This post was updated Nov. 30 at 9:30 p.m.
It is over.
A season teeming with dysfunction, hope, indifference, disgust and everything in between concluded the only way it could – disappointingly.
And even a Trojan team still hung up on its College Football Playoff-eliminating loss to the Oregon Ducks could not alter the Bruins’ script.
Powered by quarterback Jayden Maiava’s 257 yards and two touchdowns, No. 19 USC (9-3, 7-2 Big Ten) kept the Victory Bell USC Cardinal red as it defeated UCLA football (3-9, 3-6) 29-10 in front of 69,614 fans Saturday evening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Trojan win ends the five-year streak of the away team winning the Battle for LA.
Despite leading 10-7 with possession of the ball to begin the third quarter, a costly eight-yard sack of redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava at USC’s 34-yard line forced UCLA out of field goal range. Interim head coach Tim Skipper had to make a decision.
Instead of trying for a long field goal or going for it on fourth down, the Bruins elected to punt, pinning the Trojans at their nine-yard line – but ultimately sealing their fate.
The Bruins felt the repercussions. Fast.
In less than five minutes of game time, Maiava found wide receiver Makai Lemon – a potential Biletnikoff Award winner – for a 32-yard touchdown, giving the Trojans a 14-10 lead that lit up the field and extinguished the Bruins’ flame.
Once the ball got rolling, it did not stop.
“We were controlling the pace of things. It was going the way we wanted it to go,” Skipper said. “Third quarter was kind of a seesaw battle a little bit. In the fourth quarter, penalties started adding up on us, and then we just didn’t make enough plays.”
The Trojans followed up with two consecutive pass breakups on wide receivers sophomore Kwazi Gilmer and redshirt senior Titus Mokiao-Atimalala – receptions that would have given the Bruins a first down in enemy territory.
And on what could have been a game-changing interception from redshirt senior defensive back Key Lawrence, two penalties – a roughing the passer call on redshirt senior defensive lineman Anthony Jones and a pass interference call on redshirt sophomore defensive back Cole Martin – wiped away the turnover and put the nail in the coffin.
A missed tackle on USC wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane gave USC 28 yards and a redzone trip that tight end Lake McRee capitalized on with a two-yard score, giving the Trojans an 11-point lead.
Ending an affair that was already over, a 41-yard rushing touchdown from running back King Miller brought the lead to 18, giving the tailback 124 yards and two scores on 7.3 yards per carry.
Rubbing salt in the wound, the Trojans converted a two-point conversion – following a touchdown that put them up 19 with fewer than three minutes to go – via a pass from holder and quarterback Gage Roy.
USC’s unnecessary two-point attempt only emphasized the tension between the two programs – hatred that reached its boiling point at halftime when jawing continued on the squad’s run into the shared tunnel despite coaches and staff attempting to separate the two.
But by night’s end, the USC Cardinal-painted Victory Bell reverberated with the chants of the Trojan faithful and echoed the disappointment of the sparse blue and gold that permeated the Coliseum’s red seats.
Despite the emphatically deflating end to an up-and-down season, Iamaleava was proud of the commitment he saw from players who could have fled a sinking ship.
“All the ups and downs throughout the year – our guys showed up every day to come work and achieve something that, unfortunately, came up short. That just shows the characters of our team,” Iamaleava said. “They didn’t have to show up after the way the season was going. That just shows their character, and that we’re all bought into what coach Skip had.”
Iamaleava’s commitment to the Bruins was emphasized by Skipper. The signal-caller played Saturday despite neck spasms that knocked him out from the Washington defeat and most of the practices leading up to the Battle for LA.
Although the injury hindered his preparation, the signal-caller finished with 200 passing yards and one score despite being brought down four times.
“He’s a tough dude, and he’s a competitor. He knows on Saturday he has to do everything he can to be ready to play. So he was dealing with neck spasm stuff from the last game, and then as we got to the end of the week, he started feeling good, and every day got better and better,” Skipper said. “Today, he went out there and gave it his all – so I love that kid. He’s a battler. He fought, and he kept leading us all the way to the end.”
In what could be his final game as a Bruin, Iamaleava stood firm in that he has yet to make a decision on his future.
With Skipper as the interim – and a new head coach to be announced as soon as next week – who knows who will be there the next time the Victory Bell rings.
