The Trojans can thank their lucky stars Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola got injured in the second half last week at Lincoln with the Huskers up 14-6 and driving inside of USC territory. Nebraska's offense would then effectively stop as freshman QB TJ Lateef couldn't throw the ball downfield, netting just 7 passing yards the rest of the night, while USC rallied to a 21-17 win. Northwestern hasn't played SC at the Coliseum since 1969 (I know, I was there!), but it's a better Northwestern team, and better than last year too, more resembling David Braun's 2023 overachievers, only this time with a real QB in the fold (SMU transfer Preston Stone) while a gnarly defense has helped NU to five straight covers.
