s offense proved to be toothless without their starter.

The “Blackout” promotion was visually stunning, and the University is to be commended for beginning a new Husker tradition that would have been even more impressive if Nebraska could have prevailed. I couldn’t help but think that the black balloons released after the Husker scored on their opening drive resembled hundreds of spermatozoa with their white tails glistening in the twilight. What do you expect from a psychologist who is also a sex therapist?

The defense held USC to under half their average scoring output, and nearly 200 yards under their 530-yards per game average, their lowest total yards in 26 games, dating back to the Trojans’ 2023 game against Notre Dame. The Husker pass defense was stellar and frustrated Maiava throughout. It was the worst passing performance by the Trojans in seven years. Maiava managed to complete just nine of his 23 passes for 135 yards and threw an interception. NU has now held eight of its nine opponents this season to fewer than 160 passing yards. If not for a 43-yard pickup on a flea flicker, it would have been worse for the Trojans, but that play led to the winning score. Maiava was sacked three times, twice when he attempted to force the ball forward and was called for intentional grounding. The defense held USC without a first half touchdown for the first time since their loss to Michigan in September 2024. The Trojans had a 69% scoring rate when in the red zone going into the game and it took them 41:28 to get their first TD.

With the air attack stymied, the Trojans instead gashed the Blackshirts for 202 yards on the ground as running back King Miller averaged 7.2 yards a carry, rushing for 130 yards and a touchdown. Jayden Maiava countered his throwing difficulties by running 11 times for 62 yards including a 17-yard touchdown scramble. Maiava entered the game with 23 rushes for just 41 yards. The combination of losing Raiola and the Husker inability to stop the run was all USC needed to stage their second half comeback.

Nov 1, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) runs against Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive lineman Elijah Jeudy (16) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

However, if you had told me before the game that NU would hold the Trojans to 21 points, I would have predicted a Husker victory. The defense did their part by mostly containing the Trojan offense, and if the Husker offense had just scored what the Trojan defense had allowed on average per game (23.1), Nebraska prevails. It was too much to expect true freshman backup quarterback TJ Lateef to save the day. He played gamely, but the Husker offense was essentially one-dimensional. It also didn’t help that more injuries on the offensive line further compromised any offensive attack. Gunnar Gottula didn’t even suit up and Isaiah Pritchett was lost about the same time that Raiola was sidelined.

Dylan Raiola completed 10-of-15 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. Raiola increased his season passing total to 2,000 yards, making him the first Husker with back-to-back 2,000-yard passing seasons since Tommy Armstrong Jr. had three straight 2,000-yard seasons from 2014 to 2016. TJ Lateef was 5 of 7 passing for just 7 yards and managed to net 18 yards on six rushes. If the youngster is to start against UCLA next week, he will need a lot of snaps in practice this week with the first team and a playbook beyond a handful of options.

Dane Key caught a 14-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. The TD catch was Key’s fifth of the 2025 season at Nebraska and the 19th of his college career. Key finished with 2 grabs for 23 yards. Nyziah Hunter had five catches for 30 yards in the game, his fourth straight game with at least five receptions. Jacory Barney was limited to 3 catches for 6 yards and Luke Lindenmeyer had a 23-yard reception to go along with one for no gain. The passing attack was quite anemic and has to improve if the Huskers hope to win any games down the stretch. Can Lateef stretch the field and add another dimension to his running prowess? We may be forced to find out.

Nebraska wide receiver Dane Key reels in a touchdown reception against USC. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The highlight of the game was the running of Emmett Johnson who rushed 29 times for 165 yards and a 10-yard touchdown. It was his fifth 100-yard game this season and his third in conference play. Johnson increased his season rushing total to 1,002 yards, the most rushing yards by a Husker since Ozigbo rushed for 1,082 yards in 2018. Can you believe it has been seven years since the Huskers had a 1,000-yard running back?

Linebacker Javin Wright led all Husker defenders with 11 tackles, marking the fifth time in six Big Ten games that Wright has reached double-figure tackles. Redshirt freshman safety Rex Guthrie tied his career high for the second straight game with eight tackles while redshirt freshman cornerback Donovan Jones had a career-high two pass breakups. Cornerback Andrew Marshall had an interception in the third quarter, marking his first career interception. He also had three tackles in the game to give him 102 career tackles. Linebacker Vincent Shavers Jr. had a 10-yard sack in the second quarter, marking his first sack in 2025, and the second of his career and true freshman Kade Pietrzak had a six-yard sack in the second quarter, his second sack of the season. What is glaringly apparent is that our undersized defensive line is having repeated run-fit problems and is getting pushed around by the big boys in the Big Ten. Defensive coordinator John Butler may need to have more sets with four defensive linemen, because the current 3-3-5 is getting manhandled.

Special teams were not the asset they have been in previous games. Kyle Cunanan barely missed a 52-yard field goal that would have put the Huskers up 17-6. That whole sequence on 4th and 1 was a cluster as the offense attempted to draw the defense offsides and then called a timeout, which was wasted in retrospect. Cunanan did convert a 39-yarder in the 4th quarter giving the Huskers a brief 17-14 lead. Archie Wilson put 2 punts inside the 20 but averaged just 37.5 on four boots. USC had no punt returns and just an 11-yard kickoff return. The Husker return teams were unremarkable.

The Trojans came in 2-5 in Big Ten away games since joining the conference last year and this was a great opportunity to extend their road woes. Could the Huskers have won if Raiola wasn’t injured? I think they may have, but it wasn’t to be and now the Huskers have to go to opposite coasts in their next two games. They still haven’t played a four-quarter game this season and are running out of opportunities. Saturday night was a tough pill to swallow. Another one score loss, dropping the Huskers to 3-2 this year in that category. The fan base would really like more evidence of improvement even though the squad is the youngest in the conference with 92 freshmen and sophomores. Defeating an erratic Bruin ball club coming off a bye week would certainly help the cause. Go Big Red!!!

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