The country’s top-ranked team has not appeared at Memorial Stadium since Nebraska’s days as a national powerhouse. A big step in reclaiming that status would be to knock off the first No. 1 team playing there as a visitor in nearly 30 years.

The last two programs to win back-to-back national championships square off when Southern California visits the 14th-ranked Cornhuskers on Saturday night.

“Everybody’s saying this is the biggest weekend in Lincoln ever, and that Hollywood’s coming to town,” Nebraska safety Ben Eisenhart said.

USC is the first visiting team to be No. 1 heading into a game at Memorial Stadium since Oklahoma lost 17-14 to the Cornhuskers in 1978. That remains Nebraska’s only win in 10 games all-time against the No. 1 team in the AP poll.

The last time a team atop the rankings played in Lincoln came on Oct. 21, 2000, when Nebraska beat Baylor 59-0. The Cornhuskers lost at Oklahoma the following week and haven’t been atop the poll since, failing to win 10 games in all but one of the past five seasons.

The Trojans (1-0) have won at least 11 games in each season during that stretch, claiming the national championship in 2004 after splitting it with LSU in 2003. Nebraska (2-0) is the last team to win it outright in two straight years, in 1994 and 1995.

“They’re a modern-day dynasty,” Cornhuskers cornerback Cortney Grixby said of the Trojans. “Nebraska owned the ’90s. Since the millennium, they’ve been the team. To be the best, you’ve got to play the best.

“You want to make the most of your opportunities. You don’t get them that much. This is a great opportunity to play the No. 1 team.”

A victory of this magnitude could thrust the Cornhuskers back to the level of national prominence they enjoyed for much of the 1990s under coach Tom Osborne, and would be easily the biggest win for coach Bill Callahan.

“I think the game against SC is pretty well established, pretty well talked about in our part of the country,” Callahan said. “We’re going to have to have our best effort on Saturday night.”

While the Trojans try to avoid their first regular-season loss in non-conference play since a 2002 defeat to Kansas State, they are coming off a bye week and enter this challenge with one unimpressive performance under their belt.

Though USC never trailed and led by at least 14 points through the final three quarters, coach Pete Carroll wasn’t very pleased by a 38-10 win over Idaho on Sept. 1.

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“There’s a lot of areas we can do better on,” Carroll said. “I didn’t think that we took advantage of our really nice opportunities. We had some shots at guys and didn’t hit them. ... I’m pleased to get this first game behind us.”

Favored by 46 points against a Vandals team which was 14-45 over the previous five seasons, USC drew some boos from the home crowd following its second straight punt late in the second quarter. Its vaunted defense allowed 182 yards of total offense in the first half and forced only one turnover for the game.

The Nebraska offense is significantly better, led by a quarterback who is familiar with USC’s defense.

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Sam Keller transferred from Arizona State last year and has played twice against the Trojans. After attempting only three passes off the bench in a 45-7 loss in 2004, he started the next year and helped the Sun Devils take an 18-point halftime lead, but Keller was intercepted five times and sacked five times en route to a 38-28 defeat.

The northern California native is off to a decent but unspectacular start in his first year as Nebraska’s starter, completing 38 of 66 passes for 451 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

His counterpart is considered a Heisman Trophy favorite, though such recognition could be stripped by a Nebraska defense which has been very good against the pass.

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John David Booty threw for three touchdowns in three quarters in the opener, going 21-of-32 for 206 yards with an interception. He faces a Cornhuskers squad which has held opposing quarterbacks to a 41.2 completion percentage and an average of 124.0 yards while intercepting three passes.

Booty fared well against Nebraska last season, going 25-of-36 for 257 yards and three touchdowns in USC’s 28-10 home win. The Trojans lead the all-time series 2-0-1, and won 31-21 in their only visit to Lincoln in 1969.

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“I’m thrilled to get ready for a big challenge like Nebraska,” said Carroll, who celebrates his 56th birthday on Saturday.

One of his top concerns will be slowing down Marlon Lucky, who rushed for 233 yards in the season opener before being held to 90 on 24 carries as Nebraska struggled to win 20-17 at Wake Forest last Saturday.

The Cornhuskers beat Nevada 52-10 in their opener at Memorial Stadium after averaging 41.6 points at home last season.