This week’s turning point is quite clear.
It’s a game that will undoubtedly become infamy if the Nebraska Cornhuskers fail to reach a bowl game for the ninth straight season.
On third-and-long, USC starting quarterback Jayden Maiava dropped back to pass. Running along his right was Nebraska’s pass rushing specialist, James Williams. Williams straightened up to connect with Maiava’s arm mid-throw.
The football fluttered through the air, bounced off the hands of Trojan Makai Lemon, off the head of Nebraska linebacker Javin Wright, and then back into the hands of Lemon, who fell just two feet shy of the first down marker.
In a game with a ridiculous number of 50/50 balls, this was the one the Big Red needed. This was the ball they needed to get, the turnover they so desperately needed. This was the moment where they could have not only turned the tide of the season, but also changed the momentum of the direction of this program.
This HAD to be Nebraska’s turning point.
But one team’s missed opportunity is another team’s treasure. During the game, USC went from third and long and likely coming off the field to fourth and a short and excellent opportunity to put a dagger in the Big Red’s back. USC head coach Lincoln Riley decided to go for it, and a beautifully designed option run got USC inside the 15-yard line.
A few plays later, the Trojans found their way into the end zone, making it a 28-20 ball game. Nebraska had a chance to tie the game, but poor clock management and an inability to make big plays in big moments haunted this team again.
So we’ll do this song and dance for another week as the Huskers welcome the Wisconsin Badgers to Memorial Stadium with a chance to accomplish the same thing every other Power 4 team in the country has accomplished over the last eight years: come in qualify.
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