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NCAAF College Football Week 10 Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola was injured when he was sacked by USC in the third quarter Saturday. Steven Branscombe / Getty Images LINCOLN, Neb. — A comeback bid for Nebraska, playing without injured quarterback Dylan Raiola, fell short in the final two minutes Saturday night as No. 23 USC came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat the Huskers 21-17 at Memorial Stadium. Raiola, the sophomore and former five-star recruit, left with an apparent ankle injury with 12: 04 to play in the third quarter. He was sacked by Anthony Lucas on a first-down play from the USC 23-yard line. Nebraska held a 14-6 lead at the time after Andrew Marshall intercepted Jayden Maiava on the Trojans’ first play of the third quarter. Advertisement Raiola fumbled as he was taken down, and USC recovered. Raiola hobbled to the sideline and tried to fight through the injury. But he was unable to return. The defeat for Nebraska marked its 29th consecutive loss to AP-ranked opponents, dating to 2016. In the Power 4, only Rutgers (42, 2009) has a longer drought. Meanwhile, USC kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive with the victory. Our takeaways from Lincoln: Entering Saturday, the Trojans were 9-9 in true road games during Lincoln Riley’s four seasons at the helm. They were just 2-6 away from home since the start of the 2024 season. USC has lost to teams that are better than it, has lost to equals and has lost to teams that have been significantly worse. If Riley is going to elevate the program to the level he wants, it has to play better on the road. Nebraska was a relative equal — or maybe not. USC was favored in this game. And in the third quarter, the Cornhuskers lost Raiola. Dylan Raiola got CRUNCHED on this tackle ? ? : NBC pic. twitter. com/T8a8s4k SAe — FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 2, 2025 If there was a road game Riley’s Trojans needed to win, it was this one. They secured that victory when Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson fell down short of the sticks on a fourth-and-1 in the final minutes. USC rode walk-on running back King Miller, who has been thrust into a starring role because of injury to the tailbacks group. Miller rushed for 129 yards and gave the offense something to hang its hat on while quarterback Jayden Maiava played his worst game of the season. Maiava completed just 9 of 23 passes for 135 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. He had been one of the most prolific passers in the country entering the game. The Trojans kept their slim Playoff hopes alive. They would likely need to win out to do so. There are home games against Northwestern and Iowa coming up. Those teams will present challenges, but a road game at Oregon will be a major obstacle. Advertisement But the fact is Saturday’s win gave the Trojans a chance, no matter how long the odds for a CFP trip may be. USC will be playing meaningful November football after being rendered irrelevant in the national conversation by mid-October last year. With true freshman TJ Lateef in charge, the Nebraska offense struggled to gain traction. Running back Emmett Johnson churned for yardage. He finished with 165 yards on 29 carries. In the end, though, the passing attack lost its muscle without Raiola. Lateef finished 5 of 7 for 7 yards and 18 rushing yards. His four drives produced two field goal attempts, a punt and a turnover on downs at the Nebraska 27-yard line. Johnson tripped on Lateef’s leg after taking a handoff on a fourth-and-1 rush that ended the Huskers’ final shot. The Huskers dropped to 6-3 and 3-3 in the Big Ten. The Trojans’ rushing offense has been a major strength this season but struggled in a 34-24 loss at Notre Dame two weeks ago. USC rushed for 68 yards on 29 carries. Nebraska ranked 105th in yards per rush allowed (4. 67) entering Saturday, which made this game ripe for a bounce-back effort from the Trojans’ ground game. Miller averaged 7. 2 yards on his 18 carries. More surprisingly though was that Maiava finally contributed in a significant way to the rushing game. Maiava is athletic but hasn’t really brought the quarterback run element to the offense. On Saturday, he rushed for 62 yards on 11 carries, which included a crucial 16-yard score to help tie the score in the third quarter. USC rushed for 202 yards on 38 carries, which is a 5. 3 average. The Trojans did that without two starting guards. Left guard Micah Banuelos didn’t play because of injury and right guard Alani Noa was knocked out of the game because of injury. Advertisement Noa was replaced by King Miller’s brother, Kaylon Miller. Without Banuelos, tackle Tobias Raymond slid in at left guard. USC also received a boost when starting left tackle Elijah Paige returned to the lineup after missing several games to injury. The line set the tone for the Trojans’ win. Memorial Stadium and Nebraska as an athletic department may have never wanted it more than Saturday night. The Huskers went above and beyond in pushing this game as the first ever Black Out. They switched out the Tunnel Walk music of three decades to AC/DC’s “Back in Black. ” Nebraska painted black the end zones and the “N” at midfield. It brought out the black jerseys and packed 86, 000 fans, almost all dressed in black, into the stadium. If the darkness couldn’t usher in a win against a ranked opponent for the first time in 29 attempts, well, the Huskers were intent to go down swinging with everything they had. It was an admirable effort. Nebraska aimed to capitalize on momentum after it announced a two-year contract extension on Thursday for coach Matt Rhule. With the loss, he dropped to 18-16 at Nebraska. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle