Adam Carriker's Nebraska vs. USC Preview and Prediction

Nebraska is an underdog to the Trojans and Adam explains why that is beyond fair. Adam also explains what Husker football needs to do in order to pull off a minor upset at home in front of what will be a raucous, blackout crowd, in this Big Ten battle of blue=blood programs.

Adam points out how USC leads the nation in passing offense and total yards as well, while Nebraska’s Blackshirtd for most of the year have had the No. 1 passing defense in the country. What a matchup that will be to watch! Also, Nebraska has the Big Ten's leading man in yards from scrimmage in Emmett Johnson, the only Power Four player in the country who has 1,000 all-purpose yards so far this season. Emmett is probably not only Nebraska’s best player but potentially the Big Ten’s best running back as well. It is interesting however, because Nebraska football as a team is 101st in the country in rushing offense. Adam wonders how that can possibly be.

Carriker also talks about how Nebraska’s special teams is an area where the Huskers have a big advantage over the USC Trojans. The Huskers also commit fewer penalties per game and have a better turnover margin as well. The Trojans do have the No. 2 red zone defense in the country while the Huskers are 125th in the country in that category.

This is a matchup of two teams who will be able to compete with each other, athletically at the skill positions, so this may come down to the trenches. While Lincoln Riley’s USC team is more physical than they’ve been in recent years, they did get manhandled upfront by Notre Dame just two weeks ago. Nebraska meanwhile has question marks on the offensive line, and there are multiple injuries heading into this game as well. In the Blackshirts' most recent game versus Northwestern, the three game starters along the defensive line didn’t even start in the second half and didn't play as much during the final two quarters. So what’s going to happen with Nebraska‘s rush defense and their defensive line as they get ready to take on USC, which averages over 200 yards of rushing per game.

Dylan Raiola is one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the country. Nebraska’s quarterbacks are number two in the country as a unit when it comes to completion percentage completing 74% of their passes, only second to Ohio State. Raiola, however, in the past two games is only completing 10% of his passes that go 15 yards or more. Nebraska may be able to efficiently move the ball, but can they threaten USC deep at all? These are just a few of the things Adam discusses in the show.

Stay tuned to the end of this episode as well as he interviews renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Scott Strasburger and gains a lot of insight on what teams are doing this deep into the season to prevent injuries, maintain their speed and strength and help banged-up players return from injury as soon as possible. Strasburger is a Nebraska football Hall of Famer and was a two-time academic All-American. He knows the ins and outs of how these things work.

At the end of the show, Adam will give his official keys to Nebraska trying to win the game and then he gives a prediction as well. See if Adam thinks Nebraska can upset the USC Trojans or not. One final thing to mention, Adam does do one thing in the show he hasn’t done all year, so make sure you check it out, Husker fans! Go Big Red and always remember to Throw the Bones!