Historic powerhouses meet as conference counterparts for the first time on Saturday in Los Angeles when Southern California hosts Nebraska.
Looking to snap their respective skids — Nebraska (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) is riding a three-game losing streak and USC (4-5, 2-5) has lost four out of five — the Cornhuskers and Trojans are shaking things up on offense as they each come out of a bye week.
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said Monday that Dana Holgorsen would take over for Marcus Satterfield as offensive coordinator. Satterfield will focus on tight ends, while Holgorsen, the former West Virginia and Houston head coach, will call plays.
“He’s got a long history of success offensively, both as a head coach but certainly as a coordinator before that,” Rhule said of Holgorsen. “He gives us a fresh perspective on looking at what we’re doing and who we’re doing it with.”
In terms of Nebraska’s offensive personnel, one question ahead of Week 12 is at quarterback. Dylan Raiola, the Huskers’ starter throughout the season, came out in the fourth quarter of their 27-20 loss to UCLA on Nov. 2 due to a back injury.
Reserve Heinrich Haarberg came on and completed 2 of 7 passes for 32 yards and threw a game-ending interception. Rhule said on Monday that both quarterbacks are working out in preparation for Saturday, but he did not name a starter.
USC has its own shakeup at quarterback. Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley said Jayden Maiava will start in place of Miller Moss on Saturday after Moss threw three interceptions in a 26-21 loss at Washington on Nov. 2.
The USC offense averaged 30.6 points per game with Moss starting, and the redshirt junior threw multiple touchdown passes in six of nine games. However, the Trojans’ inability to finish in close games resulted in five losses by seven points or fewer.
“We’ve been pleased with his progression, with the way that he’s practiced, with the way that he’s picked up the offense,” Riley said of Maiava after practice Tuesday. “We just felt it was the right time. He’s been working hard here during the last week, and it was definitely a benefit to have the bye week.”
On Tuesday, the NCAA placed the Trojans on one-year probation and fined the program $50,000 for coaching violations in 2022 and early 2023.
Riley, who “was not personally involved in violations nor aware of the violations at the time the infractions occurred,” according to the NCAA, said the program knew of the violations and probation well before the news became public.
