Another interception by Iman Marshall with less than five minutes left to play in the game sealed the deal for USC, as the Trojans punched their ticket to the Pac 12 Championship game on December 5 in Santa Clara, California against Stanford.
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UCLA is ranked number twenty-two in the nation thanks to and 8-3 record for the 2015 season.
It was apparent in October, when Athletic Director Pat Haden again turned to Helton, this time less than a week before the Trojans traveled to Notre Dame.
Kessler isn’t keen on the possibility of leaving USC without a win over UCLA. After another steady season, he would love to end his final game at the Coliseum on the stepladder leading the Spirit of Troy band after a slump-busting victory for the Trojans.
“It feels good. I’m starting to get into a really nice rhythm”, Davis said. UCLA’s next possession did not end very well either.
This rivalry’s momentum moves in waves: The Bruins dominated the 1990s, while USC largely controlled the 2000s.
Terry Donahue is the only UCLA coach to win more consecutive games in the series than Mora.
Hawkins and Payton worked together at a real-estate company as part of a summer course the duo took along with USC linebacker Su’a Cravens. “Hopefully we can get that done this week”. Mora has never lost to USC, a school he rarely deigns to address by name.
UCLA (22) at USC, USC by 3.5: Two talented if somewhat underachieving teams with a chance to salvage their season. “Coach Helton has all the confidence in me and that makes me play that much harder”. “‘It’s about the whole team”.
“Of all the guys I ever had, if anybody ever asked who I would pick to be a head coach, it would be him”, Goldsmith told the Los Angeles Times in 2013. “It hasn’t been just us'”. The Trojans lost two games in that span, falling to 3-3 on a season that began with a top-10 ranking, and off-field issues forced head coach Steve Sarkisian’s unexpected ouster. If the Trojans win their two remaining games, they will represent the South Division. The longtime offensive coordinator has done about as well as could be expected in brutal circumstances, but Helton realizes the extraordinary expectations at USC.
“Human nature is tough because everyone’s thinking, ‘Well, what are we going to do?’ ” said running backs coach Johnny Nansen, one of several assistants who came with Sarkisian from Washington.
But even if they don’t, there isn’t any excuse for them not to seriously consider keeping Helton running the show.
This is a rivalry game and UCLA can play pretty solid defense.
ROSEN’S TURN: Rattling Rosen and limiting his movement will be central challenges for USC’s defense, which was carved up by Oregon’s Vernon Adams Jr. last week.
“We made the (USC) defense look a little better than they necessarily were”, Rosen said.
The prospect of something as special as 1967, or 1988, or the 1990 shootout between quarterbacks Todd Marinovich and Tommy Maddox, went bust like that water pipe on Sunset that flooded Pauley Pavilion.
Safety Chris Hawkins blamed the defense’s issues on uncharacteristic lapses in concentration, allowing touchdown passes of 48, 52, 37, 30, 21 and 26 yards. He pronounced himself at 75 percent health earlier in the week despite problems with his ankle and leg and a broken hand.
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Both teams wore their home jerseys in the revived rivalry tradition on a crisp, clear day at the Coliseum. They don’t have great speed but they get open and they rarely drop passes.
