This post was updated Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.
Mike Fafaul laid on the cool grass looking at the quiet and empty stands.
The only person in sight was offensive lineman Conor McDermott, lying inches away from him.
The redshirt seniors were taking in their final moments at the Rose Bowl after yet another game in an underwhelming season went horribly wrong for them.
For one quarter, the Bruins (4-7, 2-6 Pac-12) defied expectations.
They came out looking confident, aggressive and ready to take on the No. 13 Trojans (8-3, 7-2 Pac-12) on Saturday night.
Fafaul led the Bruins to the endzone on the opening drive with redshirt sophomore Jordan Lasley beating defender Adoree’ Jackson for the touchdown.
But USC didn’t flinch.
The Trojans answered immediately with their own touchdown drive after a 16 yard pass on third-and-17 and then converting on the following fourth-and-one to put pressure back on the home team.
UCLA continued going play for play against their crosstown rivals, putting up another touchdown and interceptions from senior linebacker Jayon Brown and redshirt senior defensive back Fabian Moreau.
But then everything came undone.
USC stormed to their second consecutive rivalry win 36-14 and stayed in the hunt for their second straight Pac-12 South title after a Utah loss earlier in the afternoon.
The UCLA offense sputtered after the first 15 minutes, notching just 121 total yards through the final three quarters of plays.
The defense, which kept the Bruins in games all season, couldn’t contain USC freshman quarterback Sam Darnold who coach Jim Mora described as a “younger (Dallas Cowboys quarterback) Tony Romo.”
“We haven’t played a guy that’s as mobile as he is, as heady as he is, can keep his eyes down the field like he can and then make throws down the field,” Mora said. “He gave us fits.”
Darnold replaced Max Browne at quarterback early in the season after USC’s 1-2 start, including losses to No. 1 Alabama and Pac-12 rival Stanford.
Since then, the freshman’s led the Trojans to seven straight wins and the cusp of a spot in the Pac-12 Championship game.
Darnold scampered around the Bruin defense and extended plays before finding players like junior wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster and sophomore tailback Ronald Jones II for the crucial first downs.
USC finished 12-21 and 2-2 on third and fourth down conversions respectively because of the dual-threat quarterback’s mobility in the pocket.
“Once he scrambles he’s able to make plays,” said senior defensive lineman Takk McKinley. “Our game plan was keep him in the pocket, collapse the pocket, but obviously we failed at it.”
Smith-Schuster, who briefly left the field with an injury, finished with 76 receiving yards on eight plays while Jones had 121 yards on the ground for two touchdowns for the Trojans.
Both players found gaps in the line before ping-ponging off defenders for the open play, including a 60 yard touchdown run on third-and-one in the second quarter.
“Had we gotten a stop there, things could have been different,” Mora said. “But it’s that shoulda, coulda, woulda.”
“Shoulda, coulda, woulda” plagued the team all season – four of UCLA’s losses this year had been by a single score and the Bruins led for the majority of the loss against the Cardinal before falling down the stretch.
On Saturday, the Trojans left no room for what-ifs and controlled every facet of the game: the line of scrimmage on both ends of the ball and time of possession, with 43:47 minutes to UCLA’s 16:13.
The Trojan defense buckled down on Fafaul who looked frazzled and rushed after his quick start in the first quarter.
His throws were off the mark and wide receivers could not secure the on-target catches as the game went on.
The Bruins were 11 of 24 on passes after the first quarter for just 113 yards.
Lasley, who reeled in the two touchdowns in the first half, couldn’t come up with similar plays against an impenetrable USC defense late in the game.
The running game continued its struggle, mustering up just 55 yards on the ground to 260 from the Trojans. 47 of those yards came in the outlier first quarter.
The Bruins wrap up one of their worst seasons in recent history next week on the road against the Cal Bears.
With tonight’s loss, UCLA will fall short of automatic bowl-eligibility for the first time under Mora. The Bruins will only receive a postseason invitation if they beat Cal and there are not enough .500 teams to fill the bowl games.
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