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Why USC Might Win: USC has become the nation's top superpower by being in the national title hunt every year, and it got to that point under head coach Pete Carroll by winning almost every big non-conference road game. 2006: USC 50, Arkansas 14. 2005: USC 34, Notre Dame 31. 2004: USC 24, Virginia Tech, 13. 2003: USC 23, Auburn 0. 2002: USC 40, Colorado 3 (but the Trojans lost the next week at Kansas State). This program thrives off the big road game and is hardly going to be fazed by Lincoln, Nebraska. On the field, USC should be able to keep QB John David Booty upright and clean. The Husker pass rush has been mediocre and inconsistent over the first two games, and to get to Booty, it's going to have to do something funky. That's what USC wants. Booty is good, but not Leinart-like, when it comes to making the right reads, and he's had two weeks to prepare for this.
Why Nebraska Might Win: Is USC battle tested? This is a relatively young team, even by USC's standards, that only had one tune up game against Idaho before getting two weeks off to prepare. While it might seem like a plus to have the time off to work, there's history working against the Trojans. USC has lost a mere three regular season games in the last four years, and two of them (to Oregon State last year and at Cal in 2003) came on the road after a two-week layoff. This hardly appeared to be a razor-sharp team against the Vandals in week one as it went through the motions on the way to the easy win. It's asking a lot, even for USC, to just turn it on and be USC with little time to work. Nebraska is coming into this game after getting two games of the best offensive line play its seen under Callahan, while the secondary has been terrific so far. If the Huskers can consistently protect Sam Keller, and keep Booty from bombing away, the running game should be able to take over. Last year's Husker team wasn't quite ready for primetime when it lost 28-10 to the Trojans. This year's team, especially after a tougher-than-you-think win at Wake Forest, appears to be ready, and all the parts seem to be working, with the possible exception of ...
Who to Watch: Sam Keller. The former Arizona State Sun Devil knows all too well what it's like to play USC, and his past sins could come back to be a major plus in the game preparation. In 2005 against the Trojans, he was red hot as he led ASU to a 21-3 halftime lead. LenDale White and the USC running game took over in the second half, Keller was picked off six times, and ASU lost 38-28. Going into the locker room at halftime, Keller gave a cocky interview that all but made it sound like ASU had already won. He's not going to make the same mistake twice. Even if Nebraska gets up early, Keller will have to keep the foot on the gas, but he can't force plays that aren't there. The running game has been the focal point so far, but even with the help, Keller has thrown three interceptions and two touchdown passes. Now he has to be mistake-free for the Huskers to pull this off.
What Will Happen: This is where all the bumps and bruises will come back to haunt USC. Safety Josh Pinkard is out for the year with a torn ACL, WR Patrick Turner is still getting over a shoulder injury, star OT Sam Baker has a rub problem, top RB Chauncey Washington has a sprained shoulder, and the list goes on. Of course USC has depth to spare, but it needs all its starters healthy and jelled to handle the jacked up Huskers. Nebraska isn't faster than USC, but it'll play with a bit more bounce in its step on the way to a decent early lead, and will then hang on late as Booty's final drive to win the game comes up just short.
Line: USC -10
Fearless Prediction: Nebraska 27 ... USC 23
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Why Nebraska Might Win: Is USC battle tested? This is a relatively young team, even by USC's standards, that only had one tune up game against Idaho before getting two weeks off to prepare. While it might seem like a plus to have the time off to work, there's history working against the Trojans. USC has lost a mere three regular season games in the last four years, and two of them (to Oregon State last year and at Cal in 2003) came on the road after a two-week layoff. This hardly appeared to be a razor-sharp team against the Vandals in week one as it went through the motions on the way to the easy win. It's asking a lot, even for USC, to just turn it on and be USC with little time to work. Nebraska is coming into this game after getting two games of the best offensive line play its seen under Callahan, while the secondary has been terrific so far. If the Huskers can consistently protect Sam Keller, and keep Booty from bombing away, the running game should be able to take over. Last year's Husker team wasn't quite ready for primetime when it lost 28-10 to the Trojans. This year's team, especially after a tougher-than-you-think win at Wake Forest, appears to be ready, and all the parts seem to be working, with the possible exception of ...
Who to Watch: Sam Keller. The former Arizona State Sun Devil knows all too well what it's like to play USC, and his past sins could come back to be a major plus in the game preparation. In 2005 against the Trojans, he was red hot as he led ASU to a 21-3 halftime lead. LenDale White and the USC running game took over in the second half, Keller was picked off six times, and ASU lost 38-28. Going into the locker room at halftime, Keller gave a cocky interview that all but made it sound like ASU had already won. He's not going to make the same mistake twice. Even if Nebraska gets up early, Keller will have to keep the foot on the gas, but he can't force plays that aren't there. The running game has been the focal point so far, but even with the help, Keller has thrown three interceptions and two touchdown passes. Now he has to be mistake-free for the Huskers to pull this off.
What Will Happen: This is where all the bumps and bruises will come back to haunt USC. Safety Josh Pinkard is out for the year with a torn ACL, WR Patrick Turner is still getting over a shoulder injury, star OT Sam Baker has a rub problem, top RB Chauncey Washington has a sprained shoulder, and the list goes on. Of course USC has depth to spare, but it needs all its starters healthy and jelled to handle the jacked up Huskers. Nebraska isn't faster than USC, but it'll play with a bit more bounce in its step on the way to a decent early lead, and will then hang on late as Booty's final drive to win the game comes up just short.
Line: USC -10
Fearless Prediction: Nebraska 27 ... USC 23
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