Time: 8 p.m. ET
Reasoning: USC has never played in the Holiday Bowl, but with all of the support that the school has in San Diego I think this will be like a home game for the Trojans. Nebraska will have an interim coach, Barney Cotton, running the show in place of fired Bo Pelini. You have two very good offenses going here, with a combined scoring average of 72.5 ppg. But USC is more balanced and I think its linebacking group, led by Hayes Pullard and Su'a Cravens, can keep the Huskers' run game in check. Nebraska's defense has been atrocious in its last three games, allowing 40.3 ppg and 334.7 ypg rushing. The Huskers had the nation's third-best opponents' passer rating (100.6), however eight of the 11 FBS schools they faced finished 51st or worse in pass efficiency. Nebraska needed a 17-point rally in the fourth quarter to get by Iowa in its last contest. The Trojans ended their regular season with a 49-14 triumph of Notre Dame. USC has triplets in QB Cody Kessler, RB Javorius "Buck" Allen and WR Nelson Agholor. Kessler, a junior, racked up 3,505 yards and 36 TDs against just four INTs. He completed 70.7% of his passes and had a school-record passer rating of 168.8 (188.6 passer rating in his last six games). Allen totaled 1,337 rushing yards, topping 100 yards eight times. Agholor hauled in 97 balls for 1,223 yards and 11 TDs. The Trojans played the 26th-toughest schedule in the country while Nebraska played the 62nd-toughest. USC is 32-16 all-time in bowls, excluding two vacated games, and it is 8-2 in its last 10. It also is 5-1 ATS in its last six bowls. The Huskers are 25-25 all-time in bowl games and are 1-4 ATS in their last five neutral-site contests.
Record: 231-175-8 (56.9%)
Bankroll: +133.88%
No comments:
Post a Comment