USC holds off Nebraska comeback, wins Holiday Bowl
A Holiday Bowl game that saw over 1,000 yards of total offense came down to a clutch defensive play by USC safety Leon McQuay.
After trailing 45-27 late in the third quarter, Nebraska battled back and cut USC’s lead to 45-42 and had the ball at the Trojans’ 31-yard line with under three minutes to go. Instead of attempting a game-tying field goal, Nebraska dialed up a sweep play on 4th-and-3 to speedy wideout De’Mornay Pierson-El.
McQuay sniffed the play out, following Pierson-El as he motioned from right to left and received a pitch, and then delivered a big hit to force a turnover on downs and ultimately seal a 45-42 USC win.
Before McQuay’s big play, there wasn’t much defense on either side. The teams combined for 1,040 yards of offense (525 for Nebraska, 515 for USC) and 50 first downs.
It was a back-and-forth affair early on. USC freshman Adoree’ Jackson returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score early in the first, but the Huskers led 17-10 after one via two Tommy Armstrong touchdown passes – one to Kenny Bell (7 catches, 71 yards) and one to Pierson-El (8 catches, 102 yards) – and a Drew Brown 34-yard field goal.
Using a nice mix of run and pass, USC turned up the heat in the second quarter. Junior quarterback Cody Kessler (23/39, 321 yards, 3 TDs) hit Nelson Agholor (7 catches, 90 yards) for a 17-yard touchdown and Javorius Allen scored on a two-yard run to give the Trojans a 24-17 lead at halftime.
Jackson (3 catches, 73 yards) showed off his speed again early in the third, taking a quick throw from Kessler and taking it 71 yards to the house to increase USC’s lead to 31-17.
Nebraska was able to respond via a 20-yard Ameer Abdullah (27 rushes, 88 yards) touchdown run, but the porous Nebraska defense couldn’t hold off the Trojans for long. Five plays after Abdullah’s score, Allen, who ran for 152 yards on 26 carries, broke off a 44-yard TD run to go up 38-24 midway through the third.
A blocked punt allowed Nebraska to add a field goal, but the Trojans’ lead ballooned to 45-27 when Kessler hit Bryce Dixon (4 catches, 44 yards) for a 20-yard TD late in the third.
That’s when Nebraska’s comeback began.
Armstrong, who threw for 381 yards, hit Jordan Westerkamp (3 catches, 81 yards) deep for a 65-yard score, cutting the USC lead to 45-34 with :24 left in the third quarter. After the teams managed to trade a few defensive stops, Armstrong broke off a 15-yard touchdown run on a 4th-and-2 play and hit Bell on a two-point conversion to bring the Huskers within three, 45-42.
Nebraska followed that score by forcing a three-and-out, which then set up for McQuay’s clutch fourth down stop.
The win clinched a 9-4 record for the Trojans in year one under Steve Sarkisian. Nebraska, who played its first game since Bo Pelini was fired, also finish 9-4.
For more USC news, visit TrojanSports.com.
For more Nebraska news, visit HuskerOnline.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
