USC Wins Over Bruins
It had already been a tough week for USC it was just another hurdle. The team had several players plus staff members out with the flu when they practiced earlier last week. They were able to get through the week and then rallied for a 19-13 victory over UCLA in front of 54,428 at the Rose Bowl in the 94th edition of the Crosstown Showdown.
Earl Heath | Contributing Sports Writer
It had already been a tough week for USC it was just another hurdle. The team had several players plus staff members out with the flu when they practiced earlier last week. They were able to get through the week and then rallied for a 19-13 victory over UCLA in front of 54,428 at the Rose Bowl in the 94th edition of the Crosstown Showdown.
“Awesome win,” Riley said. “It was an interesting week, and we just decided from the very beginning that nothing out of our control was going to be an excuse. The only thing I can compare it to is maybe having gone through a COVID football season.”
Jayden Maiava completed 19 of 35 passes for 221 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown to Ja’Kobi Lane midway through the final quarter, as the Trojans (6-5, 4-5 Big Ten) became bowl-eligible with the victory.
Woody Marks led all rushers with 76 yards on 18 carries. That follows a 146-yard performance the previous week against Nebraska that dented him over the 1,000-yard plateau.
The RS Senior has become the fifth RB since Reggie Bush and LenDale White were 1,000-yard rushers in 2005. Joe McKnight (2009), Curtis McNeal (2011), Javorius Allen (2014), Ronald Jones II (2016 & 2017) proceeded him.
He also added 4 catches for 25 -yards to extend his streak of consecutive games with at least one catch to 56. That’s the longest active streak in the nation.
The Mississippi State transfer is the first Trojan RB with 40+ catches in a single season since Javorius Allen recorded 41 in 2014. Michael Lantz kicked four field goals for the Trojans
It is the fifth straight year the road team has won in the series. The Trojans have won 19 of the last 26 meetings.
“These wins are special. We know how much it means to this city, how much it means to this university,” Riley said.
Ethan Garbers was 20 of 29 for 265 yards for the Bruins (4-7, 3-6). J. Michael Sturdivant had five receptions for 117 yards and T.J. Harden rushed for 98 yards.
“We let one slip through our hands. All of these losses have come to, pretty much, letting it slip through our hands. We got to find a way to finish games,” Bruins coach DeShaun Foster said.
On first-and-goal at the UCLA 4, Maiava took a deep drop back and avoided being sacked by UCLA’s Jacob Busic at the 11 before scrambling left and then finding Lane in the back corner of the end zone.
The Trojans’ go-ahead touchdown was set up one play earlier when Makai Lemon completed a 39-yard pass off a lateral to Kyron Hudson.
“Ja’Kobi, he’s a great player and a great athlete. If he’s out there, I’m going to obviously throw it to him. He came down with the catch, an unbelievable catch,” said Maiava.
On UCLA’s ensuing drive, Garbers was stopped on a QB sneak on fourth-and-1 at the Bruins 34 to turn it over on downs. Lantz extended the lead to six with a field goal. The Bruins had one last chance to mount a go-ahead drive, but Garbers had four straight incomplete passes.
“I can’t say enough about us defensively, how well we played to hold them down,” Riley said. “Obviously the big stops. We were just pretty awesome defensively, we really were. Played at a really high level.”
UCLA trailed 9-3 at halftime but went on top with 9:37 remaining in the third quarter when Garbers hit Moliki Matavao on a tight end screen for a 10-yard touchdown.
Both teams finish the season at home as the BRUINS take on Fresno State at the ROSE BOWL and USC hosts NOTRE DAME at the Coliseum. Both games have a 12:30 kick-off.
