Turnovers Prove Costly as UCLA Football Loses to Rival USC

The Bruins had a shot to stage a late comeback, but fell just short and lost to their crosstown foes.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson dropped back to pass, needing to lead one last scoring drive to carry the Bruins to victory.

It wound up being his final throw at the Rose Bowl, as the Trojans picked him off at midfield to hand him the loss.

No. 16 UCLA football (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12) lost to No. 7 USC (10-1, 8-1 Pac-12) in a 48-45 barnburner on Saturday night. The Bruins have now lost three of their last five games and three of their last four against the Trojans.

There was hope for UCLA early on, though, as well as some serious juice late thanks to well-timed sacks plus gaudy stats and genuine toughness from Thompson-Robinson and others, but his three picks wound up costing his team dearly down the stretch.

And, as has been the case for most of the Chip Kelly era, the Bruins’ defense gave out too.

UCLA actually opened the game with a fourth down stop, then caught a break when USC missed a field goal and threw a pick. They capitalized on the missed kick with an 80-yard scoring drive that ended in a quarterback sneak, then Thompson-Robinson hit a wide open tight end Michael Ezeike immediately following the interception for a 30-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.

The Trojans stole back some momentum by scoring a touchdown on a quarterback draw by Caleb Williams, and they hit a field goal after forcing the Bruins to punt. A second QB sneak touchdown by Thompson-Robinson appeared to give UCLA some more control again, but USC answered with a touchdown to tighten things up again.

Just when the Bruins were starting to move the ball in the two minute drill heading into the half, Thompson-Robinson threw a pick to botch the possession. The Trojans were forced to take a 33-yard field goal after throwing three straight incompletions, but they missed that one as well.

Instead of running out the last 39 seconds on the clock and going into halftime with a 21-17 lead, Kelly elected to make another push down the field. That led to another interception from Thompson-Robinson, and USC hit a 49-yard field goal to cut the lead to one heading into the break.

UCLA got those three points back on the other side of the half, but then gave up a quick 14 points to lose their grip on the lead.

After Williams hit receiver Jordan Addison for a 35-yard touchdown, Thompson-Robinson gave it right back on a strip sack. It took the Trojans two plays to get back into the end zone, and suddenly it was 34-24 USC.

That opened up a hot scoring streak for both sides, as the next six drives all led to touchdowns.

Thompson-Robinson hit Ezeike from 6 yards out for his second touchdown of the night, and after throwing a 55-yard touchdown to receiver Kazmeir Allen, he tossed another to Ezeike from 1 yard out. Despite that string of scoring drive, the Bruins couldn't close the gap to fewer than three points since the Trojans were on an equally potent run of their own.

UCLA finally got a stop after letting USC march all the way down to the 34, as edge rusher Laiatu Latu sacked Williams on third down to force their first punt of the night. The Bruins took over down by three at their own 11 with 2:15 left on the clock, setting up the decisive drive that could have changed the course of both teams' seasons.

Thompson-Robinson hit receiver Jake Bobo for one first down, but threw the deciding pick two plays later.

The Bruins' star fifth-year quarterback completed 23 of his 38 passes for four touchdowns, also rushing for two more scores with 81 yards. Thompson-Robinson's four turnovers may have only led to two scoring drives, but the 10 Trojan points that came from them proved to be the difference in the instantly iconic rivalry showdown.

Williams, on the other hand, protected the ball after his lone giveaway early on and finished the night with 503 total yards and three total touchdowns. Running back Austin Jones did a lot of damage himself with 120 yards and two touchdowns, outdueling Zach Charbonnet, who finished with 95 yards on a season-worst 5 yards per carry.

In pulling out the win, USC remained in the College Football Playoff hunt and asserted itself in the race for the Pac-12 title. UCLA, meanwhile, saw its chances at a championship disappear completely.

The Bruins now need to beat Cal on the road on Nov. 25 in order to reach nine wins and improve upon their record from 2021. The season that was shaping up to be one of the most prolific in program history has officially taken a turn in the other direction, and having to watch the Trojans leave the Rose Bowl with the Victory Bell only cemented it.

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