Los Angeles ? Nebraska is shooting for a return to elite status. Southern California hopes to stay there. One faces a setback tonight.
The 19th-ranked Cornhuskers face No. 4 USC at the Coliseum, where the Trojans have won a school-record 27 straight games. It will be just the third game between two of college football’s most decorated programs and the first since 1970.
“This is a big, exciting time for us coming home,” Trojans coach Pete Carroll said. “There is a great buildup, and it’s a great event for us, particularly since we have such an extraordinary opponent. I know this is a great opportunity for them and I know they will be revved up and ready to go.”
A capacity crowd of over 90,000 is expected for USC’s home opener, and it figures to include a significant percentage of red-clad Nebraska fans.
Spokesman Tim Tessalone said 300 people with Nebraska zip codes purchased USC season tickets – obviously with one game in mind. The Huskers’ athletic department received a 4,000-ticket allotment, and when the USC ticket office began selling tickets for this game, nearly 7,700 sold in three days with 3,400 of those ordered by people with Nebraska zip codes.
And, of course, there are other ways to find tickets at the last minute.
“I think it’s great that the Nebraska people support the program the way they do,” third-year coach Bill Callahan said. “For the people who don’t know anything about Nebraska, the fans, they live and die with this program. And I mean it.
“They follow it, they travel, they listen to it. They’ve got a long history of that, and we’re real excited that there will be a good contingent of them out there.”
The Huskers (2-0) have outscored the opposition 105-17, but Louisiana Tech and Nicholls State aren’t in USC’s class. The Trojans (1-0) opened with a 50-14 victory at Arkansas two weeks ago.
When it comes to history, few programs can match USC and Nebraska. Nebraska ranks fourth among Division I-A schools with 796 victories and USC is 10th with 733. The Trojans have appeared in 44 bowl games, winning 28, and the Huskers have played in 43, winning 22.
USC beat the Huskers, 31-21, at Nebraska in 1969, and the teams played to a 21-21 tie in Los Angeles the following year.
The Trojans have returned to the top since Carroll was hired as coach in 2001. They’re 49-4 during the past four years – the best such four-year streak in Division I-A since the Huskers went 49-2 from 1994-97.
Nebraska hasn’t been the same since Tom Osborne retired in 1997 with a 255-49-3 record. Frank Solich had some success in six years at the helm with a 58-19 mark, but that wasn’t deemed to be enough. The Huskers are 15-10 under Callahan, but won their final three games last season and first two this year.
“We’re still a ways away, but we’re making great strides, and (today) will be a test of where we’re at,” Callahan said.
With the likes of Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and LenDale White now rookies in the NFL, the Trojans have John David Booty at quarterback and a stable of six tailbacks who might play, including four freshmen.
