A year ago, when U.S.C. visited UCLA at the Rose Bowl, it felt like the start of something big.
The Trojans were 9-1 in coaching Lincoln Rileythe first season of and the quarterback Caleb Williams The Heisman Trophy bid was just beginning to blossom. The Bruins were 8-2 and had proven their mettle with wins over Washington and Utah. Fox Sports’ top team Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt were in attendance in the house, a nod to the importance of the cross-town rivalry in the network’s Big Ten future.
Then there was the game itself – an all-time classic, a USC wins 48-45 clinched by a heartbreaking late interception for the dazzling Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
But on Saturday, when the Trojans and Bruins meet at the Coliseum, fans from both sides who dutifully attend will be more likely to commiserate about their dismay over another lost season than to hurl good-natured insults.
Each team has compiled four losses, falling from the top 25 a few weeks ago. For UCLA, struggling in sixth grade Chip Kelly era and coming out of a humiliating loss Saturday against 3-7 Arizona State, USC’s game feels more like the end of something. Or, at least, many frustrated Bruin diehards hope that’s the case.
UCLA fans now find themselves in the unenviable position of not necessarily rooting for their school to defeat its nemesis. If UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond is looking for any reason to keep Kelly around this offseason (considering he just extended his contract last year), a win against USC could certainly be enough. Judging by the tenor of the social media angst Saturday night, Jarmond voters would begrudgingly trade a year of bragging rights for a fresh start with a new head coach who wants to recruit and put his heart into the job. Westwood experience.
The problem for those past their breaking point with Kelly is that these Trojans are truly capable of losing to anyone and, if they’re just clumsy enough in their regular season finale, they could provide a easy exit to Jarmond.
It’s hard to understand given Riley’s standing among USC fans just six weeks ago, but they might now be angrier about the situation than UCLA fans.
USC fans were so quickly disillusioned that beating the particularly struggling Bruins hardly offers Riley’s team a chance to regain any respectability or project positivity in the offseason.
The focus has shifted to the search for the next defensive coordinator and the frustration has been directed toward the Trojans’ 2024 recruiting class, currently ranked No. 18 nationally with just a sprinkling of Southern California talent. USC fans should enjoy what will likely be Williams’ final game in a Trojan uniform, but they would also be wise to wonder who will take the first snap in 2024. It’s safe to say that Riley will be at big game hunting. for this position in the transfer portal very soon.
Riley has gone out of his way to say in recent weeks that he’s here to build the Trojans for the long haul, but we should prepare ourselves for the NFL coaching speculation that kicks off in a month. Every USC fan whose instinct is to say, “Well, good riddance!” should try to give Riley the benefit of the doubt. While continuing to learn, he remains one of the best young minds in the game and deserves more time to put his vision in place.
You see, USC and UCLA are actually surrounded by intrigue. It’s just sad that this had very little to do with Saturday’s game.
A note on 2-point conversions
My Saturday ended with witnessing the same decision late in the game in the Michigan-Penn State game and the USC-Oregon game.
Penn State scored a touchdown to pull within 24-15. I assumed, based on a lifetime of watching football, that Coach James Franklin would send in the kicker to make it a one-score game and keep hope alive for his team and the 100,000-plus crowd. Happy Valley fans, but instead kept the offense on the field. field to go for two.
I know analytics have taken over the game, and they say the right thing to do is to pick two so you know what it will take to win the game sooner and you can adjust your plan accordingly. result. With only a few minutes left, Penn State had a good chance of getting the ball back just once. So why not guarantee that if that happens, your team only needs a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie it?
Michigan stopped Penn State, ending the game. The Wolverines had minimal pressure to pick up a first down leading by nine points.
Later, Riley made the same call 36-27. Then again, after watching your team fight to stay in the game all night, wouldn’t you want to extend hope for a miracle on another set of downs? USC didn’t convert either and the game ended sooner than it should have.
USC coach Lincoln Riley spoke with quarterback Caleb Williams during the loss to Oregon, forcing the issue Saturday by going for a two-point conversion as a try extra point would have made it a one possession game.
(Andy Nelson / Associated Press)
I would understand going for the conversion if there were four to five minutes left, and you could conjure up a scenario to reduce two more offensive possessions by nine.
I would understand a lot better if the team was down by eight and had the opportunity to close the gap to six. In this case, if you don’t convert, you’re still one score away.
Next time, Riley should skip the scans on this one. Also, as a general rule, you never want to be associated with Franklin’s in-game decisions.
Playoff Setup
The College Football Playoff field is starting to take shape.
The Georgia-Alabama winner is here. The Michigan-Ohio State winner is here. Florida State is there if they win, which is likely. Washington is in if it wins — although that’s a pretty giant if with a road game at Oregon State and a rematch with surging Oregon.
Things will get interesting if the Huskies or Seminoles lose and Alabama beats Georgia. The debate would then focus on the two-time defending champions, at 12-1, and potentially a 12-1 Oregon or a 12-1 Texas (either would be conference champion).
Has Georgia done enough? The Bulldogs are surely a top-four team, but their resume wouldn’t feature a marquee win comparable to Texas’ win at Alabama or Oregon’s win over Washington.
I think the Longhorns winning in Tuscaloosa would be the trump card.
So Oregon will likely need some help down the stretch, especially in the form of another Texas loss.
