QUARTERBACK

Jayden Maiava made some key plays, including with his legs. He also had a couple ricochet passes that could have been disastrous but went USC’s way. That might just be how it is with him.

Grade: C+

RUNNING BACK

Where would USC be without Woody Marks? It’s ironic a tailback is singlehandedly giving Lincoln Riley the best part of his offense.

Grade: A

WIDE RECEIVER

Did it take Jayden Maiava for USC to discover Duce Robinson? It was only Game 10. Better late than never, I guess.

Grade: B-

OFFENSIVE LINE

Their job got easier because Maiava moves faster. But there were some critical plays where they didn’t exactly rise to the occassion.

Grade: C

DEFENSIVE LINE

Like the rest of the defense, they benefitted from slow-footed/banged up Dylan Raiola at quarterback. They were poor against the run in the second half, when Nebraska averaged 6.1 yards per carry.

Grade: C-

LINEBACKERS

Mason Cobb and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold combined for 17 tackles but it still felt like they don’t influence the game the way USC requires to be a consistent defense.

Grade: C

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Jaylin Smith had six tackles. According to Deion Sanders, that’s not a good thing. The bigger issue is Raiola couldn’t/wouldn’t challenge the secondary downfield, which is a team weakness. So they survived.

Grade: C-

SPECIAL TEAMS

Eddie Czaplicki was great, averaging 51.8 yards per kick. Then USC has to ruin its special teams performance by letting Ceyair Wright block a field goal without being touched.

Grade: B-

COACHING

What was Lincoln Riley thinking at the end of the first half? He had a third-and-2 situation at the USC 39 with 42 seconds left and runs a pitch play for no gain. He finally won a close game, simply because the other team had an offense with no pop. And it almost cost him (again) that he doesn’t have an experienced special teams coach.

Grade: F