USC embarrassed in high-scoring defeat to UCLA

Senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson has history with USC. Thompson-Robinson had started two games against the Trojans in his career before Saturday, throwing for over 350 yards and 4 touchdowns in each game. His record in those games? 0-2.

Now, in his final season at UCLA, Thompson-Robinson had one more chance to make his mark on the crosstown rivalry game and he didn’t disappoint. The Trojans had no answer for him or the rest of the UCLA offense. USC lost 62-33, its first loss to the Bruins since 2018 and the most points the team has ever given up to UCLA.

“Those last two years stuck with us a little bit,” Thompson-Robinson said. “I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. ”

The lopsided scoreline wasn’t the only embarrassment on the day for USC. After Thompson-Robinson ran in a second-quarter touchdown to put UCLA ahead 28-10, his momentum carried him toward the stands, where a young USC fan got him to sign a UCLA hat. He was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, but the shame of an opposing player dishing out autographs in the middle of the game was enough to deflate the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

“It was definitely spur of the moment,” Thompson-Robinson said. “When you see a kid handing you a hat and a pen, [it’s] second nature to grab it. I was glad to make that kid’s day.”

Thompson-Robinson redeemed himself over the course of the game after throwing an interception on UCLA’s first two offensive drives. He found his rhythm and started hitting his receivers downfield in the second quarter. He finished the game 16 of 22 for 349 yards with 6 total touchdowns, 4 passing and 2 rushing.  

“We talked to him about not flinching,” Head Coach Chip Kelly said. “He’s a special player, and I’ve said it since the beginning. He’s as tough as they come, both mentally and physically, and that was on display today.” 

USC didn’t go down without a fight. After a UCLA missed field goal, freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart found sophomore wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr. on two-straight deep passes, the second of which went 44 yards and a touchdown in the middle of the third quarter. A failed 2-point conversion kept the Bruins up 35-26, but there was life in the Trojans. 

That was, until redshirt junior wide receiver Kazmeir Allen swiftly took the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Allen was untouchable on the day, dicing open both the USC secondary and special teams unit. He tallied 215 all-purpose yards and 3 total touchdowns. 

“It hits you a little bit,” said Dart about the kickoff return. “But we had a big play two plays later, so [we] didn’t really feel it as much. I just wish we would’ve capitalized on that drive, and who knows what would’ve happened.”

Dart’s first USC start had some electric plays but wasn’t enough to keep the Trojans in the game. He finished 27 of 47 for 325 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. 

“This was a game we had highlighted on our schedule,” Dart said. “It didn’t go the way we wanted, but it is what happened, and we gotta move on … I wasn’t able to do enough to come out with the win.”

USC showed some fight in the face of adversity, but a myriad of blown coverages, penalties and wasted opportunities defined the team’s sixth regular season and fifth conference loss. The Trojans gave up 609 total yards of offense, the most they’ve allowed this season. 

“They capitalized on a lot of the mistakes we made today, and we didn’t capitalize on the mistakes they made,” interim Head Coach Donte Williams said. “Every time the momentum swung in our way, they did things to, all of the sudden, swing it back [their way]. You can’t win a football game giving up 600 yards on offense, I don’t care who you play.” 

The hectic nature of the rivalry game defined the first quarter both on the field and the sidelines. Kelly got an unsportsmanlike conduct call, and UCLA also picked up a sideline interference penalty. USC picked up the slack by committing penalties for the remainder of the game, as the Trojans dished out 79 yards on 8 total penalties.

The fans at the Coliseum shattered the season attendance record, with 68,152 filling the seats. By the end of the game, it was the traveling UCLA fans and band making most of the noise. 

“We’re just not playing together,” redshirt senior center Brett Neilon said. “It just seems tough to get all three phases playing together at the same time … Maybe it’s just the culture that’s been established here, but it just seems like the same old story this year.”

USC must win both of its last two games to qualify for a bowl game. The Trojans will stay at home to face No. 14 BYU in their next game Saturday Nov. 27.