What to watch in USC vs. Nebraska: The Dana Holgorsen effect

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The two coaches spent enough hours together, tossing around Air Raid ideas on the same Texas Tech staff from 2004 to 2007, to understand each other’s tendencies at a pretty deep level. But after all those years and all the games their teams have played since, Lincoln Riley is less sure than ever what to expect from Dana Holgorsen on Saturday when USC faces Nebraska.

That’s because two weeks ago, Holgorsen wasn’t even on Nebraska’s staff. The longtime coach was working as an offensive assistant at Texas Christian after being fired as Houston’s coach. In the first week of November, Holgorsen joined Matt Rhule’s staff at Nebraska in a similar role.

One loss to UCLA later, Holgorsen climbed the ladder to coordinator.

“Coach Rhule obviously has a lot of trust in him, and I’d understand why,” Riley said. “If you’re going to do it, you’ve got to do it with somebody that has the experience and success level that Dana’s had.”

The sudden switch is the sign of a struggling offense. The Cornhuskers haven’t scored more than 20 points since late September. But the uncertainty is still enough to keep USC’s defensive coordinator busy.

“It adds some time at night,” D’Anton Lynn said. “But you have to cover all of your Ps and Qs. … You have to go off what you see on tape, obviously watching some Houston stuff. What were they good at? What did they do there that they already do at Nebraska? Then, what were his staples in a span of two weeks that he could incorporate?”

USC, at least, should be qualified to anticipate those moves. Not only did Riley work with Holgorsen, but also cornerbacks coach Doug Belk was his defensive coordinator last season at Houston.

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Going bowling

Most of their goals have fallen well out of reach, lost amid the Trojans’ nightmarish October. But the prospect of reaching bowl eligibility, players assured everyone this week, still is important to them.

“We really want to play more games with each other,” safety Akili Arnold said.

“We’re really motivated as a team,” freshman linebacker Desman Stephens said.

For Lynn, the extra practices that come with bowl eligibility would mean extra time to develop his young defense.

“Seeing the growth of some of the kids who just started to play,” Lynn said, “I want to keep that going as long as possible.”

Riley said the staff began emphasizing bowl eligibility after USC’s most recent loss to Washington. But he wasn’t exactly effusive about the benefits of a bowl. The development aspect of the process, he said, has been “minimized a little bit” by a shifting bowl practice schedule that allows for less time in December.

“I’m not saying there’s still not some value there,” Riley said Thursday, “but I think the bigger thing for us is we’ve obviously been on the cusp all year and the team has hung in there, has obviously fought their tails off, and I just think it’s important to the group to really finish the right way and continue to lift this program up.”

That’ll require winning two of their last three to finish 6-6, with Nebraska, UCLA and No. 7 Notre Dame still on tap. Making a bowl presumably would require a win over Nebraska this week and a rivalry victory over UCLA at the Rose Bowl next week. Notre Dame hasn’t lost since it was upset by Northern Illinois in early September.

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Raiola ready

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola looks to pass against Ohio State on Oct. 26.

There were different points in his years-long recruiting pursuit of Dylan Raiola that Riley thought the top 2024 quarterback prospect — and onetime No. 1 player overall — would commit to USC. But the moment, he says, was never quite right. Their paths never quite aligned.

“It just was never, I think, completely the perfect thing for either side,” Riley said.

Raiola committed first to Ohio State, then Nebraska. USC didn’t sign a quarterback in this year’s class, instead adding Jayden Maiava as a transfer.

Both schools have had their share of growing pains at the position this year. Raiola has been especially erratic in recent weeks, throwing six interceptions to just one touchdown in his last four games. But after laboring through a back injury in a loss to UCLA, Raiola will be fully healthy against USC, Rhule said.

In spite of the freshman mistakes, Lynn has seen enough on film to know what Raiola can do.

“He can make just about every throw,” Lynn said. “He has some very, very impressive throws for a true freshman. He does a great job seeing the field. When he scrambles to extend plays, his eyes are always downfield.”

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Still banged up

USC safety Kamari Ramsey reacts after a defensive stop against Penn State on Oct. 12.

With a full week to get healthy, the hope had been that USC would have its secondary at full strength against Nebraska.

But while Riley remains “hopeful” that USC will have cornerback Jacobe Covington and safety Kamari Ramsey back “in some capacity,” it doesn’t sound like the Trojans will be as healthy as they hoped on the back end.

“We’re definitely in a better place. Certainly no harm in saying that,” Riley said. “We’re going to keep ramping them up and hope to have them in some capacity. Obviously any capacity would be a boost for us.”

USC has struggled to stop passing attacks of late, even when its secondary has been healthy. The Trojans have given up 337 yards passing per game in their last four, despite facing just one passing offense (Maryland) that ranks in the top 25 nationally.