When teams play each other in late August and early September, they are meeting under a specific set of circumstances. In November, teams could be very different from how they were in the late summer weeks.
Will Nevada and San Jose State turn out to be better than expected? That could affect how USC is viewed in the long run.
Let’s consider one former Trojan who played against USC with Nevada last week.
Nevada wide receiver John Jackson III transferred from USC to Nevada this offseason. He played against his former team Saturday, Jackson caught 3 passes for 52 yards and Nevada struggled to put up points, scoring only 14 to USC’s 66.
The Redondo Beach, California, native appeared in 40 games for the Trojans, making five catches for 42 yards. He appeared in 13 of USC’s 14 contests in 2022, making a catch in the Cotton Bowl against Tulane.
Jackson joined the Trojans in 2019 after leaving high school as a three-star recruit. He caught 63 passes for 573 yards and two touchdowns as a senior.
Jackson also played baseball in high school, as both a pitcher and infielder. He hit .449 with two home runs and also had a 2.91 ERA in his senior season.
Jackson’s father also played at USC. John Jackson Jr. caught 163 passes for 2,109 yards in four seasons at USC.
He was selected to the All-Pac-10 first team in 1989, and the Trojans won the Rose Bowl that season. After his time at USC, Jackson Jr. played four seasons in the NFL for the Cardinals and Bears.
Jackson’s family ties at USC also extend to his grandfather. John Jackson Sr. was USC’s running backs coach and offensive coordinator for six seasons, and coached Marcus Allen during his Heisman-winning season in 1981.
We always root for former Trojans and hope John Jackson III has a breakout senior season for the Wolfpack. It will be interesting to see if Nevada becomes a lot better than the preseason predictions (11th in the Mountain West) suggested. USC’s performance against the Wolf Pack could turn out to be more of an indicator than previously thought.
The uni combo this week for @NevadaFootball #uniswag pic.twitter.com/zOSQoyBVSd
— UNISWAG (@UNISWAG) August 31, 2023
Catch all of Ducks Wire’s Pac-12 team overviews for the 2023 season:
Arizona — Arizona State — California — Colorado — Oregon State — Stanford — UCLA — USC — Utah — Washington — Washington State