Nebraska Vs USC In The Holiday Bowl – Who To Root For

Here is our second edition of ‘Who to Root For’ as we analyze Nebraska Vs USC in the National University Holiday Bowl. Now this may be an easy decision for the crosstown rivals of one these combatants in this bowl game, but factoring in what this means for the conference as a whole, it may be harder to root against said team. So who do you root for… the Cornhuskers or the Trojans?

UCLA Bruins

Nebraska Football

There is a connection UCLA has with Nebraska Football. Though the Bruins beat the Cornhuskers twice in their home-and-home series that ended last year, it was nothing that sparked a rivalry. In fact, it did the opposite and brought Nebraska and UCLA very close. it was done in a way that has not been seen before.

A week before their match-up in Lincoln, Nebraska on September 14, 2013, UCLA had lost a member of their team which had affected their entire fan base. UCLA football had lost Nick Pasquale. Before that games, Nebraska and their fans showed the utmost respect to UCLA as they honored Pasquale in one of the most touching displays of unity we have seen in recent college football history.

This is a program with total class.

Unfortunately, things have gone down hill for Nebraska since that game. They has recently lost their leader as former head coach Bo Pelini was fired after a 9-2 season (5-3 in conference) and had an overall record of 66-27.

Nov 28, 2014; Iowa City, IA, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Bo Pelini looks on during their game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Though it seems as if Nebraska’s Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst might have jumped the gun in letting go of Pelini (and Pelini had plenty to say about that), it does leave Nebraska football in a bind as they enter this game on a down note. Though the Cornhuskers are underdogs in this match-up, it does not break the sentiments UCLA fans have about a program that showed the Bruins and their players massive respect.

USC Football

One team in the Holiday Bowl has shown the Bruins complete respect. The other is USC. Now that may be a biased jab but considering what UCLA and USC have gone through in their history, it is not far from the truth.

Even today, as the Trojans were getting ready for their bowl game, head coach Steve Sarkisian decided to throw a jab UCLA’s way when he was asked about the level of competition Nebraska brings.

Zing. So Sarkisian thinks Nebraska is they best team they will have played this season? Sarkisian believes Nebraska, who was the fourth best team in the B1G Conference (which was not as good as the Pac-12), is better than UCLA. Not only that, but he believes they are better than Arizona State and Utah, which the Trojans lost too. Okay.

You see what we are working with here?

Nov 13, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California coach Steve Sarkisian before the game against the California Golden Bears at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

But then thinking about the alternative, a win against a good team from one of the four best conferences in the country will do a lot for the Pac-12. USC will show the nation that the Pac-12 is one of the best, if not THE best, conference in the country. So do you #BackThePac or show allegiance to a team that has been nothing less than reverent to UCLA?

Well…