USC outlasts UCLA in offensive showcase

No. 7 USC secured a spot in the Pac-12 Championship by beating UCLA in a back-and-forth offensive fireworks show that saw the Trojans down by one point at halftime.

“Pretty cool to be sitting here, getting the 10th win and the chance to go to the [Pac-12] Championship game. It’s very meaningful,” said Head Coach Lincoln Riley. “With all that was riding on it on top of that, for us to find a way to get it done, that was a clutch performance by our team, a big-time win.”

Sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another — breaking a series record in the process with 503 combined yards, the most of any single player in the history of the rivalry.

“He’s been one of the best players in the country this year. He’s really played well,” Riley said of William’s Heisman candidacy. “It’s got to stay about the ball, and that’s the most important thing. I know that’s the most important thing to him and all of us.”

While UCLA scored the most points against the Trojan defense all season, USC recovered two fumbles and intercepted redshirt senior Dorian Thompson-Robinson three times.

One of Thompson-Robinson’s four turnovers ensured victory for the Trojans when sophomore rush end Korey Foreman came up with a timely interception as the Bruins were threatening to cross the 50-yard line with less than 1:30 remaining.

“It was really cool for [Foreman]. You just never know when it’s going to be your moment, and he was ready,” Riley said. “[Senior linebacker Shane Lee] made sure he had the call, and then he dropped back and made a great play on the ball. It wasn’t an easy play.”

Williams threw his third interception of the season on a pass over the middle that fell right into the hands of redshirt junior Kain Medrano. UCLA, already up 7-0, scored a touchdown on the following play. A play action pass caught USC’s secondary off-guard and redshirt senior tight end Michael Ezeike was left all alone for an easy score.

“You just want to limit the damage,” said Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch. “We certainly did not by any stretch of the imagination do a good job of it.”

Suddenly, the Trojans found themselves two touchdowns behind at the end of the first quarter. Williams scored on a 6-yard rushing touchdown to open the second quarter, putting the Trojans on the scoreboard.

Riley viewed the team’s response to an early deficit as a sign of growth for the 10-1 Trojans.

“Being down 14-0 and then not even flinching, not even thinking about flinching. You build these games up in your head,” Riley said. “You can’t write the script first, you have to just be ready to respond. For us to respond like that, over and over.”

After a “low-scoring” 21-20 first half, the floodgates broke loose. At one point in the second half, there were 6 consecutive touchdown drives, three by each team. Trojans across the board got involved and in the end zone.

Senior running back Austin Jones had 21 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns, taking on a large share of the carries left behind by senior running back Travis Dye, who exited last week’s game against Colorado with a season-ending ankle injury. Jones added 57 yards on four receptions.

“He was huge, but exactly what we expected him to be. Exactly what he has been. There’s not one person in the locker room surprised about the way he plays,” Riley said.

Junior wide receiver Jordan Addison had his first breakout game since returning from an injury picked up against Utah. The star receiver had 11 receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown.

Seven different Trojans had more than two receptions, with a team average of 14.7 yards per completion.

“Guys stepped up who haven’t had a statistically huge year tonight,” Riley said. “You go down the list, we keep talking about the closeness and culture and togetherness of this team, and I think it was on full display tonight.”

The Trojans secured a spot in the Pac-12 title game for the first time since 2020 and will face either Oregon or Washington in Las Vegas in early December. But first, USC will host its final home game of the season against a No. 18 Notre Dame team that has won its last five games and beat No. 9 Clemson.

USC will face the Fighting Irish Saturday at 4:30 p.m.