UCLA wins latest in rivalry with USC
Listen to this articlePhoto above: UCLA fans let the USC Trojans know how they feel after UCLA beats USC for the third year in a row.
After looking at USC’s record and their great quarterback and receiving combo of Cody Kessler and Nelson Agholer, anyone would think last night’s match-up against UCLA in the Rose Bowl would be a close game. But it wasn’t.
The Trojans started out good, scoring a touchdown with an interception of a Brett Hundley pass, but the Bruins quickly began showing their dominance in this rivalry. The Bruins came back to score on a pass from Hundley to Devin Lucien and then less than a minute later Hundley delivered a 57 yard TD pass to Thomas Duarte.
USC was able to score in the 2nd quarter, on a two-yard pass from Cody Kessler to Justin Davis, but after that it was all UCLA.
The Bruins scored twice in the second quarter, a 32-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn and then a 13-yard pass from Hundley to Eldridge Massington.
SC did get another touchdown early in the 4th quarter, but by then the Bruins already had 38 points on the board. In the 3rd quarter Paul Perkins and Hundley both got rushing touchdowns.
The big factor in the Bruins third consecutive win over USC was their defense. They had an excellent game, holding the USC offense scoreless in the third quarter. They sacked USC quarterback Cody Kessler so often (six times) the grass stains on his uniform had grass stains. They also picked off one of his passes, stopping a drive.
The UCLA defense was the big difference.
Quarterback Brett Hundley and the UCLA offense had a great game as well.
When it was all over the final score was 38-20, for the UCLA Bruins.
The new polls aren’t out yet, so the two teams keep their positions in most of the leading polls. UCLA is in the top 12, #9 in the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings. USC is #19 in the CFP. Neither team can afford to lose next week. UCLA faces Stanford in the Rose Bowl on Friday and USC meets the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in the L.A. Coliseum for their ongoing rivalry.
Neither Notre Dame or Stanford are ranked close to the top 25, but after losing to crosstown rival UCLA, the Trojans cannot afford to lose to their other long time rival, Notre Dame.
UCLA would like to move up in the rankings, but a win over Stanford won’t do it unless they win in a high scoring blow out. It will be interesting to see where both UCLA and USC rank when the new polls are released.
And for the third year in a row the UCLA Bruins can once again claim the Victory Bell. For the UCLA student body and alumni, that’s probably the most important outcome of yesterday’s win.
All photos by Claudia Gestro
Claudia is of Peruvian and Italian descent, having been born in a small town, in the North of Peru, South America. She was raised by her grandmother from an early age, living in poverty until Claudia’s mother brought her to America. She landed in Miami, FL and started her new life, playing high school basketball and eventually becoming a United States citizen. Claudia completed her education at Florida International University with a BA in Broadcast Journalism and became a model to supplement her income. Since graduating from FIU Claudia has worked with many of the Spanish Language broadcasting companies, including Telemundo, Univision and most recently Spanish Language channels on SiriusXM satellite radio and PasTV Deportes in Venezuela.She encourages you to follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Her content appears here under a shared content agreement with her Spanish television clients.
