USC Loses Pac-12 South Crown to UCLA

As the rain fell Saturday at the Rose Bowl, so did the Trojans. The UCLA Bruins proved to be too much for for the Trojans, knocking USC out of the BCS rankings, and physically knocking out quarterback Matt Barkley. 

The scoreboard flashed 24-0 midway through the second quarter, reminiscent of the Trojans crushing 50-0 blowout against the Bruins last year. However, this this time it was the Trojans who were on the losing side.

USC fought back to get within ten points at the half and eventually three points in the fourth, but the mistakes the Trojans made early in the season came back to haunt them, and the Bruins pulled away with a 38-28 victory. 

Leading the Bruins was freshman quarterback Brett Hundley, who threw for 234 yards and rushed for two scores of his own. Senior running back Johnathan Franklin gave UCLA two touchdowns as well, running for 171 yards. Hundley wasn't the only new addition to this Bruin squad. First-year head coach Jim Mora also helped to lead UCLA to the Pac-12 south title.

The Trojans put up some good numbers themselves. Barkely had 301 passing yards with three touchdowns, Curtis McNeal rushed for 158 yards, Marqise Lee had nine receptions for 158 yards and Nelson Agholor and Randall Telford each brought in a touchdown for the Trojans.

The biggest killer for USC was turnovers. Barkley threw an interception on the very first play of the game and proceeded to throw another before UCLA's Anthony Barr crushed the Trojan quarterback, knocking him to the ground and out of the game. Barkley left the Rose Bowl Saturday with what appeared to be a sling on his shoulder, and Lane Kiffin announced Sunday afternoon that back-up quarterback Max Wittek will start instead of Barkley next weekend against No. 1 Notre Dame. 

After the game, head coach Lane Kiffin told the media that Pat Haden had confirmed that coach Kiffin will return next season. "I'm not worried about it," said Kiffin. 

"We're extremely disappointed in this season," Kiffin added. "We're too talented to have this many losses."

For the first time in a decade, the Bruins came into Rivalry Week ranked higher than the Trojans and this year they took home the Pac-12 south title. This weekend, the Bruins will take on Stanford, who pulled an upset of their own taking down the then-No. 2 Oregon Ducks on Saturday, in what could be a preview match-up for the Pac-12 crown.