Third straight win over USC brings UCLA closer to goal of Pac-12 title

PASADENA—There were no wild screams. No mad dashes across the field. No mayhem in the Rose Bowl.

Instead, when the clock hit zero in UCLA’s 38-20 victory over USC, the Bruins calmly walked to midfield to shake hands with their opponents, then jogged to the student section, where they were hailed by their fans.

UCLA celebrated its win over its crosstown rivals, but there was nothing excessive about it; the celebration seemed subdued compared to those of the past two years.

It makes sense. After all, wins over the Trojans are becoming commonplace for the Bruins.

“I don’t want to sound cocky, I just think it’s expected for us to go out and play the way we did,” said redshirt junior wide receiver Devin Lucien.

UCLA won its third straight game against USC by frequently capitalizing on its opponent’s miscues.

First came a muffed punt by USC junior wide receiver Nelson Agholor early in the first quarter. The Bruins recovered the fumble at USC’s 8-yard line and easily tied the game at seven a few plays later after a Trojan defensive back fell down, leaving Lucien all alone in the back of the end zone for an easy touchdown catch.

Next, sophomore Y receiver Thomas Duarte darted across the middle uncovered and turned a quick slant into a 57-yard touchdown reception.

Later in the first quarter, the Trojans elected to attempt a fourth-down conversion from UCLA’s 5-yard line. The Bruins stuffed the run attempt and escaped unscathed from what seemed to be a surefire USC score.

USC’s next mistake came in the second quarter, when redshirt junior quarterback Cody Kessler floated a screen pass over his running back’s head and right to redshirt senior inside linebacker Eric Kendricks, who snagged a one-handed interception while toeing the sideline. On UCLA’s next drive, redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley found redshirt freshman wide receiver Eldridge Massington open over the middle for a 13-yard touchdown pass to put the Bruins up 24-14.

Having built a lead by making USC pay for its mistakes, UCLA didn’t look back.

“I don’t care what USC was going through,” Lucien said. “I was just trying to do my part in making them feel even worse.“

In the grand scheme of UCLA’s season, this win was just another step closer to its goal of winning the Pac-12 title, and earning a College Football Playoff bid. Coach Jim Mora emphasized after the game how his team’s focus needed to immediately shift to Stanford on Friday, which UCLA needs to beat to reach the Pac-12 title game.

“We don’t bathe in moments, we just move on to the next moment,” said Mora.

But on a more local scale, a third straight win over a long-dominant USC team was much more than just another step for UCLA.

“To finally get a third win over them and establish ourselves as a team that’s a force to be reckoned with is a great thing,” Lucien said.

It was a year ago that Mora shouted, “We own this town,” to his players in the tunnel of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after UCLA’s second straight win over USC.

On Saturday, the Bruins officially signed the deed of that lease.

“UCLA runs L.A.. And if you guys didn’t hear it last year, I think this year we made it stomp and sort of express that,” Hundley said.