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Hundley the HeroBrett Hundley will not only go down as one of the greatest Bruins of all-time, but he has sealed his spot in rivalry lore with a third win in three tries. "He played really well tonight," said head coach Steve Sarkisian. "I thought Brett took advantage of things." Hundley used his diverse skill set to burn the Trojans with his arm (22/31 for 326 yards and 3 TDs) and legs (15-yard TD run).
Losing the Line
The Trojans offense never got out of the starting blocks because they lost the battle up front. "The thing that jumped out to me was the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball," said Sarkisian. "Their defensive front was particularly effective in defending the run, and then when we got into some obvious passing situations, putting pressure on Cody [Kessler]." The USC QB was sacked six times and never found his rhythm.
Missed Moments
The Trojans seized the moment early when Anthony Sarao started the scoring with his first career pick-six, but then a series of missed opportunities doomed the effort. On the second offensive play of the second half, Sarao jumped Hundley's throw again, but dropped a second potential score. "I just put that to the coaches. They had a great scheme the whole game," said Sarao about being in the right spot twice. "We fell short executing a couple plays and a couple busts." The other notable regrets include Nelson Agholor's muffed punt, coverage busts in the secondary and Kessler's interception.
Turning Point
Kessler's lone interception came at the end of the first half when the Trojans were on the move down 17-14. After the pick, which was a tremendous, although disputable, catch made by Eric Kendricks, the Bruins ran off three consecutive touchdowns with the Trojans only touching the ball once, a quick three-and-out. "When you look at the game, the 21 points are sitting right there when they had three possessions and we had one. That was a big factor in it," said Sarkisian.
Shaw's Return
Josh Shaw's return was the story of the week, but he had little impact on the game playing as a third corner. While Shaw has the versatility to play any secondary position, he did not have enough time this week to reintegrate as a safety. "The safety position in any system is pretty intricate. We felt like to be fair to Josh to give him the best chance to be successful and where he could help us the most was out at corner," said Sarkisian, who wanted Shaw to alleviate the depth issues at cornerback.
Notre Dame Next
The Trojans have responded to losses well all season, and now they will have to get off the mat one more time. "I was very proud of our guys' effort late in the game," said Sarkisian, who noted that many teams would have quit. "We're going to need to hang together because we have a big one next Saturday night against Notre Dame." As for this rivalry, birthday boy JuJu Smith knows there will be better days ahead. "As my first UCLA game, I learned a lot from it," Smith said. "I'm going to take this in very personally and get ready for next year."
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