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USC
UCLA Notches Third Straight Win Over USC With 38-20 Victory
November 23, 2014 | Football
UCLA (9-2, 6-2) kept pace in the Pac-12 South with Saturday's win over USC (7-4, 6-4). With a victory against Stanford next Friday (12:30 p.m., Rose Bowl), UCLA can advance to the Pac-12 Football Championship Game for the third time in four years.
Hundley, who completed 22 of 31 passes, became UCLA's first quarterback since Cade McNown (1995-98) to guide the Bruins to at least three consecutive wins against USC. McNown helped UCLA win four straight against the Trojans from 1995 through 1998. Hundley also became the Bruins' all-time leader in total offense with 11,353 yards.
“We held it together emotionally, and USC did the exact same thing,” said UCLA head coach Jim Mora, speaking about the emotions of a rivalry game. “That is a credit to our staff and to their staff. That is a credit to their players and to our players. It was good, hard-fought football by two teams dying to get after each other.”
Paul Perkins led UCLA's rushing attack, netting 90 yards and one touchdown in 21 carries. The Bruins had touchdown receptions from Devin Lucien, Thomas Duarte and Eldridge Massington.
UCLA limited USC's offense to 276 total yards, including 62 on the ground. The Bruins held their opponent to fewer than 65 rushing yards for the second time this season (surrendered just 56 yards to California on Oct. 18).
USC quarterback Cody Kessler completed 22 of 34 passes for 214 yards and one touchdown.
After both teams traded two touchdowns into the early second quarter, the Bruins secured a 24-14 lead by halftime. Tied at 14-14, UCLA took the lead for good on Ka'imi Fairbairn's 32-yard field goal with 5:14 remaining in the second quarter.
Eric Kendricks, who finished with a game-high 14 tackles, came up with a critical interception in the final five minutes of the second quarter. UCLA drove 68 yards on an 11-play drive capped by Hundley's 13-yard strike to a wide-open Massington in the end zone with 14 seconds to play before intermission.
UCLA maintained momentum in the second half, receiving the opening kickoff and scoring a touchdown on a methodic, nine-play and 84-yard drive that spanned 3:07. A 10-yard carry into the end zone by Perkins put UCLA ahead, 31-14.
After holding the Trojans to three-and-out, UCLA charged downfield on a six-play, minute-long drive, capped by a 15-yard touchdown run by Hundley. The Bruin quarterback's rushing touchdown gave UCLA a commanding 38-14 cushion.
Pac-12 Networks Videos:
Recap/Analysis | Brett Hundley, Eric Kendricks Interviews
“We were up 24-14 at halftime after that touchdown, and to come in the second half and get that ball and go up 31-14 and then 38-14, that said a lot,” Hundley said.
In the first quarter, Hundley threw an interception on UCLA's second offensive play that was returned 17 yards for a touchdown by Anthony Sarao, putting the Trojans ahead, 7-0. Minutes later, the Bruins took advantage of a muffed punt by Nelson Agholor. Hundley completed a 10-yard pass to Lucien, tying the contest 7-7.
“Brett was really unaffected by the interception,” Mora said. “He came off the field and knew that he made a bad throw. He didn't let it bother him. The game just re-started for him. It's just fun to be around these guys. That shows how much he has matured through the year, the way he recovered after that throw.”
In the fourth quarter, USC ended the Bruins' 24-0 scoring run, trimming UCLA's margin to 38-20. Javorius Allen had a three-yard touchdown run with 3:08 to play before USC's two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
UCLA will host Stanford in both teams' regular-season finales on Friday, Nov. 28. Game time is 12:30 p.m. (PT). The game will be nationally televised on ABC.
Players Mentioned
