2014 Holiday Bowl
The 2014 Holiday Bowl, known as the National University Holiday Bowl for sponsorship purposes, was the thirty-seventh edition of the college football bowl game, played on December 27, 2014 at San Diego Stadium in San Diego, California. Part of the 2014–15 bowl season, it featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Ten and 2014 [USC Trojans football team|USC Trojans] of the Pac-12. The game kicked off at 5:00 p.m. PST and was broadcast on ESPN and ESPN Radio.
Teams
The 2014 Holiday Bowl was the fifth all-time and first postseason meeting between Nebraska and USC, with the Trojans leading 3–0–1 prior to the game.Under first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian, USC entered the Holiday Bowl as a seven-point favorite over Nebraska. The Cornhuskers, weeks removed from firing Bo Pelini, were led by interim head coach Barney Cotton.
Game
After a Nebraska field goal on the opening possession of the game, freshman All-American Adoree' Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, the longest return in Holiday Bowl history. Nebraska responded quickly, scoring twice more in the game's opening frame to take a seven-point lead. USC's offense controlled the second quarter, using drives of ten and twelve plays to take a 24–17 lead into halftime.USC opened the second half with a short pass to Jackson, who converted it into his second lengthy touchdown to give the Trojans a two-score lead. Long drives by each team kept the gap at fourteen points before a two-play Trojans touchdown drive made the score 45–27. As a chaotic third quarter came to a close, Tommy Armstrong hit Jordan Westerkamp for a winding 65-yard touchdown, the sixth score of the quarter.
On fourth down in the Trojans red zone, Armstrong stumbled into the end zone to cut Nebraska's deficit to three after a conversion pass to Bell. The Cornhuskers drove into USC territory with minutes remaining, but the Trojans stopped De'Mornay Pierson-El on fourth down to seal a 45–42 victory.