The No. 25 Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-3) and the No. 24 USC Trojans (8-4) will meet in the National University Holiday Bowl on Saturday. Winners of three of their last four, USC comes into this game hoping to continue their recent success. The game will begin Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN.
USC smashed Notre Dame 49-14 in its last game. Cody Kessler had an outstanding performance passing the ball in the victory, completing 32 of 40 pass attempts for 372 yards and six TDs. Nelson Agholor also had a big day, contributing 120 yards and a TD on 12 catches. Nebraska won in a close one over Iowa 37-34 in its last game. Kenny Bell had a big game for the Cornhuskers, catching three passes for 53 yards and two TDs. Tommy Armstrong Jr also had a big game with 202 yards and four TDs through the air.
The Cornhuskers are a four-point underdog against the Trojans and the Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is 62 points. The Trojans enter the game with records of 8-4 Straight Up (SU) and 7-5 Against The Spread (ATS) this season. In the past five games, USC is 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS. They rank 11th in the nation with 44 points per game at home, making them one of the nation’s most dynamic offenses. USC has kept its passing game going like a well oiled machine lately, averaging 324.2 passing yards during their last five matchups. During their last five games, the Trojans have also done a better job of keeping their opponents from running the ball. They gave up an average of only 103.0 rushing yards over that period of time, less than their 132.5 season average. One of the keys to the game will be if the Trojans can take advantage of the turnover-prone Cornhuskers, who rank 101st in the nation in turnovers with two per game. The Trojans make it hard on their opponents in the third quarter of home games. USC averages 9.8 points during those periods, one of the best in the country. USC usually wins the average time of possession war when they play at home. The team averages 34:57 minutes per home game, ranking ninth in Division I.
In the other locker room, the Cornhuskers have 9-3 SU and 7-4-1 ATS records this season. Over their last five games, the Cornhuskers have a SU record of 3-2 and a 1-3-1 record ATS for those betting with them. Running the ball is very important for the Cornhuskers. They attempt 45.3 rushing plays per game. Switching gears to the Nebraska defense, there are certain areas where it measures up well against the Trojans. The Trojans are matching up with Nebraska’s defense at an inopportune time. Over the last five games, Nebraska’s opponents have only averaged 166.4 yards through the air. The Trojans need to be careful with the football against the Cornhuskers. Their defense leads the country with 1.8 fumbles recovered per game on the road. USC needs to keep its intensity through the fourth quarter against the Cornhuskers, who average 10.4 points in the final 15 minutes of regulation.
Predictions: SU Winner – USC, ATS Winner – NEB, O/U – Over
Notes
Nebraska is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games.
Southern Cal is 14-5 SU in its last 19 games.
Nebraska is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Southern Cal’s last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Nebraska’s last 6 games.
Nebraska is 7-1 SU when leading at the half this season. USC is 7-2 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Nebraska is 8-1 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. USC is 7-1 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
USC is 5-1 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle this year, and an even 2-2 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
The Nebraska defense has forced an average of 2.0 turnovers per game this season, but USC is a perfect 3-0 SU when turning the ball over at least 2 times in a game.
Nationally, the USC passing attack is ranked 15th, while the Nebraska pass defense is only ranked 27th. The Cornhuskers passing game is ranked 93rd, compared to the 112th-ranked pass defense of the Trojans.
The USC rushing attack is ranked 70th in the country, while the Nebraska run defense is only ranked 79th. The Cornhuskers running game is ranked 17th, compared to the 27th-ranked rush defense of the Trojans.
Nebraska has given up 31.2 points per contest on the road, which is ranked only 77th in the nation. USC has scored 44.0 points per game at home (ranked 11th overall).
USC has allowed 22.2 points per game at home, which is ranked only 48th in the nation. Nebraska has put up 35.2 points per game on the road (ranked 19th overall).
