- Recent college football bowl projections have shifted due to early October upsets.
- USA TODAY Sports now projects Nebraska will face USC in the Las Vegas Bowl.
- This marks the second consecutive week Nebraska’s projected bowl game has changed.
- The potential bowl game would be a rematch, as the two teams are already scheduled to play during the regular season.
The start of October shook the rankings in college football with various teams suddenly finding themselves in new positions near the halfway point of the season. USA TODAY Sports’ Erick Smith said he isn’t surprised by the wild changes in his latest bowl projections. But he did account for said changes, exemplified by Nebraska finding itself at a new site for the postseason.
Smith is now projecting the Huskers to clash with USC yet again on New Year’s Eve in the Las Vegas Bowl. This is the second straight week Nebraska shifted in the projections after being deadlocked with Oklahoma in the ReliaQuest Bowl for most of September.
Last week, Smith saw the Huskers facing Missouri in the Music City Bowl, but now he sees the scarlet and cream heading to Sin City. Nebraska is already battling the Trojans the day after Halloween, which is likely going to be a high-scoring shootout. Now, both teams could be meeting each other in Las Vegas for a Big Ten/Pac-12 bout, with USC still being considered a Pac-12 team in the postseason.
This is the second straight week the Trojans find themselves hosting a Big Ten foe in the Las Vegas Bowl, after spending five weeks destined to clash with Iowa State in the Alamo Bowl. Last week, Smith projected USC to face Iowa, but he switched the Hawkeyes out with the Huskers and set Iowa up to face Louisville in the Pinstripe Bowl.
The Trojans remain 4-1 after resting up on a bye week. Their only loss in the season came on a last-second field goal against No. 23 Illinois, but now USC enters a fierce two-week stretch, taking on No. 15 Michigan and No. 16 Notre Dame.
The Trojans will get another bye week following their matchup with the Fighting Irish, before starting November with a game at Nebraska. USC’s defense allows just over 27 per game against Big Ten teams; its offense averages over 36 points per Big Ten game. If the Huskers and Trojans end up meeting twice this season, expect both matchups to be high-scoring showdowns.
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