If nice guys really do finish last, then today?s USC-UCLA crosstown showdown shapes up as a fierce battle. Trojans coach Lane Kiffin and his first-year Bruins counterpart Jim Mora Jr. likely won?t win any humanitarian awards, but this rivalry is nationally meaningful for the first time in more than a decade.
This is likely the only game in America in which it might be safer to be a student-athlete on the field than a student assistant on the sidelines. Earlier this season, Mora tongue-lashed a sports information assistant on the practice field for the cardinal sin of allowing a TV cameraman to stand too close. Last week, Kiffin canned a student manager for allegedly going rogue and under-inflating footballs to give QB Matt Barkley and his star receivers (Marqise Lee and Robert Woods) an edge during a 62-51 loss to Oregon. The Trojans insist the student acted completely on his own without any guidance from Kiffin or even Barkley, an explanation bought by exactly zero percent of the population.
For the No. 17 Bruins, at least, maybe the tough-love approach was necessary. UCLA has lost the last five games to USC and 12 of the past 13, yet enters this year?s game with a higher ranking for the first time since 2001. No. 21 USC?s potent passing attack led by Barkley and Heisman candidate Lee may still garner more headlines, but it?s the Bruins? spread attack led by freshman QB Brett Hundley and RB Johnathan Franklin that has averaged 51.7 points a game the past three weeks.
UCLA is technically the home team today but USC has played 51 games at the Rose Bowl over the years, and both teams will wear their home jerseys today -- cardinal for USC, blue for UCLA. When the clock strikes zero, though, only one coach figures to be red-faced. You?ll find the winner on the opposite sideline.
Gus Johnson is on the play-by-play for Fox, so experience tells us that this will be a high-scoring, close, crazy game. And if not, Gus will make it sound that way anyway. UCLA takes the field and kickoff is just moments away. The Pac-12 South title is on the line.
The opening kickoff goes through the end zone for a touchback. Barkley and the Trojans will start from the 25.
Interception! Barkley is picked on the game's first play, by CB Aaron Hester. Barkley was looking for Lee in the left flat, but Hester was all over it. First down for UCLA at the USC 17.
Two quick completions by Hundley make it first and goal, and the officials move it a yard closer due to a roughing the passer call. First and goal from the 1.
Touchdown, Bruins! Hundley powers in from the 1 on second down. The XP by Ka'imi Fairbairn is good and it's 7-0 just 1:21 into the game. The blue half of the Rose Bowl is rocking after that quick UCLA start.
Kickoff specialist knocks it through the end zone again and Barkley will try once more from the 25. This time the Trojans keep it on the ground, and Curtis McNeal rips off 34 yards up the middle. We'll get that shootout yet.
On third and 9 from the UCLA 41, Barkley is forced to throw it away under pressure by OLB Damien Holmes. That will force a Trojans punt. Shaq Evans calls a fair catch at the 10.
On third and 8, Hundley gets loose on the QB draw for an 11-yard gain and the first down. For a guy who's 6-3 and 223 pounds, he can really move. Impressive athlete.
Two short Hundley completions and a Franklin run for 6 yards mean two more first downs. The ball is at the UCLA 48. Now two more quick passes and it's a first down in Trojans territory at the 40. Nice drive going. Now UCLA calls timeout, perhaps because it's tough choosing between all the plays that are working well at the moment.
Hundley is sacked on third and 8 from the 24. Mora elects to go for it on fourth and 14. Hundley hits Shaq Evans along the right sideline for the first down. Wow. Hundley is now 10-of 10 and it's first and goal at the 9.
Hundley can't connect with TE Joseph Fauria on a fade on third and goal from the 6. Fairbairn hits a 23-yard field goal and it's 10-0. The Bruins were hurt by a false start by right guard Jeff Baca that moved them back from what would have been third-and-goal from the 1. Still, it was a terrific drive that covered 84 yards.
Barkley is bailed out on third and 8 when Sheldon Price is called for pass interference on Lee. It was the right call, though Lee didn't even realize the ball was coming. Barkley has yet to complete a pass today, not counting the one to UCLA.
Fumble! Lee puts the ball on the ground and the Bruins recover. They are going to take a look at this upstairs to see if Lee's knee was down. Now they say it wasn't. Bruins ball! It's the third straight week that Lee has lost a fumble. This time he was lined up at tailback, but it didn't work as he was about to lose yardage even before he fumbled. UCLA takes over at the USC 33 and can really put the Trojans in a hole.
Touchdown, Bruins! Hundley finds Fauria from 17 yards out on third and 4. As Gus just said, presumably speaking from the Trojans' perspective: "Uh oh!" The student managers on the USC sideline better hide.
On third and 4, Barkley finally completes a pass. This time Lee hangs on and shows what all the hype is about, twisting several UCLA defenders into pretzels as he picks up about 10 yards after the grab. Yes, it's still early, but that was a huge first down for the Trojans.
The teams change sides with USC facing a third and 2 (maybe a "long" 1) from right around midfield. It really feels like the Trojans need points on this drive to keep this one from completely getting away from them.
McNeal plows ahead for the first down. Ball is at the UCLA 48. Now Barkley fires a strike over the middle to TE Xavier Grimble. Nice throw against solid coverage. First down at the 33.
The Trojans will go for it on fourth and 3 from the 26. Barkley looks to the right flat but overthrows his fullback Jahleel Pinner. Not sure he would have reached the first-down marker anyway since two defenders were in pursuit. Strange call. But the Trojans turn the ball over on downs. It's hard to believe these are the same two teams that played last year when USC won 50-0.
Franklin reels off two straight runs of 10-plus yards to put the ball near midfield. Then Baca, the right guard, is called for tripping. That will make it first and 25. Big penalty.
Wow! On third and 13, Hundley was forced to dump it off to Franklin under pressure, but Franklin somehow broke three tackles along the left sideline and fell backwards for the first down. Great effort by Franklin; shoddy tackling by the Trojans. The Bruins still have not punted.
The Bruins pick up another first down, this one via penalty. LB Dion Bailey was flagged for pass interference on third and 4. The ball is now at the USC 32.
It's Hundley-to-Fauria again, this time to convert a third and 9. Hundley floated the ball up to his 6-7 TE down to the 16-yard line. The Trojans simply can't get a stop.
Touchdown, Bruins! Franklin bursts in from 16 yards out. The XP makes it 24-0 and UCLA is almost halfway to reversing last year's score. Was this USC team really ranked No. 1 to start the season? Is Kiffin's seat actually getting warm?
On the first play after the TD, Barkley fires deep for Woods. It's a gain of 34 into UCLA territory and a play that the Trojans really, really needed. Now let's see if they can string a full drive together.
Touchdown, Trojans! Barkley hits WR Nelson Agholor for a 33-yard score. That one was another deep pass over the middle; it looks like the Trojans have found something they like there. The XP pulls USC within 24-7.?
On third and 10, Hundley calmly finds a wide-open Evans along the right sideline for an 18-yard gain and the first down.
The Trojans finally get a stop as Hundley is sacked for the third time, this one coming on third and 6. Big loss of about 10 yards. Woods fields the punt (UCLA's first of the day) and brings it back to the USC 44. Now let's see if the Trojans can climb closer before the half.
McNeal reels off 11 yards on third and 2. First down at the UCLA 37 as the Trojans are driving.
Barkley finds Agholor for another first down along the sideline at the Bruins 20. Now McNeal gets loose again to the 5. First and goal.
Touchdown, Trojans! Barkley slips a pass to TE Randall Telfer for a 2-yard score as USC has climbed off the mat to make this a game. The XP makes it a 10-point contest with 1:07 left in the half.
The Bruins run the ball twice and the first-half clock expires.
As Gus and Charles Davis correctly note, the Trojans have to feel very fortunate to be down just 10 points. The Bruins came out with a flurry on both sides of the ball and threatened to blow USC right out of the Rose Bowl with a quick 24-0 lead. But Barkley and the USC offense found its footing with two late scores.?
Now let's see if the Trojans defense can keep it going -- it only got one stop not counting the end of the half -- when the Bruins get the ball first after intermission. If USC can't slow Hundley and Franklin, not even Barkley, McNeal and the Trojans' fleet of star receivers will be able to score enough points to catch up.
It's raining hard in the Rose Bowl, which is very unusual for this game. In fact Gus just noted that the last two times this game was played in the rain were 1961 and 1946. Will it be a factor?
Touchdown, USC! The ball is fumbled once, then twice, then kicked around for awhile, until finally DT George Uko fell on it in the end zone. So the answer to our previous question is yes, the rain will be a factor. Now Andre Heidari clanks the XP off the goal post, so it's 24-20. What a crazy play. The shotgun snap never got to Hundley, but Franklin picked up the ball and tried to run. Then he fumbled, and Hundley picked it up before dropping it as well. Then it got knocked backwards into the end zone like, in Gus words, a "greased pig."
Now it's the Trojans who are flying around, but it will cost them on this play as safety Jawanza Starling is called for "targeting" a receiver for smacking Fauria to force an incompletion. It did look like Starling led with his helmet into Fauria's helmet, so the call can be justified on that grounds. Still, I just don't understand how there can be a rule against "targeting a defenseless receiver" when the receiver is not only on the field of play but actually has the ball in his hands. Should the defender have to ask the receiver when he's ready to get hit, like maybe after running another 10 yards with the ball? Regardless, it's a 15-yard penalty and a big first down for the Bruins.
On third and 9 from the USC 33, Hundley is tripped up in the backfield by blitzing safety T.J. McDonald for a sack. Locke's punt is fair caught by Woods at the 14. McDonald's brother, Tevin, is UCLA's starting free safety. But right now it's T.J. and the Trojans that have all the momentum as the rain continues to fall. And as anyone who has driven in the rain in L.A. can attest, nobody out here can deal with the wet stuff so this game could get sloppy.
Tevin McDonald must have heard us talking, because he breaks up two straight USC passes with big hits. That makes it third and 10, and Barkley's pass is tipped and falls incomplete. Big stop by the Bruins D. Kyle Negrete will punt from 2 yards deep in the end zone. It's blocked! Eric Kendricks gets a hand on it and the ball trickles to a stop at the USC 33. That's where Hundley will take over.
Hundley floats a beautiful pass to Davis along the right side. That's a gain of 25 yards to make it first and goal from the 8.
Touchdown, Bruins! Hundley powers in from the 2 as UCLA cashes in on the great field position. Here's guessing that was far from the last score we will see this afternoon.
The Bruins force a quick three-and-out as Barkley throws into a crowd on third and 2. Excellent coverage, though Gus scolds Kiffin for not running on either second or third down with just 2 yards to pick up for the first. UCLA will take over on its 31.
Aided by a holding call on first down, the Trojans D notches a three-and-out of its own. Locke booms a 62-yard punt and the Bruins cover it well, tackling Woods at the USC 25 after a 1-yard return.
Barkley and Lee connect on a pretty sideline pattern to convert a third and 5. First down at the USC 39.
Barkley connects over the deep-middle to Lee, and then Woods. First down at the UCLA 24. There are definitely plays to be made against this Bruins secondary, and Barkley has been making them after a slow start.
Two USC penalties -- offensive pass interference and holding -- make it second and 32 back at the 45.
Heidari comes out to attempt a 44-yarder; he's one 2-of-5 from 40-49 yards. Make it 2-of-6 -- Heidari's wobbler goes wide left. Not a good-looking kick. Those two penalties really stalled that drive as the Trojans come up empty.
After USC gets away with what looked like pass interference, Locke punts on what turns out to be the last play of the third quarter. And it's a doozy; Woods backpedals to catch it at the 10, then backpedals some more and is tackled inside the 5. Locks has been terrific today. FYI, the sun is out again, so everyone in L.A. can calm down.
McNeal carries twice in a row, busting for 15 yards on the second carry to give the Trojans a first down at their own 22.
McNeal rips off a 10-yard run before Woods lays out beautifully for another first-down grab over the middle. The Trojans have already moved from their own 4 to near midfield.
Interception! LB Kendricks picks off Barkley over the middle and returns it to the Bruins 38. That's Barkley's second INT of the day and 15th of the season. They don't give out Heismans for that, son.
Franklin goes around the right end for 22 yards to the USC 40. He did a terrific job following and even pushing a wall of blockers before gutting off them and getting the final 10 on his own. Trojans are on the ropes here as the rain starts falling hard again at the Rose Bowl.
The USC D stiffens to force a punt, and Locke drops it sweetly inside the 5 but UCLA's Marcus Rios can't keep it from going into the end zone. The Trojans will start from the 20.
Ouch! Barkley is sacked by OLB Anthony Barr, his 12th of the year. Oops, they actually called that an incomplete pass because Barkley wildly flung the ball as he was going down. That's a break for the Trojans. So it's third and 10... Barkley under pressure, he rolls right... he floats one deep to Lee for a big gain! First down at the UCLA 27.
Touchdown, Trojans! Barkley hits Lee on a crossing pattern and the WR dives backward into the end zone. The Trojans will go for 2. Kiffin calls timeout when he sees UCLA's defensive alignment, sprinting down the sideline to do so. Now we're ready, from the 3. Barkley drops back... and finds Woods in the back of the end zone. Woods caught it despite a defender draped all over him -- and not legally, because UCLA was flagged for pass interference. That will be declined, of course, and all of a sudden we have a three-point game. Do those commenters still want Kiffin fired?
Two plays, two first downs for UCLA. The first is a pass to Evans, the second a nifty run by Franklin. Now a 9-yard run by Hundley and a short gain by Franklin and the Bruins have another first down at the USC 44.
On third and 13, Fauria goes down to pluck a low pass from Hundley for a big gain and the first down. Great catch by the TE. Ball at the USC 32.
Touchdown, Bruins! Franklin rumbles 29 yards, again around the right side, to complete a 10-play, 83-yard drive. The XP makes it a 10-point game. What an answer for UCLA.
Locke had to kick off from the 20 after Franklin was flagged for making a throat-slash gesture after scoring. That meant not even Locke could kick the ball into the end zone, so Lee got a chance to strut his stuff as a returner. The Bruins do a solid job to corral him at the USC 33.
Completions to Lee and Telfer put the ball inside the 25. Trojans playing hurry-up. Ohh! This time Webb nails Barkley from behind and the sack will count. Wow, that was a huge hit and Barkley is down. It's going to be third down and about 12 yards, but right now the concern for USC's is Barkley's status.
Barkley is able to walk off under his own power, but he looks a little groggy. That means freshman Max Wittek will come in for third and 12. Wittek can't handle the low snap, but McNeal scoops it up and somehow turns it into a 5-yard gain. That brings in Heidari to attempt a 38-yard field goal. Mora calls timeout to let Heidari mull his earlier misses. It works! Heidari's kick is blocked by Shedon Price! The Trojans will need a miracle now.
The Trojans call their final timeout as the Bruins face a third and 2. Ooh, this will be very close as Franklin is jammed up right near the marker. They say he's short. Decision time here on fourth and less than a yard. Mora calls timeout.
Locke comes on to punt; that's the rational decision. Woods calls a fair catch at the USC 32. There's a holding call on UCLA, so the Trojans will start at their 42 instead. And it is still Wittek rather than Barkley under center for USC. Ouch.
Wittek spikes it after McNeal picks up a first down on a short pass but inexplicably choose not to run out of bounds. Not that it matters much now. A flag on UCLA moves it 5 yards up. If Kiffin has a 10-point play in his playbook, this is the time.
I was just about to type "FINAL," but the Bruins roughed the passer on the final play. Datone Jones drove Wittek to the ground well after the play. Dumb. So it's first and goal from the 4 and we'll have one untimed down.
In perhaps the biggest upset of the day, Kiffin opts against the cosmetic passing touchdown and hands the ball off. The Bruins D swamps the rusher and we've gone final. UCLA beats its crosstown rival for the first time in six years and wins the Pac-12 South.
No matter what happens the rest of the way, today's win makes Mora's first season as UCLA head coach a bigger success than even the most optimistic Bruins booster could have foreseen. Remember that this is a guy who spent his last 25 years coaching in the NFL and had very limited college experience. Yet he hit the ground running on the recruiting trail, and the on-field product has already taken a giant leap forward from the Rick Neuheisel era. The Trojans had absolutely dominated this rivalry for the past decade-plus, and Mora is now one-for-one. The Pac-12 South title means the Bruins can dream even bigger -- the Rose Bowl.
The Men of Troy, meanwhile, are suddenly reeling in the other direction. A season that started with a No. 1 ranking and hopes of a BCS title and a Heisman for Barkley has already resulted in four losses -- with Notre Dame coming to town next week -- and a lapping by UCLA in the Pac-12 South. With scholarship limitations in force the next two years, Kiffin's apparent reputation renaissance from a year ago is almost hard to recall. It will be interesting to see what happens to him the next two years. He certainly won't have many rooting for him outside of USC fans, and maybe not even that many of them.
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