The USC Trojans and Nebraska Cornhuskers aren’t exactly historic rivals. The two schools have played in football just five times, with the last game coming in the Holiday Bowl a decade ago. USC won that game 45-42, but both coaching staffs have turned over several times since then.

But now that SC and Nebraska are both members of the Big Ten Conference, they will be playing much more often in the coming seasons. And if the warmups leading up to Saturday’s meet at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum are any indication, this could turn into a rivalry pretty quickly.

When the Cornhuskers players took the field two hours before kickoff, they immediately gathered at the SC logo at the 50-yard line. Unsurprisingly, SC players and analysts didn’t like that, causing disagreements between the two sides.

It seemed like things had settled down, but things quickly picked up again when USC analyst Bryson Allen-Williams had to be walked to the sideline.

(Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images)

USC-Nebraska A match of disappointing teams

Neither USC nor Nebraska is having the kind of season either group of fans were hoping for. High-profile coaches in Lincoln Riley and Matt Rhule. Quarterbacks seen in the preseason as having significant potential in Miller Moss and Dylan Raiola improved the defense.

But tough schedules, fourth-quarter busts and a string of injuries have led to disappointing results for both sides. Still, it’s clear from the pre-game disagreements that the intensity and effort are still there.

SC enters Saturday’s game as 7.5-point favorites to salvage any hope of making the bowl, but given the Trojans’ performance in close games this year, that doesn’t mean much. At 5-4, Nebraska needs just one more win to reach a bowl game, but with a 1-2 road record, beating SC at the Coliseum could be an uphill climb.

What was a highly anticipated match a few months ago has lost much of its appeal, but don’t tell that to the two teams.