Football Monday: UCLA v. USC

Every UCLA football Saturday has so much more to it than a win or a loss. That’s why each postgame Monday, the Daily Bruin will break down the Bruins’ most recent game, outlining the good, the bad and the verdict for their performance.

This week, we take a closer look at UCLA’s 38-20 win over USC Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

The Good: Pass rush

An area of relative weakness all year long, UCLA’s pass rush flipped the script and stole the show on Saturday. After a season high of three sacks through the Bruins’ first 10 games, UCLA erupted with six against USC.

Five different Bruins slammed USC redshirt junior quarterback Cody Kessler to the ground, with redshirt senior defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa registering two sacks.

Kessler was forced to run for his life for much of the second half, constantly faced with pressure. The result was a disjointed Trojan passing game that gained just 214 yards through the air, a significant drop off from their season average of 294.9 passing yards per game.

While USC entered the game with the lauded defensive line featuring junior defensive lineman Leonard Williams, likely a top-10 NFL draft pick, UCLA’s defensive line made the bigger impact.

The Bad: Running game

UCLA totaled just 135 rushing yards Saturday – well off its season average of 215.8 yards per game entering the game Saturday – largely because of the talent of USC’s defensive line.

While redshirt sophomore running back Paul Perkins successfully passed USC redshirt junior running back Javorius “Buck” Allen for the lead in Pac-12 rushing yards, Perkins still averaged a meager 3.9 yards per carry compared to his season average of 6.2 yards per carry entering Saturday’s game.

Many of the Bruins’ rushing plays were blown up at the line of scrimmage, as the Trojan defensive front plugged all the holes.

Without a reliable running game, the Bruins leaned heavily on their passing. UCLA was able to capitalize on USC’s several lapses in coverage, which allowed for some wide-open receivers and big throws downfield. If not for those plays, UCLA’s offense may have struggled to move the ball without its run game at peak efficiency.

The Verdict: UCLA firmly in control

With their third consecutive win over the Trojans, the Bruins reaffirmed their command of not only the Pac-12 South, but college football’s biggest crosstown rivalry.

UCLA moved to 3-0 against USC under coach Jim Mora, with each victory coming by 10 points or more. The Bruins were dominant on both sides of the ball Saturday, as their offense did whatever it wanted en route to scoring 38 points through three quarters while UCLA’s defense smothered what had been a potent USC offense.

With the Bruins’ win, UCLA’s path to the Pac-12 title game is clear: beat Stanford on Friday and the Pac-12 South – along with a spot in the conference championship game – belongs to the Bruins.

Player of the Game: Redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley

Brett Hundley’s final game with UCLA can’t come soon enough for USC. Outside of an interception on his first throw, the redshirt junior quarterback was superlative, throwing for three first-half touchdowns before adding another on the ground in the third quarter, extending his mastery of the Trojans to three games.

Hundley was thoroughly efficient against USC, finding 10 different receivers on 22 completions – including a third-quarter pass to freshman receiver Mossi Johnson that moved Hundley into first place all-time in UCLA history for total offense.

Hundley totaled 326 yards through the air, surpassing 300 yards of offense for the sixth consecutive game and eighth time this season, in a thoroughly vintage performance.

Quote of the Game: Coach Jim Mora, on handling rivalry emotions

“One of the things I’m most proud of is the way we held it together emotionally. And USC did the exact same thing. I mean that was about as classy a rivalry game as you’re ever gonna find. … That was good, hard-fought football by two teams who are dying to get after each other.”