USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley met with the media following his team’s 28-20 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Huskers fall to 5-5 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten Conference. The Trojans improve to 5-5 and 3-5 in the league.
USC starting quarterback Jayden Maiava was impressive in his first start of the season. He went 25-of-35 for 259 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola finished 27-of-38 for 191 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
The Trojans had 441 yards of total offense and averaged 6.58 yards per play. The Huskers could only muster 310 yards and 4.92 yards per play in the loss.
Nebraska returns to action next Saturday, Nov. 23, when the Huskers welcome the Wisconsin Badgers to Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
Find everything USC coach Lincoln Riley said after defeating Nebraska by scrolling below.
Opening Statement
«That was an awesome win. Awesome win. Team was incredibly resilient the entire day. I thought our effort and attitude, physicality really showed up, I thought, on both sides of the ball. And, you know, we made some mistakes where I think we had some opportunities to separate, but just super proud of really the very end — the last drive offensively and then closing the door defensively there at the end was tremendous. I also want to just say what a great job Eddie Czaplicki has done for us. I mean he has been probably the best punter in the country up to this point, just how consistent he’s been, how great our punt team has been. I thought the field position battle was huge on the day. Some big-time plays in key moments, and yeah, just proud of the guys. Especially when we start with the pick-6 and sometimes deals like that, especially at home, can take the air out of your sails a little bit. And the team didn’t even flinch and we responded well, and to come back and win it was awesome. So, proud of the guys.
«We talked to them a lot about this three-game stretch here at the end and what an opportunity it is for us, and we got it started off on the right foot today.»
On the pick six
«Yeah, he did a good job kind of staying in the moment. He got on himself on that one and then certainly on the fumble later in the game, but then he was able to mentally get past it and I thought the guys made some big plays around him. He gave guys opportunities to make plays really throughout the game, so no, I thought he showed some poise. And you can tell he’s played some college ball. But I know he was excited, nervous, all of that for his first opportunity to really play here at USC, and I thought he handled it well. Especially when you start off like that, that’s like the last thing you want to happen. And his response and the team’s response was obviously very key.»
On his initial impressions
«Well, I mean, he made a few plays with his legs, but I think just his trust and giving guys opportunities to make plays. I think that was probably the thing that he did the best. He missed a few throws that he normally makes, but he was very trusting of our guys, and I thought for the majority of the game he played very decisive, which was key.»
On the option play on fourth-and-inches
«We felt like it was something that we could execute. We’ve worked it a lot behind the scenes, haven’t ran it much this year, but yeah, we got a good look, we executed it, Jayden and Woody did a good job, the line blocked, we had a really good on the perimeter — I think it was Kyron in there — so yeah, we knew we wanted to be aggressive in that moment and the guys did a great job executing it.»
On Woody Marks
«He’s been awesome. We didn’t know for certain that he was going to play, so he did a great job. We had a little flu outbreak, which was perfect timing. We’re not supposed to have the flu out here, the weather’s too good. So we had a number of guys that battled through it not quite feeling their best, but no, he’s been consistent, steady, just a tough, physical runner. It’s not a shock that the guy plays the way he does every week because he works every day, he’s the same guy every day, he comes to compete, so game day is really no different. It’s something you just come to expect out of him, and he’s answered the bell for us all year long.»
On the next three games
«Yeah, I mean, I think how you finish seasons is always important, just the momentum that it creates, wanting to continue to build, your young players getting to play more. I think to be the program that we want to be we’re going to have to be great at the end of seasons. We’re going to have to play some of our best ball at the end, and that’s what good teams, that’s what really good programs do. No matter the ebbs and flows, the ups and downs, they get better and they stay together and there’s a pride about them of wanting to be their best at the end. So we took a great step this week and looking forward to the challenge next week.»
On the run game
«Yeah, I was pretty proud of it, really on both sides. Obviously, they’re one of the best run defenses in the country, a tremendous D-line, so I thought we did a pretty nice job running the ball offensively most of the day. We were pretty consistent. And then I thought defensively we did a nice job especially in some of the key moments. We had a couple that got out, but we were able to get them on the ground, which was key, and not give up the big explosive. So we knew that was going to important against a team that traditionally does a great job of both.»
On the blocked field goal
«We got to look at. Obviously, it’s been an issue that we’ve got to correct, so we’ve emphasized it a lot, we’ve worked a lot, but we obviously just have to do a better job at it. I haven’t seen a replay of the one, but we’ve obviously got to do a better job there on the edges. That’s going to be a huge emphasis point going forward. That was a big play in this game. We were able to certainly win without it, but it’s got to get fixed.»