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Click here for Lane Kiffin's press conference.
24-0
USC famously rallied from 24-0 down to defeat Notre Dame in 1974. Given the exact same deficit, Lane Kiffin thought his Trojans might just pull off the same feat. Instead, USC was never able to climb the mountain, which leaves the question, why was the hole so deep in the first place? "A lot of that falls on me," said Kiffin. "For us to go down like that early, obviously, there was something wrong in how we had our guys ready to play." As has been a disturbing trend this season, USC began the game with two turnovers in the first three series. "The number one glaring thing in our losses has been turnovers."The Quarterbacks
Matt Barkley is one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the Pac-12, but he was outplayed by his young counterpart from UCLA, Brett Hundley. "You wouldn't think that we'd lose this game with a senior quarterback versus a freshman," Kiffin said. Barkley left the Rose Bowl with his right arm in a sling after taking a vicious hit, which knocked him out of the contest. While his senior season has not turned out how he hoped, Barkley has no regrets about coming back. "There's nothing you can do now, why sit and pout about it?" said Barkley about his decision. "It isn't how I expected it to turn out, but as of now, you have to be optimistic as to how we can finish this season on a good note."
Defensive Deficiencies
USC's defense was solid on first and second down, but third and longs (and even one 4th and 13) were a nightmare. Coverage breakdowns were an issue, but so were missed tackles, which tallied up to 17 on the afternoon. Hundley's poise was the difference. "We thought he was going to be a little [shaken] up being a rookie playing in the Rose Bowl, rivalry week," said Hayes Pullard. "We tried to put a little pressure on him, [but] he reacted well. He executed the plan that they schemed for us." Johnathan Franklin ran for 171 yards and a 2 TDs, but Pullard said the key was how well the senior back carried out his fakes and took the linebackers out of position.
Kicking Themselves
The kicking game, which has been a strength for USC under Lane Kiffin, was a complete mismatch today. Andre Heidari missed a field goal and an extra point, and both he and punter Kyle Negrete had kicks blocked. On the other side, UCLA's Jeff Locke controlled field position with two punts inside the 20, and he nullified Marqise Lee on kick returns. "I wanted those kickoffs so bad," said Marqise Lee, who only got his hands on one for 27 yards. "Great kicker. That dude was kicking it out of the end zone."A City in the Balance
USC has now won 12 of the last 14 in this series, so the Bruins will have to show some consistency before claiming to "run the town." However, UCLA's stock is rising with a new head coach Jim Mora Jr. and redshirt freshman QB Brett Hundley, who will be tough to unseat in the coming years. The Bruins earned the Trojans respect tonight. "We played against a great UCLA football team that grew up and came out and executed their plan," said LB Hayes Pullard.
Laugh to Keep from Crying
Remember when USC was the preseason No. 1? Seems like a long time ago. If someone had told Marqise Lee during the preseason that the Trojans would be saddled with four losses this year, "I would have laughed," he said. "This is part of life." The head coach described the latest loss as "crushing." Without a chance at the Pac-12 or a BCS bowl, the Trojans are relegated to spoiling Notre Dame's perfect season next week. "Take out Notre Dame," said Robert Woods about what's left to play for. "I guess we're playing to keep them out of the national championship game."
Extra-point...
Kiffin's Program
Lane Kiffin stated clearly that his job is not in jeopardy this season. "I don't feel that way at all and that comes from the top. At the same time, I'm extremely disappointed by this season. We are too talented to have this many losses. That falls on me."
(Top photo by Gina Ferazzi/LA Times, bottom photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Here is junior WR Robert Woods (5 catches for 68 yards) after the game...
