Five Shocking Stats from USC Trojans' Road Win Over Nebraska Cornhuskers

The No. 20 USC Trojans entered a hostile environment in Lincoln Nebraska to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers, to keep their College Football Playoff dreams alive. In the 21-17 win, their gritty performance earned them another conference win.

Oct 18, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley talks to an official during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

In a game that determined the future of the No. 20 USC Trojans College Football Playoff path, their 21-17 gritty win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers kept those dreams alive. The performance was most certainly not the Trojans cleanest, nor the prettiest, but a win is a win.

Now 6-2 heading into two consecutive home games, starting with a Friday night matchup against Northwestern, USC has a quick turnaround to get healthy, and compete in another Big Ten contest.

1. Six Wins for USC Trojans, Lincoln Riley

Oct 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley celebrates after kicker Ryon Sayeri (48) hit a 54-yard field goal in the second half against the Michigan Wolverines at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Even when coach Lincoln Riley’s status as USC’s leader was questioned over the offseason, and even after the loss to No. 12 Notre Dame, he still found a way to get USC into bowl season. Riley’s first bowl at USC earned them a spot in the Cotton Bowl, where they fell in a down to the wire shootout to Tulane, 46-45, capping off the season 11-3.

His second bowl was local in the DirectTV Holiday Bowl in San Diego defeating Louisville 42-28, earning his first bowl win at USC. Last year, the Trojans headed to Las Vegas and pulled off a 35-31 win over Texas A&M. 

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley holds the championship trophy after the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The win over Nebraska marked the fourth consecutive time the Trojans would go bowling under Riley.

As Riley said to the media last week after Tuesday’s practice, “We still control our destiny." The season is far from over, with plenty of time to set their sights on the biggest postseason stage — the College Football Playoff.

If the Trojans can win out, their chances at securing a first time CFP bid could be right in front of them.

2. 135 Passing Yards for USC

Oct 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) throws a pass in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

For an offense heavily fueled by their attack, with bout a dynamic passing and running offense, their pass game turned out to be their worst in seven years.

The performance was the worst since 2018, when quarterbacks JT Daniels and Matt Fink combined for 132 in a 41-28 loss to Utah. 

It was clear the pass game was a large factor into the Trojans first half performance, having issues executing a strong game from wide receivers Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon.

For Lemon, who sits second in the Big Ten for most yards with 776, he finished with just two catches for 18 years — the least he’s recorded all season. Like Lemon, Lane finished with a season low of 22 receiving yards. 

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Quarterback Jayden Maiava’s sole interception was difficult to watch, throwing what was supposed to be a perfect pass to Lane, who was sitting in double coverage, landed into the hands of Nebraska's Andrew Marshall. 

Although the passing performance was not their best, Riley kicked up their run game even more through the legs of running back King Miller and Maiava.

3. 62 Rushing Yards from Jayden Maiava

Nov 1, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) scrambles against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Even if Maiava has a phenomenal arm, in the company of elite receivers and tight ends, when Maiava has shown his ability to run, the offense received a massive upgrade. In recent games Maiava has not abused his rushing ability, with his most rushing yards coming from the Michigan State win, with 31 rushing yards. Against the Cornhuskers, that streak came to an end.

Once the pass game seemed to be too difficult to execute against Nebraska’s No. 2 pass defense in the country, Maiava took off on the ground, and even found the end zone. 

Oct 18, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans running back King Miller (30) runs the ball while Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Tae Johnson (9) defends in the second half at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Maiava’s rushing touchdown gave USC a chance to catch up to Nebraska, and found himself adding six to the Trojans score to make it 12-14. With the decision to go for a two-point conversion, Miller rushed it in, meeting Nebraska at 14-14. 

Speaking of the run game, Maiava was accompanied by a strong performance by Miller, who rushed for 128 yards and one touchdown, his second 100-yard game this season.

If Maiava can continue to add power on the ground, the USC offense could be more dangerous than Trojan fans thought. 

4. USC Did Not Score A Touchdown In First Half Touchdown

Sep 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Michigan State Spartans during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Echoing statistic No. 2, the pass game was not to its full potential, allowing Nebraska to beat them up out wide.  Even Miller and Maiava’s run performance fell short in the first half.

Although Miller earned USC multiple first downs, the red zone gave USC trouble, and was forced to bring kicker Ryon Sayeri and special teams in for two field goals in the half.

For an offense that leads the nation in offensive yards per game (530) through week 9, nothing seemed to be enough to find the end zone in the first 30 minutes of play.

Riley gave clarity to Maiava’s performance, expressing it's all part of the process. 

"You play quarterback long enough, there's gonna be games like this where things are just a little bit out of whack and your ability to just hang in there and keep swinging and find a way to make winning plays — that's what the really good ones do,” Riley said after the win. 

5. Nebraska’s 29th Straight Loss to AP Top 25 Teams

Aug 28, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule walks onto the field during warmups before the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

For a program that pulled out every stop in the book to make an intimidating atmosphere, including a blackout theme and coach Matt Rhule’s contract extension, USC did not buy in and pulled off a Big Ten road win.

Especially after last season when USC was mostly unsuccessful on the road, an 86,000 person crowd under the lights in Lincoln, Nebraska did not intimidate the Trojans. The game was also a high stakes matchup — with both teams protecting their two-losses in hopes to keep their playoff dreams alive. 

USC advances to 4-1 in Big Ten play and 6-2 overall heading into their week 11 matchup, hosting the Northwestern Wildcats in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.