University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
USC
UCLA, USC Meet at Coliseum for Crosstown Showdown
November 14, 2017 | Football
UCLA at USC
Saturday, November 18, 2017 โ 5 p.m. (PT)
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: L.A. Coliseum (93,607)
Television: ABC
TV Crew: Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Maria Taylor (sideline)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network from IMG College): AM 1150/AM 570
Radio Analyst: Josh Lewin (play-by-play),Matt Stevens (analyst), Wayne Cook (sideline)
ESPN Radio: Bill Rosinski, David Norrie, Ian Fitzsimmons
SIRIUS/XM Radio: Sirius and XM Ch. 80; Internet 966
BRUINS AT NO. 12 USC SATURDAY โ UCLA (5-5, 3-4) will travel over to the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday, Nov. 18 to take on No. 12 USC (9-2,7-1) at 5:00 p.m. PT. The game will be televised by ABC. The Bruin IMG Radio Network will radio broadcast the contest, which will also be aired over Sirius/XM, ESPN Radio, uclabruins.com and tunein.com and the TuneIn App.
The Bruins trail in the series 46-31-7 (USC wins in '04 and '05 have been vacated due to NCAA penalties). USC has captured the last two meetings to snap a three-game UCLA series win streak (38-20 in 2014 in the Rose Bowl, 35-14 in 2013 at the LA Coliseum and 38-28 at the Rose Bowl in 2012). The winning team has scored at least 35 points in the last six meetings. The last game to be decided by less than a 10-point margin was UCLA's 13-9 win in 2006. Both teams will wear their home jerseys, a tradition re-started for the 2008 game. The winner of the game will take home the Victory Bell and earn points in the Crosstown Cup competition (10 points for football win) which is contested in all sports each year in head-to-head Bruin-Trojan battles. UCLA currently leads the Crosstown Cup competition by a 30-5 margin.
Southern California defeated UCLA a season ago in the Rose Bowl on a chilly Saturday night, racking up 527 yards of total offense. The Bruins got off to a hot start as Mike Fafaul connected with Jordan Lasley on a 56-yard scoring play less than two minutes into the contest. USC answered right back with a nine-play touchdown drive. After the teams traded punts, UCLA moved down into field goal position, but JJ Molson's attempt from 45 yards was blocked.Fabian Moreau then intercepted a Sam Darnold pass to provide another Bruin scoring opportunity and Fafaul hooked up with Lasley on a seven-yard touchdown pass to push UCLA into a 14-7 lead. USC returned the favor when Ronald Jones broke loose from a scrum at the line and dashed 60-yards for a tying touchdown on the next series. USC forced a Bruin three-and-out after the kickoff and then moved ahead for good on a 4-play 65-yard drive capped off by a Darnold scoring pass.
In the last meeting in the Coliseum, USC tallied 20 straight second-half points and clinched a South title with a 40-21 win. A punt return for a score just before half made it 20-14 for USC and turned the momentum towards the home team. USC went ahead to stay in the third quarter after returning a Josh Rosen fumble for a score. Paul Perkins ran for two Bruin touchdowns. Rosen passed for 227 yards and threw a scoring pass to Thomas Duarte. He also had two interceptions which ended a school-record 245 pass streak without a pick.
Brett Hundley threw for 326 yards and three scores and ran for another as UCLA topped USC in the 2014 meeting in Pasadena. UCLA limited the Trojans to 276 total yards, including 62 on the ground, and recorded six sacks. The Bruins broke a 14-all tie on Ka'imi Fairbairn's 32-yard field goal with 5:14 to play in the second quarter. UCLA then upped the lead to 24-14 at the break, following an interception by Eric Kendricks and a Hundley to Eldridge Massington scoring pass with 14 seconds to go before the half. The Bruins took the second half kickoff and went 84 yards on nine plays to go up 31-14.
In UCLA's 2013 win in the Coliseum, Hundley threw for 202 yards and ran for two touchdowns. LB Myles Jack and DL Eddie Vanderdoes also ran for scores after lining up in the backfield. UCLA owned a 14-7 halftime lead and then outscored the home team by the same margin in quarter No. 3 to move out to a 28-14 advantage. A Perkins scoring run made the final score 35-14.
The Bruins scored the first 24 points in the '12 contest which was played in a mist which turned into a steady rain in the second half. Hundley passed for 234 yards and a touchdown and rushed for two more scores as UCLA clinched a second-straight Pac-12 South title with the win. Kendricks blocked a punt and made a fourth-quarter interception. Johnathan Franklin rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns on the day.
THE WATCH LIST โ
โข Over last 12g, Josh Rosen has thrown 488 passes, with 299 completions (.613) for 4,092 yards (school record is 3,740 yds) and 10 int., 27 tds.
โข UCLA is averaging 6.5 yards per play which would approach a school record mark - the only other seasons (dating to 1945) in which UCLA has averaged more than 6.5 yards per play are 6.81 in 1998 and 6.62 in 1973.
โข LB Kenny Young leads the team in tackles (77) and his average per game of 8.6 is fourth in P12 ... S Adarius Pickett is second with 69 stops (13th in P12 6.9 avg. per g), S Jaleel Wadood is third with 61 overall tackles (7th in P12 7.6 per game); CB Nate Meadors tops the team with 7 pass break-ups; DL Jacob Tuioti-Mariner and DL Chigozie Nnoruka lead with 6.5 TFLs; Tuioti-Mariner tops the team with 5.5 sacks (9th in P12 with 0.55 average per game) and had a career-best 10 stops vs. ASU ... He has 20 tackles in last three games.
โข The record /ranking of teams which have beaten UCLA on road: 35-14 -- #18 Memphis 8-1, #20 Stanford 7-3, Arizona 7-3, #16 UW 8-2, Utah 5-5.
โข CB Nate Meadors' 27-yd interception return for a score vs. ASU was third TD by Bruin defense this season (T10th in NCAA, T1st in P12).
โข Only five players on the current roster have started multiple games vs. USC: C Scott Quessenberry (2016, '14, '13), LB Kenny Young (last 3), S Jaleel Wadood (last 2), CB Nate Meadors (last 2), WR Darren Andrews (last 2) ... Only three players on current roster started Bruins' 2014 win: LB Kenny Young, C Scott Quessenberry, WR Eldridge Massington ... Quessenberry is lone Bruin to start the 2013 win at the Coliseum.
โข UCLA is 5-0 while playing in the Rose Bowl this season ... the last time the Bruins registered a perfect mark at home was in 2005 (6-0).
โข WR Jordan Lasley is tied for P12 lead with four 100-yard receiving games this season... He had 7 catches for career-best 162 yards vs. ASU.
โข Josh Rosen ranks first in the Pac-12 in passing yards per game (343.8) and total offense (340.6) / third in passing yards (3,094). The last Bruin to lead the Conference in passing yards/g and total offense was Tommy Maddox in 1990.
โข WR Theo Howard leads the team with a reception in each of the last 13 games.
โข LB Kenny Young has 74 tackles in the last 7 games, with high this season of 12-tackles each at Stanford, vs. Colorado, vs. Oregon and at Utah.
โข Last 4 games: S Adarius Pickett has made 24 stops.... DL Chigozie Nnoruka and LB/DE Keisean Lucier-South have made 22 tackles each , DL Marcus Moore has 16 tackles, 5.5 TFL and a forced fumble; DL Osa Odighizuwa has 10 tackles, 3.5 TFL and fumble return for TD.
โข Kenny Young (271) needs 8 more stops and Jaleel Wadood (268) 11 more tackles to move into the all-time Bruin Top 20 tackle list.
โข Six players in their first year as defensive starters were in opening lineup vs. Arizona State - DL Marcus Moore, DL Boss Tagaloa, DL Chigozie Nnoruka, LB Krys Barnes, LB Keisean Lucier-South, S Mossi Johnson (1st career start on def.), CB Colin Samuel (1st career start) ... Six players in first-year as starters on defense at Utah - Nnoruka, Tagaloa, Moore, Lucier-South, Barnes, CB Darnay Holmes ... 9 freshmen defenders saw action vs. ASU and 10 (R=redshirt) at Utah: DL Martin Andrus, CB Darnay Holmes, LB Rahyme Johnson, LB Mique Juarez (R), S Quentin Lake, DL Marcus Moore (R), Osa Odighizuwa (R), CB Mo Osling III, DL Jaelan Phillips (not ASU), DL Greg Rogers.
โข Josh Rosen is tied for first in the P12 with six 300-yard passing games this season.
โข Freshman and Soph defenders made 49 of UCLA's 96 tackles vs. ASU (51%) ... 13 freshmen and 15 sophomores were in action vs. ASU.
โข WR Christian Pabico's 99-receiving yards effort vs. Oregon was most productive game by Bruin walk-on receiver since Danny Farmer, who started his career as walk-on before getting a scholarship, had 148 vs. ASU in 1999.
โข 15 different receivers have caught at least 2 passes; 9 have at least 10-yard per catch avg. and 8 have caught a touchdown pass this season.
โข With its 573 yards of offense vs. ASU, UCLA tied the all-time school season mark of five such games (also 2014, 1998, 1976, 1973) ... With its 595-yard performance this season at Stanford, UCLA set a school mark with its fourth consecutive 500-yard total offense games in a season.
