The USC Trojans secured a 29-10 victory over the crosstown rival UCLA Bruins at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night, allowing them to retain the Victory Bell and conclude their regular season with a record of 9-3. Following the win, USC head coach Lincoln Riley shared his thoughts on the promising future of the program.
Despite some struggles in the first half, USC managed to rally and finish strong. “I think there”s so much to build on,” Riley remarked during his postgame press conference. He acknowledged the contributions of senior tight end Lake McRee and linebacker Eric Gentry, stating, “This program is going to get better. We”ll have better teams here in the future than this team, but I don”t know if we”ll have a more important one.” Riley emphasized that the progress made in the last two seasons has set the stage for future success.
“I thought last year”s team paved the way for this year”s team to take some big steps,” he said. “We did that. This year”s team certainly paved the way for the future here, which couldn”t be more exciting.”
In the game recap, USC started strong with an opening drive that culminated in a 5-yard touchdown run by King Miller. However, missed opportunities plagued the Trojans, as they failed to score on two possessions deep in UCLA territory in the first half. Kicker Ryon Sayeri, who had previously been reliable, struggled, missing two field goals against the Bruins. The first half concluded with UCLA leading 10-7.
After a slow start to the second half, USC found its rhythm late in the third quarter. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava led a 91-yard drive, which ended with a 32-yard touchdown pass to receiver Lemon, giving USC a 14-10 advantage. This marked Lemon”s 11th touchdown reception of the season, bolstering his candidacy for the Biletnikoff Award.
A touchdown reception from McRee early in the fourth quarter extended USC”s lead to two scores, and Miller sealed the victory with a 41-yard touchdown run. Defensively, the Trojans excelled, shutting out UCLA in the second half, marking their second consecutive home game without allowing any points.
“Tremendous win, proud of the response in the second half, another dominant performance defensively there in the second half, special teams and offense,” Riley commented. “We just got on a big run there as a team and really separated.”
The win improved USC”s record at the Coliseum to 7-0 this season, marking the second time in Riley”s tenure that the team has gone undefeated at home, with the first instance occurring in 2022. “That was a fun night at the Coliseum right there, another phenomenal atmosphere,” Riley said. “One of the things we talked about earlier in the season with this team was protecting our home. And there”s two parts to that; it”s one, us as a program coming in here, playing well at home. And then the flip side of that is the Coliseum lit up like it was tonight. It was a major factor in the game. Again, an awesome atmosphere, and it has been all year. For us to run the table at home, play the way that we did was really key to this season.”
