Nov. 21, 1992, was an evening to remember for all UCLA football
fans. That night, the Bruins stunned the Trojans, coming from
behind in the fourth quarter, down by 14 points to win 38-37.
“It was phenomenal,” 1975 alumna Jane Blitz said,
recollecting. “With the ‘SC game, I never doubt the
Bruins until the very end, and I had a feeling we could win that
game.”
Before the game could come down to heroic plays by J.J. Stokes
and a missed two-point conversion by USC, a fierce stalemate took
place.
The Trojans began the fight with a field goal, which was
answered by 10 points by UCLA in the next six minutes of play. USC
continued pushing and ended the quarter with a touchdown, to end
the period tied 10-10.
The second quarter was similar to the first, with both teams
playing well, scoring only one touchdown apiece. The 17-17 tie at
the half was not due to lousy officiating, or typical college
mistakes. Rather, the Trojans and the Bruins covered one another
perfectly, and tightened their defenses.
“I didn’t want (USC wide receiver Curtis) Conway to
have a big day, and I wanted to do something to help with the
win,” UCLA cornerback Carlton Gray said after the game.
And he held Conway tightly. Conway, who is currently with the
San Diego Chargers, was held to 69 yards and zero touchdowns.
“This was a unique game,” then- UCLA head coach
Terry Donahue said after the game. “The last two quarters
were totally different. USC totally dominated the third and UCLA
totally dominated the fourth.”
At the time, the Trojans were the best team in the Pac-10 at
5-2, and they needed a win to stay in first place.
In the third quarter, the Trojans started to march on to victory
with two touchdowns, including a score off a blocked punt.
Meanwhile, UCLA was held to nothing, and the game appeared
over.
“We had a terrible quarterback problem, but it was like a
movie,” 1950 alumnus Leo Howard said. “Half of our
family left early, but my wife and I stayed. It was just
unbelievable.”
The sun had set, and a majority of the 80,568 announced fans had
gone home. The Trojans looked like they were gods. But Bruin
quarterback John Barnes, in his third career start, stepped up to
lead UCLA to victory.
“We blew it,” USC head coach Larry Smith said after
the game. “(UCLA) made big plays and we didn’t do well
covering.”
UCLA scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including
two connections from Barnes to Stokes. Barnes threw for a total 385
yards ““ at the time, the third-highest total in school
history. He also connected with Stokes for a 90-yard touchdown to
put the Bruins up 38-31 with over four minutes left.
The two of them were the difference in the game.
“It was a great finish, and I thought we could come
back,” Stokes said after the game.
USC scored with 48 seconds left, but instead of going for the
tie, the Trojans failed on a two-point conversion ““ a
deflected pass ““ sealing the win for the Bruins.
The win was the second in a string of eight wins for UCLA.
And the memory remains 10 years later. USC currently has strung
together three wins of its own against the crosstown rival, but
fans would like to see an end to it.
“The Bruins do come back,” Howard said. “My
wife and I don’t leave many games, and when we do, we know we
won’t win, but we were there that night.”