The UCLA football team’s day started with spectacles ““ a crisp and brilliant Pasadena sky, the roars of rival crowds, an emotional pre-game ceremony and an amazing, acrobatic first touchdown catch by star senior tailback Kahlil Bell.
But the rest of the afternoon was bleak and ordinary; another loss and another solemn locker room gave the conclusion to the Bruins’ 2008 season a familiar feeling of defeat and despair.
Unable to protect their quarterback, throw downfield or muster a legitimate running attack, the Bruins (4-8, 3-6 Pac-10) fell 28-7 to crosstown rival USC (11-1, 8-1) on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. A decent UCLA defensive effort meant little. The Bruin offense never mounted a serious attack, and the No. 5 Trojans controlled throughout the contest.
“We let the game get into a position where we needed to do more than we were capable of offensively,” UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said.
The Trojan defense simply paralyzed UCLA. The Bruins converted only two of their 13 tries on third down; they averaged only 2.2 yards per run and 3.8 yards per pass. UCLA rarely tried to throw deep because of the Trojan’s excellent pass rush and secondary coverage. Instead, the Bruins relied on runs and short passes.
“USC is the type of team where you can’t really run anything flamboyant,” UCLA junior wide receiver Terrence Austin said. “They’re not going to fall for it, because their guys are that good. You have to go right at them; you can’t go around them or try anything else, because they’re not going to bite.”
With that slow, conservative attack, the Bruins managed to keep things close for most of the first half. But in that type of scheme, a single mistake can cripple a team, and that mistake came for the Bruins near the end of the second quarter.
Redshirt sophomore defensive end David Carter bumped USC senior punter Greg Woidneck and officials called a 15-yard personal foul penalty, after the Bruins had stopped the Trojans’ drive. The foul gave the Trojans a first down and momentum, and they scored several plays later to open a 21-7 lead at halftime.
UCLA defenders Brian Price, Brigham Harwell and Akeem Ayers were also called for personal foul penalties.
“That’s just emotion,” defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said. “Some of the calls were questionable, and normally I’d go crazy, but I didn’t go crazy today. I just let it go.”
Price, a sophomore, seemed exasperated when asked about the calls after the game.
“I’m not going to comment on the officials,” he said. “All I will say is that we played hard, and we were trying to get the quarterback. We were just playing football.”
It was still a fair effort by the Bruin defense, though, considering the high-power nature of the Trojan offense. Price forced a fumble on USC’s first offensive play, and redshirt senior cornerback Michael Norris snagged an interception in the second quarter. USC quarterback Mark Sanchez finished with 269 yards passing. Joe McKnight led the Trojans with 99 yards rushing.
“I felt like if offensively and defensively we could have made a few more plays, we could have made it even more interesting,” Walker said. “But it is what it is ““ they have a program that is top five in the country, and we are building.”
Frustration was more evident among UCLA’s offensive players and coaches.
UCLA quarterback Kevin Craft completed only 11 of his 28 passing attempts (39 percent). Craft mostly threw short passes, as he has throughout the season. But against the Trojans, UCLA struggled to execute even the simplest plays. Craft missed redshirt junior tight end Ryan Moya on a short screen pass in the second quarter, then the Bruins failed to convert a third-and-one in the third quarter.
“Every time you make a mistake in execution it’s upsetting,” freshman tackle Jeff Baca said. “But especially when it’s short distance, especially against your rival.”
UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow said the pure talent on the Trojan defense would have made things difficult for UCLA even if the Bruins had found a way to execute better.
“They had eight seniors and five NFL draft picks on that defense,” Chow said. “That’s hard ““ I don’t care what you say, that’s hard. I’m not trying to make excuses, but that’s hard.”
And as the Bruins labored, the Trojans seemed to be always smiling and celebrating. USC, playing on UCLA’s home field, reveled more in every big moment, acknowledged their large body of fans, and, UCLA players said, never stopped talking.
“I’m not really a trash-talker like that; I’m more of a humble kick-back guy,” UCLA freshman safety Rahim Moore said. “But if somebody says something to me, I’m going to say something back. It’s just part of the game; it’s a big-time rivalry game.”
Neuheisel said the rivalry felt a little different this year. He played in the UCLA-USC matchup as a UCLA quarterback in 1984 and coached here in the early 1990s.
“This is an emotional game,” he said. “I had forgotten just how emotional it is.”
It all came to a climax before the start of the second half, when USC players congregated near midfield and began to jump and whoop and roar. The UCLA team moved towards them, just as loud and jubilant, before referees separated the teams.
Neuheisel said he would support a rule which penalized that type of boasting.
After USC’s fourth and final touchdown ““ a 16-yard bullet from Sanchez to Patrick Turner ““ the Trojans danced in front of the north end zone, where a large portion of their partisans sat.
Price started to walk towards those USC players, but a coach restrained him.
The Bruins did not have the talent to compete with USC Saturday. And on a day when their season, filled with tribulations and setbacks, came to a close, they couldn’t really find a way to match the Trojans’ joy and exhilaration.
“You can have fun like that when you’re winning,” UCLA redshirt junior linebacker Reggie Carter said. “But when you’re losing, you’re not having any fun.”