Trojans punch ticket to Pac-12 championship
PASADENA, Calif. — A calm settled over Caleb Williams, on a night when that could be said about few others.
Touchdowns had been traded back and forth. Turnovers too. Field goals were missed. Response after response after response was mounted, in the most dizzying night of the crosstown rivalry in recent memory, a roller coaster that USC rode to a 48-45 victory Saturday night and a berth in the Pac-12 title game.
The Trojans' star quarterback had come to USC precisely for moments like these, with every chest in a sold-out Rose Bowl thumping and the stakes heart-stoppingly high. He'd put up more than 500 yards of offense, and now, it was up to him to put the game away. But the pocket promptly collapsed, USC's star was sacked, its hopes suddenly uncertain with time left for UCLA to mount one final drive.
That's when an unexpected hero emerged to do what neither Williams nor any other Trojan could.
Korey Foreman had come to USC out of Corona Centennial High as the top recruit in the country, with the weight of expectation heavy on his shoulders. A billboard even had announced his arrival on campus. But nothing about his first two seasons had suggested a star was in the making.
Until Saturday, when Foreman found himself in position with the game on the line, as UCLA's Dorian ThompsonRobinson threw a desperate, third-down pass toward receiver Kazmeir Allen. Foreman stepped in front — and into rivalry lore — right on time, coming down with a game-sealing interception that sent the Trojans to the Pac-12 championship Dec. 2 in Las Vegas.
Thompson-Robinson had done all he could to will UCLA to that point. A year after hurdling his way into crosstown infamy, the Bruins quarterback was bloodied and bruised Saturday by a Trojans defense that set out to beat him into oblivion. Thompson-Robinson accounted for five touchdowns, but USC's defense forced him into three turnovers, the most crucial two of which came in the second half, just as USC's offense took the reins.
Those turnovers kept USC afloat in a game it tried to give away at various points Saturday. The Trojans defense would still give up more than 500 yards for the third time in four weeks. It just so happened that UCLA's defense gave up even more: 649, to be exact.
Of those, 503 belonged to Williams, a crosstown rivalry record. He completed 32 of 43 passes for 470 yards and four total touchdowns (two on the ground) in a performance that's likely to thrust him toward the top of the Heisman race. He had plenty of help in that from top target Jordan Addison, who returned from injury to add 178 yards receiving and a touchdown.
USC's offense managed to move just fine without its leading rusher, Travis Dye, who suffered a season-ending injury last week. Austin Jones didn't miss a beat as he finished with 177 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
Even still, UCLA had fired its way back into the game late, after giving up the lead it held throughout the first half. Thompson-Robinson had cut the Trojans' lead to just a field goal with just 6:38 remaining.
But when he got the ball back, the Bruins' fifth-year senior couldn't conjure the same magic he'd had so many times before against the Trojans.
Thompson-Robinson finished 23 of 38 for 309 yards, while the Bruins' Zach Charbonnet rushed for 95 yards on 19 carries.
USC's Kyle Ford caught three passes for 73 yards and a 16-yard touchdown.