LOS ANGELES — “Burn the boat.”

That’s been the message from Lincoln Riley to his USC football team during the bye week and the days leading up to Saturday night’s game at Nebraska.

“Burn the boats, and just move on to the next opponent,” linebacker Jadyn Walker told reporters on Wednesday. “And just kind of have that chip on our shoulder.”

If the 23rd-ranked Trojans’ run defense can demonstrate that it has the will to learn and win, then it can turn a watery 34-24 loss to Notre Dame in South Bend into the funeral pyre that Riley is asking for and finish the season strong.

USC came in hot against Michigan to start October and shut down the Wolverines, 31-13. The Trojans throttled them on third and fourth downs and only allowed 109 rushing yards.

A week later, in what might have been th

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