Don’t start studying for finals just yet, folks. This one’s still worth watching.
Though both the UCLA and USC football programs have seen greener pastures, the first half of the school’s annual rivalry game kept the adrenaline running for supporters of both sides.
Going into the break, the Trojans had a 14-7 lead, but both teams missed opportunities to score even more than that.
The Cardinal and Gold fans were the first with a real chance to stretch their vocal chords after the Trojans scored a touchdown on their second possession.
USC tailback Dillon Baxter received a direct snap and fired a five-yard pass to tight end Rhet Ellison who was open in the South endzone.
But the Blue and Gold faithful got theirs a moment later.
UCLA redshirt sophomore running back Johnathan Franklin found a higher gear, burning USC’s secondary and taking it to the house on a 59-yard sprint to the endzone. The score tied the game at seven points apiece.
At the start of the second quarter, the Trojan offense had a fourth-and-13 sitting safely in the red zone at the Bruin 17 yard-line.
Instead of going for the three-point attempt, however, USC coach Lane Kiffin called a fake field goal.
Holder and backup quarterback Mitch Mustain’s pass fell incomplete, the team’s second turnover on downs in the game, which gave the ball back to UCLA.
It looked like the Bruins would be able to capitalize on the mistake after junior wide receiver Nelson Rosario caught a 42 yard-pass down the right sideline, but the momentum would suddenly swing in the other direction.
Franklin fumbled the ball on a short rush on the USC 33-yard line, which Trojan Malcolm Smith took 68-yards the other way for a defensive touchdown that gave his team a 14-7 lead.
UCLA sophomore quarterback Richard Brehaut had 57 passing yards after completing just three of his 11 first-half passes.
Franklin provided much of the Bruin offense with 104 total yards.
USC’s own sophomore quarterback, Matt Barkley, led an efficient Trojan passing attack with 100 yards, with 57 of those going to wide receiver Robert Woods.
If, by some chance, UCLA does not score again, it will be the fourth straight year that the Bruins have finished with just seven points against their cross-town rival.