USC Football Practice Report: Trojans Have Been in Nebraska's Shoes

LOS ANGELES — Members of the USC football team commemorated their last practice at Howard Jones Field on Tuesday by switching jerseys: Leonard Williams sported Hayes Pullard's No. 10, Nelson Agholor wore Khaliel Rodgers' No. 62 and so on. 

"I got it figured out when Randall Telfer [was] running with Chad Wheeler's [No.] 72," offensive line coach Tim Drevno said. 

A little bit of role-reversal in the Trojans' Holiday Bowl preparation is fitting—as Nebraska is an opponent in whose proverbial shoes USC has walked. 

The Cornhuskers come to San Diego in transition, much as the Trojans were a year ago.

After seven seasons as Nebraska's head coach, Bo Pelini was fired on Nov. 30. Just a few days later, a familiar face from the Pac-12 was tabbed as his replacement: former Oregon State sideline general, and USC alum, Mike Riley. 

But because Riley will not coach his first game until next September, Nebraska heads into Saturday's encounter with USC at Qualcomm Stadium at 8 p.m. ET with run-game coordinator and tight-end and offensive-line coach Barney Cotton filling in. 

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Cotton is in the same position as Trojans offensive coordinator Clay Helton last December. Helton was the interim to interim head coach Ed Orgeron, who quit just prior to the Las Vegas Bowl after current head coach Steve Sarkisian was hired. 

"It was tough," quarterback Cody Kessler said. "But it's about the players on the field." 

For that reason, USC knows intimately not to take a team in flux lightly come bowl season. 

Kessler threw for a then-career-high four touchdown passes in the Trojans' 45-20 romp over Fresno State last year. 

USC wants to avoid the role-reversal with Nebraska reflecting a similar outcome, with the team in transition coming out on top. 

Thus, despite the fun of a pre-practice jersey swap, the Trojans' last practice on campus before heading south to San Diego was intense. 

"I'm for it when they practice really well," Sarkisian said. "And they practiced good today." 

Dueling Defensive Stars 

Another way in which Nebraska reflects USC—and vice versa—is that the Cornhuskers have one of the nation's premier lineman anchoring their defense. 

Randy Gregory is a potential top-five pick in this spring's NFL draft, much like USC's Williams. Each is a handful for opposing offensive lines, capable of wreaking havoc in the backfield. 

"They're very similar in terms of football awareness," Drevno said. 

Gregory comes into the Holiday Bowl with seven sacks and 8.5 tackles for the loss on the season. And as opponents prepping for the Trojans have had to all season, USC is devoting plenty of focus to adjusting for Gregory's versatility up front. 

"They use him a variety of ways," Sarkisian said of Gregory. "He's not just an edge-rusher. They'll bring him on interior pressures [and] they'll put him in an odd-front." 

Nebraska's use of Gregory is similar to that of USC's with Williams—not necessarily an end, not necessarily a tackle, but wholly a threat. 

Freshman Toa Lobendahn will have the unenviable task of matching up with Gregory on the outside, but Sarkisian said stopping the Nebraska star isn't solely the duty of the converted left tackle. 

"We can't go into the game thinking 50 times [of] Randy Gregory vs. Toa Lobendahn is going to go 50-0," Sarkisian said. "So we're going to have to use a variety of protections, different schemes, whether it's the running back, tight end [or] slide to him.

"And that goes for their defense," Sarkisian added. "We have to mix it up on them." 

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com.