The Bruins will need to stage a second-half comeback to keep possession of the Victory Bell.
UCLA football (4-6, 4-3 Pac-12) trails No. 23 USC (7-4, 6-2) 24-14 at the half. The Bruins are winning the time of possession battle by over two minutes despite trailing, but they are doing so without much help from the standout of last year’s crosstown rivalry game.
Redshirt senior running back Joshua Kelley – who rushed for 289 yards against USC last season – has 22 yards on eight carries so far.
The Bruins were forced to punt five plays into their first drive of the day, but a running into the kicker penalty called against the Trojans extended the possession. Sophomore quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson found redshirt freshman receiver Kyle Philips three times on the drive, but his screen pass to redshirt junior running back Demetric Felton capped it off with a 9-yard touchdown.
Philips accounted for seven of Thompson-Robinson’s first nine completions and was targeted multiple other times in the opening quarter.
After trading punts, USC got the ball and strung together a 55-yard drive to make it a 7-3 game.
UCLA punted on its next possession, but USC receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown muffed the punt and the Bruins recovered the ball at the Trojan 33. The Bruin offense was unable to convert the turnover into points, as Thompson-Robinson threw his 11th interception of the season.
USC, on the other hand, was able to capitalize on UCLA’s turnover when it marched 83 yards to take a 10-7 lead. The bulk of those yards came on a 46-yard completion from quarterback Kedon Slovis to receiver Drake London.
Thompson-Robinson led a long drive of his own on the Bruins’ next possession, with three straight rushes by sophomore running back Kazmeir Allen picking up 28 yards and putting UCLA on the 3-yard line. Thompson-Robinson kept it himself on the next play and scrambled out to his left for a touchdown that put the Bruins back on top.
The sophomore signal-caller was 14-of-22 with 165 yards and a score through the air.
Thompson-Robinson’s Trojan counterpart, Slovis, threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-24 passing in the half, with his go-to target receiver Michael Pittman Jr. accounting for both touchdowns, 70 yards and nine receptions.
Pittman’s two touchdowns came on back-to-back drives for the Trojans, which helped them take a 24-14 lead heading into the half. Both teams got the ball in the final minute of the second quarter, but neither could squeeze in one last score before the end of the half.