Trojans run past UCLA

Los Angeles, CA (News 4U Online) – This was not the easy win that many people thought that the USC Trojans would have against an outmanned UCLA football team. The Bruins finished the season on a whimper, surrendering a 29-10 defeat to their crosstown rivals. 

“That was a fun night in the Coliseum right there. Another phenomenal atmosphere,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said. “One of the things we talked about earlier in the season with this team was protecting our home, and there’s two parts of that. It’s one, that us as a program, playing well at home. And then the flip side of that is the Coliseum lit up like it was tonight.”

“There was a major factor in the game. Again, it was an awesome, awesome atmosphere. It has been all year. For us to run the table here at home and play the way that we did was really key to this season. And yeah, a tremendous win,” Riley went on to say.  

But that score is somewhat deceptive. The Trojans didn’t actually have the game in hand until running back King Miller busted a 41-yard touchdown run with 2:29 left in the fourth quarter. 

Up until that point, the Bruins fought the Trojans tooth and nail for every single yard, every pass play, and kept USC’s offense under wraps for the greater part of three quarters. 

And for a half, UCLA held victory over USC. The Bruins went into intermission with an impressive defensive effort to hold the Trojans’ offense to a single score. As it was, the Bruins held a 10-7 advantage against the Trojans, a somewhat shocking showing from both teams. 

Up until the fourth quarter when the Trojans outscored the Bruins, 15-0, UCLA gave USC everything it could handle on both sides of the ball. In essence, this game was a lot closer than what a lot of people thought it would become. 

“It’s a game of moments,” UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper remarked during his postgame comments. “In the first half, we were controlling the pace of things, it was going the way we wanted to go. The second half and the third quarter were kind of a seesaw battle. And in the fourth quarter, penalties started adding up on us, and we just didn’t make enough plays. We started moving and then we went backwards. The guys fought though, I’m proud of the guys. They fought their tails off. We wanted to win this battle for LA. We attacked the moment. We had good practices all week, and I really feel like they gave their all, so I’m proud of that.”

The Bruins battled all the way until the end. The Bruins could have easily folded the tent and packed their bags when the Trojans took their opening drive of the ballgame. That didn’t happen. Nico Iamaleava gave everything to the Bruins in the first half.

When UCLA needed a big run, Iamaleava delivered. When the Bruins needed key plays to walk into halftime with a lead, Iamaleava led the way. 

Unfortunately, for Iamaleava and his UCLA teammates, a football game is not declared over until at least the fourth quarter has been played. Meaning, after playing with nothing to lose in the first half, the Bruins saw USC will its way to victory. 

Though disappointed in the loss to USC, Iamaleava talked about his growth and what he has learned in Westwood. 

“It was a great learning year for me,” Iamaleava said. “A lot of firsts for me throughout the season. Just the way we started off and dealing with minor injuries, it was a lot. It showed me that I’m willing to go out there and put my life on the line for my teammates with whatever is needed. We put up a great fight today, it was unfortunate we came up short.”