USC vs. Nebraska (Homecoming)
November 16, 2024 at 1:05pm
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA: 75,304 (of 77,500)
Total Time: 3 hours 21 minutes

For the seventh game this season, USC finished the game within one score of their opponent. This is only the second time they’ve been on the favorable side of it.

The new starting quarterback, Jayden Maiava, has a stat line that could lull you into a sense of confidence, but watching the game footage would show you the truth: Every play he’s involved him sits on the precipice of both success and disaster. Maybe we should just call him Schrödinger’s quarterback.

Perhaps no other play better encapsulated his style of play than the one to Kyron Hudson in the end zone in the second quarter. The play barely slipped through the defensive back’s hands to hit Hudson in the chest and pinball off the DB’s helmet back into his arms as he barely lands inbounds. The absurdity of what we witnessed left both Trojan and Husker fans in shock. These kinds of plays seemingly happened often, sometimes in our favor and sometimes in a pick six or fumble in a red zone. Those particular plays primed Nebraska for half their total scoring—for free. Sure, things ended up in our favor this time, but this type of riskiness is probably what kept him on the bench for so long.

Of course, there were some positives to the overall composition of the team as well. Lincoln Riley used more option plays and got more creative with derivatives out of similar formations. Zachariah Branch got sent on some jet sweeps, tunnel screens, and the like to establish his threat. Then Woody Marks runs allowed Jayden Maiava to keep it on some runs. All of that finally set up a fake jet sweep to Branch with Maiava taking the ball on a speed option and flipping it out to Woody Marks for the 34 yard gain on 4th-and-1. That kept the drive alive on their last score. Being able to score in the fourth quarter to pad the lead, rather than fully putting it on the defense, and being able to drain 7 minutes and 40 seconds while covering 84 yards for the touchdown is the type of thing they haven’t been able to do at home or on the road.

But, back to Marks. Although they never really lined up under center, the way Woody was running the ball with those Cold War era uniforms and field, the shades of red and yellow are enough to make anyone a Marksist.

He finished the game with a 7.7 yard average on nearly 20 runs with 5 runs over 10 yards. That doesn’t even include his contributions to the passing game. He has also crossed the 1,000 yard threshold for the season.

Good/Badisms

Good: Interception by Jaylin Smith late in the 2nd quarter on a crucial possession to keep the game tied going into the half.

Good: Duce Robinson getting time to shine with the new QB

Bad: The way Maiava carries the ball. The aforementioned fumble presented the most obvious evidence, but even on the final touchdown play, the way he held the ball out in middle of the field on 1st-and-goal could have easily been knocked out and turned into a touchback instead of a touchdown. Things have generally cut in his favor this game, but if he keeps tempting fate, the eventual outcomes against UCLA, Notre Dame, or a potential bowl opponent may not be so positive.

CommBro Breaker

With more tape now on Maiava at USC, he may not see as much success in future games. UCLA is up next and has no margin of error for bowl eligibility. They will likely be practicing/studying hard to keep Maiava contained.

Czaplicki Tracker Week 11: Czaplicki managed to climb back into 2nd place (48.9 yards per punt) after having a 51.8 yard per punt average against Nebraska. All 4 of his punts pinned the Huskers in within their own 20-yard line (starting at the 12, 4, 13, and 1). Pretty impressive day for him.

Depressing Stat of the Week: Zachariah Branch scored his FIRST touchdown of the season in the 10th game despite having the most receptions out of the wide receivers (41). Woody Marks actually leads the team with 43 receptions

Shocking Stat of the Week: Somehow USC is #14 in sacks allowed and #33 in tackles for a loss allowed. Despite how poorly it started, it appears things have improved statistically (and from an eye test)