Jayden Maiava was on fire as USC rallied for a 19-13 victory over UCLA Saturday night at the Rose Bowl in the 94th edition of the Crosstown Showdown.
He passed for 221 yards and gave an assist to Ja’Kobi Lane midway through the fourth quarter to facilitate his team’s victory. It is the fifth straight year the road team has won in the series.
In the game, Maiava completed 19 of 35 passes, helping the Trojans to an upstanding record of 19 wins out of 26 against their neighboring rivals.
Ethan Garbers was 20 of 29 for 265 yards for the Bruins (4-7, 3-6). J. Michael Sturdivant had five receptions for 117 yards, and T.J. Harden rushed for 98 yards.
By halftime, UCLA trailed 9-3 but came back to take the lead with 9:37 remaining in the third quarter when Garbers hit Moliki Matavao on a tight end screen for a 10-yard touchdown.
They extended their lead to 13-9 when Mateen Bhaghani scored a field goal.
At the end of the first half, UCLA had been called for three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, so they had to kick off the second half from their 5.
The Trojans started on their own 48 after Lemon’s 16-yard kick return and they pushed for victory. In the fourth quarter, they were still trailing, but they weren’t fazed. They were fourth for their victory till the end.
“Awesome win,” USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said. “It was an interesting week, and we just decided from the very beginning that nothing out of our control was going to be an excuse. The only thing I can compare it to is maybe having gone through a COVID football season.”
The Bruins have dropped two straight and won’t be participating in the much-anticipated bowl.
“We let one slip through our hands. All of these losses have come to pretty us, letting them slip through our hands. We got to find a way to finish games,” Bruins coach DeShaun Foster said.
