Jayden Maiava played well enough to win, but turnovers are cause for concern

There was a lot of good and a lot of bad for Jayden Maiava. The main thing to remember is that this was only his first start. Improvement should occur.

On Saturday, USC quarterback Jayden Maiava made his first start in Cardinal and Gold when the Trojans took on Nebraska. As expected with any new starting QB, Maiava’s performance was a mixed bag. There were some very high highs, but also some very low lows.

Overall, Maiava played a solid game. He completed 25 of 35 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns, while also adding another score on the ground.

However, he also had two horrible turnovers, both of which, to put it bluntly, were simply inexcusable plays. The two turnovers essentially handed 10 points to a Nebraska team that was struggling offensively, keeping the Cornhuskers in the game.

On USC’s second possession of the game, Maiava threw a brutal interception to old friend Ceyair Wright in which there were no receivers anywhere near the ball. Wright returned the pick 45 yards for a touchdown, giving Nebraska its first points of the game.

Later on, with the Trojans leading 21-17 in the third quarter, Maiava had a bad fumble on a rushing attempt deep inside USC territory. Nebraska got a field goal off the turnover, cutting the deficit to one point.

With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, however, Maiava came through when it mattered most. With the Trojans leading 21-20 with a little over 10 minutes left, Maiava led USC on a 13-play, 84-yard touchdown drive that ate up 7:39 of clock. Ultimately, that insurance proved to be enough, as the Trojans held on for a 28-20 victory.

Overall, outside of the two turnovers, Maiava played fairly well. While there is certainly a lot that needs to be cleaned up, Maiava and the Trojans will look to build off the performance heading into next week’s rivalry matchup against UCLA.

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USC celebrates proud football history while trying to restore on-field success

The irony is lost on no one: USC is celebrating its 1972 team and its 1970s-era heritage, including John Robinson, at a time when on-field results aren’t good.

Traditionally, USC football does not wear alternate uniforms. However, the Trojans announced that they will be making an exception this week—and for a very good reason. For USC’s homecoming game against Nebraska Saturday, the Trojans will wear 1970s-themed throwback uniforms. You can take a closer look at them here.

The uniforms will be a fighting tribute to legendary USC head coach John Robinson, who passed away on Monday. Robinson coached the Trojans from 1976-1982 and again from 1993-1997. He led USC to four Rose Bowl victories and the 1978 national championship.

In addition to the uniforms, Connor Morrissette of 247Sports reported on Friday that the Trojans will also have throwback field painting for Saturday’s game. Per Morrissette, “the endzones will be marked with gold paint, cardinal lettering and a cardinal and white diamond pattern, as well as a gold interlock painted at the 50-yard line.”

The irony cannot be ignored or missed: USC football is celebrating its rich history and the era which delivered so many of its best teams and greatest moments, all while the 2024 team is struggling to live up to that standard. The greatest tribute USC can create is to thump Nebraska and reawaken the echoes of glories past.

Kickoff between USC and Nebraska is set for 1 p.m. local time in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon.

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USC announces tunnel captain for homecoming game

Adoree Jackson will be USC’s tunnel captain for the Nebraska game. USC hopes the game’s outcome matches all the festivities surrounding the event.

On Friday, USC announced its tunnel captain for Saturday’s homecoming game against Nebraska. Serving in the role will be none other than former USC All-America cornerback Adoree’ Jackson. He played at USC from 2014-2016. As a junior in 2016, he became the second Trojan to win the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back.

Jackson also saw action on offense and special teams during his time in Cardinal and Gold. In fact, he is the Trojans’ all-time leader in both kickoff return yards and punt return touchdowns.

One of Jackson’s most memorable moments at USC came during the 2014 Holiday Bowl against Nebraska, when he returned a kickoff 98 yards for the game’s first touchdown. The Trojans would go on to win the game 45-42.

Jackson was selected 18th in the 2017 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans. He spent the first four seasons of his professional career there, before signing with the New York Giants in 2021, where he has been since.

Kickoff between USC and Nebraska is set for 1 p.m. local time in Los Angeles on Saturday.

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Cornhuskers Wire offers insight on Nebraska’s new offensive play-caller

A Nebraska analyst explains why the Huskers and Matt Rhule had to change offensive play-callers before playing USC. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes.

Earlier this week, Nebraska football announced that it will make a major offensive change ahead of the matchup with USC on Saturday. Former Houston and West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen, who recently joined the Cornhuskers as an offensive consultant, will take over the team’s offensive play calling for the remainder of the season.

Holgorsen replaces Marcus Satterfield, who had served as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator since the start of the 2023 season. Satterfield will now solely serve as the team’s tight ends coach.

Following the announcement, Evan Bredeson of Cornhuskers Wire offered some perspective on the move.

“Matt Rhule had to make a change. I don’t know that any of us thought he would do something this drastic, especially considering how loyal he is to the guys on his staff. The fact that he made the change though is welcomed news. The offense had been regressing the last two years under Marcus Satterfield. Quarterback Dylan Raiola is playing worse now than he did at the start of the season, and if a staff change wasn’t made at the top of the offense, the chances of him hitting the portal was possible.

“With Holgorsen, I expect to see shorter passes designed to get the quarterback into rhythm early. Nebraska’s passing game had evolved to screen pass or deep shot. Nothing really in between. I also think we’ll see a lot more of the tight ends being involved in the passing game. Dana is known to have an affinity for using tight ends and the huskers actually have some depth at that position group and have not been utilizing it in any effective way this season.

“And they will run the football. Even though DH is an Air Raid guy, all of his top offenses always had a very good running game. Matt Rhule has said over and over again since arriving in Lincoln that he wants to be able to run the football consistently with power. The offense has simply not delivered on that front.”

USC takes on Nebraska at 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time this Saturday.

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Nebraska officially opens the new Osborne Legacy Complex

The new facility was a $165 million construction project to create a state-of-the-art 315,000-square-foot home for Husker athletics.

The Nebraska athletic department held the grand opening for the Osborne Legacy Complex on Wednesday afternoon. The new facility was a $165 million construction project to create a state-of-the-art 315,000-square-foot home for Husker athletics. Per the Nebraska Athletic Fund website,

The Osborne Legacy Complex is the new training home of Nebraska Football and includes the primary student-athlete dining center and academic center for all 22 sports. The 315,000 sq. ft. athletics performance facility is named in honor of legendary Coach Tom Osborne.

Tom Osborne coached at Nebraska for 25 seasons, from 1973 to 1998, and finished with a record of 255-49-3. As a head coach, he won 13 conference titles and three national championships. Athletic director Troy Dannen said the grand opening was a landmark event for Nebraska athletics.

“We will point back to the completion of this facility as a landmark event in everything that happens going forward.” Coach Osborne, it’s fitting that your name graces the building. Your life set a standard that we all still aspire to achieve. This building is the physical standard for what every will aspire to achieve.”

A statue of Osborne and quarterback Brook Berringer has been installed outside the building. Artist Fred Hoppe sculpted the statue, initially installed outside the Osborne Athletic Complex on the north side of Memorial Stadium in 2006.

https://twitter.com/Huskers/status/1831344475786158265

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Texas A&M guards Wade Taylor IV, Manny Obaseki & Tyrece Radford reflect on Nebraska win in March Madness

“I feel like the circle and camaraderie that we have together plays a huge part on how we come out and perform each night, so credit them.”

Texas A&M‘s tremendous trio of guards, juniors Wade Taylor IV & Manny Obaseki, and senior Tyrece “Boots” Radford led the No. 9 Aggies to a dominant victory against No. 8 Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Memphis.

Taylor tallied a game-high 25 points on 8-of-14 field goal attempts & 7-of-10 from 3-point range with 5 assists.

“It’s the consistency in our work. We work every day the same way no matter if we have a good game or a bad game,” Taylor explained. “My teammates have been phenomenal on both ends. I feel like the circle and camaraderie that we have together plays a huge part on how we come out and perform each night, so credit to them.”

Obaseki was unconscious in the final 5:20 of the first half, scoring 16 straight points to give the Aggies a 14-point halftime lead. He finished with 22 points on 8-of-17 shots, 3-of-5 from downtown & 3-of-5 from the free-throw line.

“I’m just thankful to my coaches and teammates for trusting in me,” Obaseki said. “They gave me the ball and allowed me to do my thing. I knew I had a mismatch all night and they allowed me to take advantage of that.”

Radford recorded a double-double with 20 points on 8-of-17 attempts & 3-of-5 from the charity stripe with 10 rebounds (5 offensive) and 5 assists.

“I don’t think we changed anything defensively, we just played with our HOH, hands on our head, because they have really good shooters and we just tried to prevent them from going off or getting hot,” Radford recalled. “We knew they were a good team that was going to make a couple of shots but all credit goes to the team just by staying in it.”

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Texas A&M men’s basketball team begins March Madness with win vs. Nebraska in NCAA Tournament

Manny Obaseki was unconscious in the final 5:20 of the first half, scoring 16 straight points to give the Aggies a 14-point halftime lead.

The Texas A&M men’s basketball team is moving on to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

The No. 9 Aggies (21-14) beat No. 8 Nebraska (23-11) by a final score of 98-83 in the first round of the South Region on Friday night at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. In their first March Madness appearance since 2014, the Cornhuskers (0-8) remain as the only Power Five conference program to never win an NCAA Tournament game.

The tremendous trio of guards, juniors Wade Taylor IV & Manny Obaseki, and senior Tyrece “Boots” Radford led Texas A&M to victory. Taylor tallied a game-high 25 points on 8-of-14 field goal attempts & 7-of-10 from 3-point range with 5 assists.

Obaseki was unconscious in the final 5:20 of the first half, scoring 16 straight points to give the Aggies a 14-point halftime lead. He finished with 22 points on 8-of-17 shots, 3-of-5 from downtown & 3-of-5 from the free-throw line. Radford recorded a double-double with 20 points on 8-of-17 attempts & 3-of-5 from the charity stripe with 10 rebounds (5 offensive) and 5 assists.

Texas A&M will play the winner of No. 1 Houston versus No. 16 Longwood on Sunday. The top seed Cougars narrowly defeated the Aggies 70-66 earlier this season on Dec. 16 at the Toyota Center.

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Janiah Barker & Aicha Coulibaly speak to media before Texas A&M plays Nebraska in March Madness

“I think we’re all really excited to be here. Honestly, all respect to Nebraska but we’re ready to do what we need to do… which is win.”

Prior to the Texas A&M women’s basketball team playing Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night, senior guard Aicha Coulibaly and sophomore forward Janiah Barker spoke to the media on Thursday.

“I was super excited because this is the first time that I’ve made it to the NCAA Tournament. I’m a senior and it was just a lot of excitement, I didn’t know what to say and it feels great,” Coulibaly explained. “They called our name really fast and I was just sitting in my chair, screaming and jumping all over the place and full of emotions. It’s exciting to see how far we came this season. We had some lows, ups and downs, but we kept fighting and this is where we’re at now, it feels great.”

Barker is grateful to be competing in March Madness as an underclassman.

“First, it’s a blessing to be here,” Barker said. “It was really cool and fun to be apart of the (selection process). It was all very genuine, we had an off day and then we came in ready to work. After the selection show, we saw the coaches and they left to go scout. They came to us and told us that we have a really good chance to do this and they believe in us. I think we’re all really excited to be here.

“Honestly, all respect to Nebraska and everyone here but we’re ready to do what we need to do… which is win.”

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Texas A&M women’s basketball coach Joni Taylor previews matchup vs. Nebraska in NCAA Tournament

“They just have weapons all over the floor and it makes it hard to double because they can hit you from three,” Taylor proclaimed Thursday.

In the second of two installments of the Trev Alberts Invitational, the Texas A&M women’s basketball team faces Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

The Aggies enter March Madness as the No. 11 seed in the Albany 1 Region versus the No. 6 Cornhuskers. Texas A&M is currently 19-12 overall and Nebraska enters the contest at 22-11. Aggies head coach Joni Taylor spoke to the media on Thursday to preview the matchup.

“They put five scorers on the floor,” Taylor said. “You look at their starters and four out of five make the all-tournament team in some way whether its freshman of the year, first team, all freshman team. They’re extremely talented, play with great pace and also slow you down, pound it inside. They just have weapons all over the floor and it makes it hard to double because they can hit you from three.

“They just stretch you defensively and then offensively they make it very hard as well. In my opinion from the film that I’ve watched, they are as good defensively as they are offensively and I don’t think they get enough credit for how good they are defensively.”

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PREVIEW: Texas A&M men’s basketball team faces Nebraska in first round of NCAA Tournament

In 1-of-2 installments of the Trev Alberts Invitational, the Aggies men face Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

In the first of two installments of the Trev Alberts Invitational, the Texas A&M men’s basketball team faces Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

The Aggies enter March Madness as the No. 9 seed in the South Region matched up with the No. 8 Cornhuskers. Texas A&M is currently 20-14 overall and was an even 9-9 in SEC play. Nebraska enters the contest at 23-10 overall with a 12-8 record in Big Ten action.

Whether the Aggies advance or not will largely be dependent on the performance of their starting backcourt, junior Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece “Boots” Radford. Senior forward Henry Coleman III enters the tourney with momentum as a new member of the 1,000 point club.

Whoever advances to the second round is likely going to match up with top seed Houston, who faces No. 16 Longwood in the opening round. The Cougars narrowly defeated Texas A&M 70-66 earlier this season on Dec. 16 at the Toyota Center.

The Aggies and Cornhuskers tip off from the FedEx Forum on Friday at 5:50 p.m. CST and the game will be broadcast on TNT.

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