Kelley rushes for 289 yards, leads UCLA past USC
PASADENA, Calif. — Joshua Kelley has been watching the UCLA-USC rivalry since he was 8 years old. On Saturday, he ce- mented his legacy in the Crosstown Showdown’s history.
The junior running back rushed for 289 yards on 40 carries and scored two touchdowns to lead the Bruins to a 34-27 victory over the Trojans at the Rose Bowl.
It is the third-most rushing yards in a game in UCLA history and the most by a Bruins back against the Trojans. Gaston Green had the previous mark with 224 yards on 39 carries in 1986.
“It was crazy and finally I was out there and wanted to embrace every single moment of it,” said Kelley, who transferred from UC Davis. “It was a crazy experience. I sure enjoyed it and our team did too.”
Kelley’s 55-yard touchdown up the left sideline on an outside zone play with 10:39 remaining gave the Bruins a 28-27 lead. JJ Molson then added a pair of field goals to extend the margin for UCLA (3-8, 3-5 Pac-12).
Kelley was surprised by the number of carries he had but UCLA coach Chip Kelly did not mind giving his back a heavy workload.
“I wish he had carried it 100 (times) to be honest with you,” Kelly said.
USC (5-6, 4-5) mounted one final drive and got to the UCLA 29 but JT Daniels’ fourth-down pass was incomplete with 32 seconds remaining.
“Coming into the game, we had a lot of respect for Joshua. He’s a very physical back and a very good runner,” Trojans coach Clay Helton said. “I thought they did a nice job tonight of being able to get the ball outside on the perimeter and bouncing the ball outside.”
Wilton Speight completed 13 of 22 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a score as UCLA broke a three-game losing streak to its crosstown rival.