USC Trojans beat UCLA 29-10 behind another strong second-half showing

USC outscored UCLA 22-0 over the second half as the Trojans erased a 10-7 halftime deficit on their way to a 29-10 win over the Bruins. Running back King Miller rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Jayden Maiava completed 21-of-29 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. And the USC defense recorded its first sack in three games, finishing with four.

USC’s defense bent all the way inside the redzone but a third-down pass breakup by DJ Harvey and a fourth-down sack by Jadyn Walker ends the UCLA drive and gives the Trojans the ball at their own 11-yard line with just 46 seconds to play.

King Miller breaks free for a 41-yard touchdown and USC goes for two after the score. Backup quarterback Gage Roy tosses it up for Walker Lyons, who comes down with the reception. It’s 29-10 USC with 2:29 remaining and Miller is up to 124 rushing yards and two touchdowns tonight.

UCLA got a chunk play on 4th-and-15 but Desman Stephens makes the stop five yards short of the line to gain. USC will take over at its own 35-yard line with 4:17 remaining in the game, leading 21-10.

Iamaleava connects with Titus Mokiao-Atimalala for 24 yards on a 3rd-and-22 to keep the UCLA drive alive as the clock ticks under 7 minutes to play.

Tight end Lake McRee gets involved on senior day with a two-yard touchdown reception to cap a four-play, 57-yard drive. That’s McRee’s third reception today. Jayden Maiava is now 21-of-29 for 257 yards and two touchdowns. It’s 21-10 USC with 11:24 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Jayden Maiava attempted a deep ball that was intercepted by UCLA safety Key Lawrence, but the Bruins were flagged for both pass interference (declined) and roughing the passer (accepted) on the play. The 15-yard penalty moves the ball across midfield to the UCLA 42-yard line.

USC got the benefit of two UCLA drops and forced a punt, which Makai Lemon took back 35 yards for his second big play in quick succession. The Coliseum crowd is starting to feel the USC momentum as the Trojans have the ball nd a 14-10 lead with 13:54 remaining in the game.

Makai Lemon picked a good time to make his first catch of the game as he gets on the end of a deep shot from Jayden Maiava and makes a nice adjustment on the ball. That’s a 32-yard touchdown that puts the Trojans up 14-10 with 25 seconds left in the third quarter.

USC finally gets a sack as Jide Abasiri breaks through the line on third and five to force a UCLA punt. The Trojans take over at their own 9-yard line following the punt, still trailing 10-7 with 5:17 remaining in the third quarter. That’s USC’s first sack since the fourth quarter against Northwestern, three games ago.

The USC defense again starts strong as UCLA goes three-and-out and punts. The Trojans will start their first possession of the second half at their 36-yard line.

Score: USC 7, UCLA 10
Total yards: USC 193, UCLA 140
Rushing yards: USC 44, UCLA 74
Passing yards: USC 149, UCLA 66
Average yards per play: USC 6, UCLA 5
Third downs: USC 4-for-6, UCLA 3-for-5
Red zone conversions: USC 1-for-2, UCLA 2-for-2
Sacks: USC 0, UCLA 2
Tackles for loss: USC 0, UCLA 3
Quarterback hurries: USC 0, UCLA 3

The Bruins go on another 13-play drive and cap it with a 38-yard field goal to go up 10-7 with just 18 seconds left in the first half.

The Bruins have succeeded in slowing this game down. UCLA’s last two drives took 7:50 and 5:24 off the clock. USC got just three full drives in the first half and missed field goals on two of them.

USC kicker Ryon Sayeri has been so good this season but he’s 0-for-2 tonight as he misses from 30 yards out. The Trojans have taken all three drives to at least the UCLA 21-yard line and it’s a 7-7 game and the Bruins have the ball.

USC wide receiver Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane are both in the game to start the third drive and the Trojans’ first offensive snap of the second quarter.

UCLA goes 79 yards in 13 plays and takes 7:50 off the clock as Iamaleava hits Kwazi Gilmer for a two-yard touchdown. It’s 7-7 with 11:23 left in the first half.

UCLA has gone 46 yards in seven plays as the Bruins are driving, at the USC 33-yard line, as the first quarter comes to a close.

A 38-yard field goal attempt by USC kicker Ryon Sayeri is blocked by UCLA linebacker Scott Taylor, who came cleanly through the Trojans’ line. USC comes up empty on its second possession and the Bruins now have the ball at their 21-yard line with 4:13 remaining in the first quarter, trailing 7-0.

Christian Pierce breaks up a third-down pass from UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the Bruins go three-and-out to open the game. That’s big news for a USC defense that had given up opening-drive touchdowns five games in a row.

After a nice punt return by Josiah Zamora, the Trojans will open their second drive at the 32-yard line.

True freshman Alex Graham gets the start at nickel. Safeties Kennedy Urlacher and Christian Pierce are starting for the second week in a row in place of Bishop Fitzgerald and Kamari Ramsey.

USC drives 75 yards in 10 plays as King Miller scores a touchdown from five yards out. Miller rushed seven times for 39 yards on the drive as the Trojans take advantage of the Bruins’ terrible run defense to put the first points on the board.

USC opens with the football and there’s no sign of wide receivers Ja’Kobi Lane or Makai Lemon on the field. Both are on the sideline and neither is injured. Jaden Richardson and Zacharyus Williams are the starting receivers for the Trojans.

UCLA wins the coin toss and elects to defer to the second half. USC will receive the opening kick.

Based on positional warmups, USC’s starting offensive line this evening will be (from left to right): Tobias Raymond, Kaylon Miller, J’Onre Reed, Alani Noa and Justin Tauanuu. That will be the seventh different starting offensive line the Trojans will use in 12 regular-season games this year.

Note: Micah Banuelos started at right guard in place of Noa. Still makes it the seventh different offensive line fielded by USC this year.

USC safety Kamari Ramsey did not warm up pregame with the rest of the Trojans’ defensive backs. That would mark a disappointing end to the regular season for Ramsey, who stands to miss both last week’s road loss at Oregon and this game against his former program. Ramsey does have another year of eligibility but he is widely expected to declare early for the upcoming NFL draft.

Both safety Kamari Ramsey and running back Waymond Jordan are going through the early warmups and stretching before full uniforms come on. Typically, when “questionable” players don’t play, they don’t go through that part of the warmup. We’ll see what it means for both of them in this game but it would certainly be good news on both sides of the ball if they play.

The Big Ten Availability report is out ahead of the game and we have some takeaways on the USC Trojans listed as “out” and “questionable.”

As we’ve seen often this season, there’s a group of four true freshmen who typically hit the field first for USC to get going on early warmups. That includes quarterback Husan Longstreet, defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart, linebacker Matai Tagoa’i and offensive tackle Aaron Dunn.

USC is hosting a ton of big-time recruits today. WeAreSC’s Scott Schrader is providing live highlights of everything going on from a recruiting angle today.