1 week Ago By AMIE JUST Lincoln Journal Star
LOS ANGELES — One of Ceyair Wright’s coaches wrapped him up in a hug. The coach placed his right hand on the back of Wright’s head. The coach placed his left hand on Wright’s right shoulder.
And amid the postgame cacophony, the coach leaned in to speak into Wright’s ear after USC beat Nebraska, 28-20. Keep pushing forward. You played well.
Keep doing your thing. Keep growing. The coach? Not one of his current coaches at Nebraska.
No, one of his former coaches. USC head coach Lincoln Riley — Wright’s head coach from 2022-23. “I’m really appreciative of him for that,” Wright said of the hug and brief pep talk.
“It’s been a long journey to get to this point. He was somebody that supported me and I’m thankful for him for that.” Wright knew the storybook-like stage was enormous.
He’s a former USC Trojan, playing against USC in Los Angeles — Wright’s hometown. Wright’s high school, Loyola, is just three miles up Vermont Avenue from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. He didn’t estimate how many friends and family he had in attendance because “like everybody” close to him was at the game, he said.
“I know how much this meant to him,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “..
. I’m happy for him. It’s his chance to come home.
” In games where emotions are high, sometimes the moment grows too big. Sometimes nerves bubble up or the butterflies flutter when the lights are bright. But that didn’t happen for Wright.
Not only did he play well, he had a phenomenal game. A career game, even. His third career interception.
His first career pick-six. A blocked field goal. Four tackles.
In his hometown. Against his old team. “It’s crazy,” Wright said.
“It’s really a full-circle moment for me. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win, but just being able to play here again and give it my all is just a blessing. I’m just so thankful for that opportunity.
” Newly minted USC quarterback Jayden Maiava dropped back to pass. It’s the first quarter. The Trojans are facing third-and-11 on the USC 25-yard line.
Nebraska’s Ty Robinson is crashing the pocket and makes contact with Maiava as he throws. The ball is heading nowhere near where Maiava intended it to go — simultaneously overthrowing Kyron Hudson and underthrowing Kyle Ford. And as it sails through the air, Wright picks up on Maiaia’s mistake and darts to the 45-yard line to catch it.
Hudson tried to tackle Wright, but he wriggled free and sprinted down the sideline to score his first career touchdown. It’s the fourth quarter. Transfer kicker Michael Lantz trotted onto the field to attempt a 27-yard field goal.
If the kick sailed through the uprights, USC would have gone up 24-20 with 13:43 to play. But it didn’t. Wright lined up as the outside man on the left, and USC’s Joey Olsen managed to just get a hand on him as Wright bolted into the backfield.
Lantz was making his approach as Wright began to lay out. Wright stretched his arms out in the path of where he thought the ball would go. And it was perfectly executed.
On the broadcast, Riley was shown after the block shaking his head while seemingly saying “Unbelievable.” Unbelievable indeed. But the game wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows between Wright and USC.
There was quite a bit of chatter and chippiness directed his way early. “It was a personal feeling for me just being able to come back and play against my old team,” Wright said. “Even though I love those guys, today I didn’t.
So it is what it is.” Once the game went final, though? Several people on-field dapped him up, including USC cornerback Jaylin Smith. The only thing that would have been better for Wright’s homecoming game is if Nebraska would have won, but sometimes reality gets in the way of a great story.
The Huskers (5-5, 2-5) were once again not good enough in their fourth consecutive loss and third consecutive one-score loss. It’s almost comical at this point but in a laugh-so-you-don’t-cry way. So many things went right.
The aforementioned pick-six and field goal block. A third-quarter forced fumble by Robinson and a fumble recovery by Mikai Gbayor. An electric touchdown for Emmett Johnson on a checkdown in the second quarter.
But so many things went wrong, too. The run defense struggled. The pass defense struggled.
USC, led by a quarterback making his first start at USC, had little issue moving the ball. Raiola made an ill-advised throw on a drive that looked promising and resulted in an interception. “We gotta make the plays earlier in the game,” Raiola said.
“So we don’t leave it until the end.” There is one saving grace. Even after all of this, there is a ray of hope.
The offense — under the guidance of new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen — did look better. It was simpler. It was smoother.
Sure, there were some hiccups, but that’s to be expected. You’d like to think that with another week of working with him the result there could be different next week. Raiola thinks so.
“We’ll make the biggest jump from this week to next,” he said. “..
. I think we’re going to roll into these next two games.” One can hope.
Because there isn’t much season left. Two games to go. Still looking for (at least) one more win to reach that ever-elusive bowl game.
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