Here’s the scenario …
USC is up 21-7 over UCLA. It’s the fourth quarter, and only 54 seconds are left after the Trojans have taken a knee on first down.
UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel uses one of the three time-outs to stop the clock, much to the dismay of the Trojan crowd, as it begins to boo vehemently.
And next thing you know, those boos transform into the loudest cheers heard all night.
USC quarterback Matt Barkley throws a 48-yard strike to wide receiver Damian Williams to stretch the Trojans’ lead to 28, but moreover, to send a message to UCLA:
This is still our town.
At least that’s what I took from the late slap-in-the-face by the Trojans. I tried to think of other reasons, but I just couldn’t.
The game was over, so USC certainly didn’t need the points for insurance. It had been a clean game up to that point, so the Trojans weren’t looking for any type of revenge for earlier game misconduct.
They simply wanted to send a message: USC football is the big show in town.
And rightfully so.
But Pete Carroll has to be a bit worried.
Although the Trojans won Saturday night, the final score was not representative of how the game actually went.
USC was not 21 points better than UCLA on Saturday.
“Anybody watching this game knows that these programs aren’t far apart,” Neuheisel said after the game.
And he’s right. Aside from one jumped route and one bad pass by an injured redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince, both of which resulted in interceptions, this game was a dogfight.
Fourteen of the Trojans’ 28 points came off of bad Bruin turnovers, and seven of USC’s points came off of the late-game surprise throw.
Fact is, USC’s offense couldn’t score on the Bruins’ defense. Only one of the Trojans’ offensive drives resulted in an offensive touchdown, and that wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter.
As far as the late touchdown goes, there were some mixed reviews between Neuheisel and his players. A lot of fans and media alike were confused as to why Neuheisel would call a time-out after the Trojans took a knee, but Neuheisel basically said he wasn’t ready to give up.
“I had three time-outs,” Neuheisel said. “They took a knee on first down, I called a time-out. I was trying to make them punt.”
And if Slick Rick was angry about the touchdown, he didn’t show it in the postgame press conference.
“It’s our job to cover,” Neuheisel said.
“They have every right to throw the ball deep. We got to cover it,” he added.
He didn’t seem angry until this gem of a quote that is …
When asked if he’ll keep that last play in the back of his mind, Neuheisel responded accordingly:
“I don’t forget very much.”
And I couldn’t help but notice how red Slick Rick’s face turned when he said it.
UCLA players, however, weren’t so subtle about their frustration with the late-game pass.
One of them was the outspoken sophomore free safety Rahim Moore.
“We was pissed,” Moore said. “I was shocked actually, how they just scored on us. They low-key disrespected us.”
Moore didn’t stop there.
“They came out in a regular formation, and I bet everybody thought they was going to run the ball,” Moore said. “But they end up passing it, and everybody was like, “˜Wow.’ They was just shocked.”
“I was speechless man, I don’t even know what happened.”
And then Moore had just a little bit more to say.
“They felt like, “˜OK, they want some more,'” Moore said. “Knowing their coaching staff, they was like, “˜OK, we going to take a shot on them.’ We should have known that man, but, hey, they caught us slipping.”
He’s like a quote factory, that Rahim Moore.
Anyway, the bottom line is the rivalry is heating up. It’s been slightly friendly up to this point.
That’s not what Los Angeles wants.
We want anger, and we want passion. We want whatever the word is directly prior to hatred.
But most of all, we hope Neuheisel doesn’t forget what happened Saturday night.
E-mail Watson at bwatson@media.ucla.edu.