For the seventh time in their careers, Lincoln Riley and Matt Rhule go head-to-head when Nebraska welcomes USC to Lincoln in Week 10 of the 2025 college football season. The veteran head coaches most recently met in 2024, but they faced each other five other times in the Big 12. Before the marquee Week 10 college football matchup, we will be making our USC-Nebraska predictions.
The game will be Rhule's first since inking a two-year extension to remain with Nebraska amid rampant Penn State rumors. Rhule now has a prime opportunity to make a statement after getting extended through the 2032 season.
Rhule's deal came after a 28-21 win over Northwestern bumped Nebraska up to 6-2 on the year. However, Riley has been a consistent thorn in the side of Rhule's career. Going back to their days in the Big 12, Riley owns a 5-1 all-time record against Rhule.
That includes their 2024 meeting, which saw USC top Nebraska 28-20 in Los Angeles. The game marked Jayden Maiava's first start with the team after Miller Moss' controversial benching. He ended with 259 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception to out-duel Dylan Raiola in their first meeting.
The circumstances surrounding the teams' 2025 meeting are almost entirely different. Both teams entered the 2024 matchup with middling records, which is no longer the case one year later. Nebraska was booted out of the top-25 rankings after its Week 8 loss to Minnesota, but brings a 6-2 record into a matchup against the 5-2 Trojans.
Although USC and Nebraska are on the outside looking in of the Big Ten title picture, both would remain in the conversation with a victory. Before the teams meet at Memorial Stadium, we will break down our USC-Nebraska Week 10 college football predictions.
*Watch college football games LIVE with fuboTV (free trial)*
Dylan Raiola gets revenge against Jayden Maiava
The last time USC and Nebraska met, Maiava won the battle of the Hawaiian quarterbacks on all metrics. Maiava completed more of his passes while ending with 68 more passing yards, two more touchdowns and one fewer interception.
That result is not a gauge of either player, nor are football games ever a head-to-head contest solely between the opposing quarterbacks. However, given the similarities between the two, Raiola will be playing with a chip on his shoulder and looking to defend his home turf.
Raiola has played significantly better at home than on the road throughout his career. That plays into his favor in Week 10, when Nebraska hosts a traveling USC team that is just 1-2 on the road in 2025.
As the Big Ten's second-leading passer through nine weeks, Maiava has been lights-out all season. Raiola is not far behind him with 1,909 passing yards on the year, sixth-most in the conference.
Defensively, Nebraska has the better overall unit, particularly against the pass. The Cornhuskers enter the matchup only allowing 127.5 passing yards per game, the second-fewest in the country. Conversely, USC allows 228.3 passing yards per game, seventh-most in the league.
USC's softer defensive secondary gives Raiola an excellent opportunity to rebound from his recent slump. The sophomore has only topped 200 passing yards in one of his last four games after starting the year with four consecutive games of over 220 passing yards.
USC is the better team on paper, but Raiola has additional motivation in an advantageous matchup. The Trojans have already given up multiple career passing days to quarterbacks much worse than Raiola in 2025.
USC, Nebraska combine for over 1,000 total yards
The Week 10 showdown gives Raiola and Nebraska one of their best matchups of the year, but they will need to capitalize on that opportunity to pull off the upset. USC strolls into Lincoln boasting one of the most efficient offenses in the country.
Although the Trojans are just 1-2 in their last three games, they roll into Week 10 averaging 530 total yards per game, the most in the FBS. Riley has made a point to implement the run game more in 2025, but USC still runs on Maiava's arm. Their 326.1 passing yards per game is also the most in the country, while Maiava currently ranks as the nation's ninth-leading passer.
USC also enters Week 10 off a bye and should be as healthy as it has been in weeks. Star wideout Ja'Kobi Lane finally looked healthy in Week 8 with a season-high 111 receiving yards, giving Maiava his full weaponry down the stretch of the regular season.
Nebraska's defense is arguably the best USC will face all season, but Riley has already proven how efficient he can be with an additional week of preparation. The last time the Trojans came off a bye before facing an elite defense, they followed an expertly drawn-out game plan to carve up Michigan with 489 total yards.
Statistically, Nebraska is still one of the best defenses in the country, but it has fallen apart in recent weeks. The Cornhuskers allowed just 8.0 points per game in their first three games of the year, but they are ceding 26.6 points per game in their five games since.
Coming off a loss to Notre Dame, USC will start hot, much like it did against Michigan in Week 7. Nebraska will meet them every step of the way, leading to a classic shootout in what could be the best game of the week.
Nebraska stuns USC with double-digit upset victory
So much about USC and Nebraska has been similar over the past few seasons, pitting both programs at a crossroads against each other in Week 10. While the winner's slim title hopes remain alive, the loser can likely be ruled out of the 2025-2026 College Football Playoffs.
Despite the similarities, USC appears to be the team with the higher ceiling, thus making it the betting favorite. The Trojans are closing as six-point favorites, but the teams' recent momentum and numbers suggest that Nebraska has a better-than-perceived chance to emerge victorious.
Nebraska's recent slump is concerning, none more than its stunning 24-6 upset loss to Minnesota in Week 7. Those results are not encouraging as they prepare for a matchup with USC, against which the Huskers are 0-5-1 all-time.
Regardless, the travel factor will have a significant influence on the game. Flying to Nebraska is not as long a hike as some of USC's previous road trips, but no coach has openly voiced their frustrations with traveling across time zones than Riley.
Under Riley, USC is 2-6 in road games that require it to travel to a different time zone. Most of those struggles have come on the East Coast, but the Trojans are just 1-1 in their two road games against centrally located teams under Riley. That lone victory was a 48-41 nail-biter over Colorado as a 22-point favorite.
Just two weeks after USC appeared to turn the corner with its blowout win over Michigan, the team is back on the fence after a 10-point loss to Notre Dame. Nebraska's struggles have been even more profound over the last three weeks, but the Huskers enter Week 10 as a rejuvenated team in a must-win situation with a favorable schedule down the stretch.
A double-digit win over USC more than likely gets Nebraska back into the top 25 and reminds the college football world that it is still a player in the Big Ten.
