UCLA vs USC: Three things we learned from the real battle for LA
By Keith Rivas
This year’s UCLA vs USC game was another one filled with takeaways that will affect how top prospects will fare at the next level.
It’s always great to have a rivalry football game in which the two teams absolutely despise each other. No better game can be found on the college football calendar than UCLA vs USC, and it’s not even close.
Saturday night’s win in Los Angeles was the third straight win in the head-to-head series for USC, and it put them at 10-2 on the season in hopes of moving up from their eleventh spot in the rankings coming into the game.
Quarterbacks Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold are two of the top prospects who will soon be in the NFL. Both did their best for their team, with Darnold ending up with the win but Rosen showing him up on paper.
Rosen’s explosive start to the season was seen in glimpses during the regular season finale, but it was ultimately not good enough to beat a team that wasn’t going to let him walk all over them. Instead, USC held on in the latest installment of the best classic in college football.
The Trojans opened the game with a 14-7 lead heading into the second quarter, and maintained that advantage after a scoreless second frame by both sides. Then, UCLA and USC exchanged touchdowns to head to the fourth quarter with the Bruins still trailing by seven.
Josh Rosen and company got nine points on the board in the fourth quarter, but the Trojans only needed one score to stay ahead in the game and ultimately come away with the win. That being said, let’s jump into three things that we learned from the real battle for Los Angeles.