UCLA Falls Short Against Cross-Town Rival USC in the Battle of LA, Succumbing to a Resilient Trojans’ Defense 19-13
UCLA’s last gasp of air: Senior Quarterback Ethan Garbers rolls out of the pocket, surveying down the field to find a shade of blue amongst the sea of red. Before he is pounded to the wet grass by a Trojan defender, he flings the ball hoping to connect with Senior Tight End Moliki Matavao. However, the ball falls to the ground as the pass is rendered incomplete, silencing the roar of the crowd. With this, the Victory Bell has swapped hands, where it will reside within the confines of University Park for the next year.
The UCLA Bruins (4-7, 3-6) fell to the USC Trojans (6-5, 4-5) at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night 19-13, where the Trojans championed the legacy of Hector and vanquished the Bruins.
The Bruins started the game with the ball. Garbers looked composed in the pocket and led the team into Trojan territory; however, the drive stalled out, and Sophomore Kicker Mateen Bhaghani drilled a 51-yard field goal to put the Bruins up 3-0 on their first possession.
Despite the Bruins’ productive first drive, The Trojans responded with a 64-yard reception from Sophomore Wide Receiver Malakai Lemon, putting the Trojans within five yards of the endzone. UCLA’s defense buckled down and forced a 19-yard field goal off the leg of Senior Kicker Michael Lantz, which tied the game 3-3.
Throughout the game, UCLA held the Trojans to only four third-down conversions on 14 attempts.
On the Trojans’ ensuing drive, Sophomore Quarterback Jayden Maiava found Junior Kyron Hudson for a fourth-down conversion that put the Trojans deep into UCLA territory. The Bruins’ defense would end the Trojans’ touchdown ambitions, leading to another Lantz chip shot field goal: UCLA was down 6-3 with nine minutes remaining in the first half.
Before the end of the first half, the Bruins lost their rhythm, and USC drove down the field to kick a 22-yard field goal to put them up 9-3 at halftime.
However, before each team ventured to their respective locker rooms, the crosstown rivals began to jaw at each other due to the physical play that was made on Freshman Wide Receiver Kwazi Gilmer. The referees hashed out three unsportsmanlike penalties to UCLA due to the scuffle.
Despite these penalties, the Bruins’ defense came up with a fourth-down stop at midfield off an incompletion that was forced by Senior Defensive Back Kaylin Moore.
The defensive energy invigorated UCLA’s offense to drive down the field, and Garbers zipped the ball to Matavao on a screen pass for a 10-yard touchdown.
With the extra point conversion, the Bruins led the Trojans 10-9 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
To counter the Bruins’ inaugural touchdown, the Trojans’ attempt to retake the lead didn’t materialize due to the tenacious Bruins’ defense. After regaining possession, Junior Running Back T.J. Harden marched the Bruins out to the 50-yard line. On the next play, Garbers launched the ball down the field to Senior Wide Receiver J. Michael Sturdivant for a 45-yard gain to put the Bruins within five yards of the endzone.
Sturdivant finished the game with five receptions for a season-high 117 yards.
However, the Trojans’ defense held their own, and the Bruins were unable to convert Sturdivant’s explosive play into a touchdown. Bhaghani kicked a 29-yard field goal to increase the Bruins’ lead to 13-9 over the Trojans right before the start of the fourth quarter.
“I can’t say enough about us defensively,” said Riley. “We didn’t break much at all.”
UCLA registered another fourth-down stop with a sack from Senior Defensive End Femi Oladejo for a 13-yard loss in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Bruins’ offense could not convert this defensive effort into points.
This eventually caught up to UCLA, since the Trojans charged into the Bruins’ territory with a trick-play to Hudson for a 39-yard gain. UCLA’s defense couldn’t muster another pivotal stop in the red zone: Maiava improvised and rolled out of the pocket to fit the ball to find Sophomore Wide Receiver Ja’Kobi Lane in the endzone for a four-yard touchdown, Lane’s sixth of the season. With the conversion of the extra point, the Trojans led the Bruins 16-13 with less than seven minutes left in the game.
The lack of offensive production persisted for the Bruins, and USC cashed in another field goal from Lantz, his fourth of the day, to push the Trojans’ lead to 19-13 before the two minute warning.
With only one timeout remaining, time was running out for UCLA’s offense: They needed to score on this next possession.
However, the USC defense stifled Garbers and forced UCLA to turn the ball over on downs, squashing the Bruins’ aspirations to maintain possession of the Victory Bell with a game-winning drive.
USC, a team that was ravaged by the flu leading up to the Battle of LA, embodied resiliency by picking up a statement win against the Bruins on the road.
It was apparent that the Trojans didn’t heed to the outside noise and were poised to defeat the Bruins after an embarrassing 38-20 loss at home last season. This game saw the Trojans rush for a meager 3 yards compared to the Bruins’ 199 rushing yards, which was the deciding factor.
With their sixth win of the season, USC has clinched a bowl and is guaranteed two more games, one of which will be against the #6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1) at the LA Coliseum.
As for UCLA, they have fallen out of bowl contention and will finish out their season at the Rose Bowl against the Fresno State Bulldogs (6-5, 4-3).
These teams will meet again next year at the LA Coliseum, but for the time being, USC has claimed the title of LA with the Victory Bell in their possession and now leads the historical series 51-34-7.
