UCLA ROLLS OVER TROJANS

Chip Kelly tracked down Caleb Williams after the game and gave a warm hug to the quarterback who stands side-by-side with Andrew Luck in the UCLA coach’s personal rankings of the best college players he has ever faced.

Both men realized Williams might have just played his final snaps of college football in a blowout loss Saturday that increased the chances of Kelly coaching more games for the Bruins in the future.

T.J. Harden rushed for a career-high 142 yards and scored two touchdowns, Ethan Garbers threw three TD passes and UCLA trounced spiraling USC 3820 in the 93rd edition of their crosstown showdown.

Alex Johnson returned a fumble 11 yards for a key second-half touchdown for the Bruins (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12), who likely improved Kelly’s questionable job security by reclaiming the Victory Bell in impressive fashion.

“I think anybody that’s been in this game (knows it’s) unique,” Kelly said. “I’ve been at other schools in other (rivalry) games, and it’s not like this. I think the proximity of the schools, playing for the Bell, there’s so much that goes into it. It’s cool to see the smiles on our kids’ faces when we get to bring the Bell back to our school.”

Hudson Habermehl caught two of the three TD passes by Garbers, while UCLA’S defense forced three turnovers and drastically limited Williams’ playmaking chances, leading to a celebratory afternoon.

“Today was probably one of the better days of my life, for sure,” said Garbers, an Orange County native. “I’ve had some dreams about this as a little kid. Great to get the W and go home.”

Williams passed for 384 yards with a touchdown and

Tight end Hudson Habermehl (81) dives across goal line for one of his two touchdowns Saturday in UCLA’S 38-20 victory over USC. It was the second straight win for the Bruins over the Trojans at the Coliseum.

an interception on his 22nd birthday in the final game of a calamitous regular season for the Trojans (7-5, 5-4), who lost five of six after being ranked No. 5 entering the year and starting out 6-0.

“Very, very disappointing,” Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said. “I mean, there’s no other way to put it. I told the guys in the locker room I’ve clearly not done a good enough job in the second half of the season getting this team ready to go . ... We just didn’t play good enough in any way.”

Riley has lost three straight games for the first time in his seven years as a

head coach at Oklahoma and USC. Williams and Riley won their first 11 games together at the Coliseum before losing the last three.

The Trojans’ Heisman Trophy winner hasn’t announced his plans for next year or the upcoming bowl game. He refused to speak to the media afterward.

“He’s a special player, special competitor, and obviously we’ll see where it goes from here,” Riley said of Williams.

Not even a lively home crowd that included pop star and USC student Olivia Rodrigo could spark the Trojans to a competitive performance.

Among the lowlights: 3 yards rushing.

After scoring just 45 points in their previous three games combined, the Bruins lit up the scoreboard against USC’S dismal defense. UCLA hadn’t won back-to-back games at USC’S 101-year-old stadium since 1997, but the Bruins never trailed in this matchup after blowing out the Trojans 62-33 two years ago.

“This entire performance was for (Kelly),” Garbers said. “It shows a lot about our team and this culture that we can come from last week (17-7 loss to Arizona State) to this week and do this.”

Kelly is facing calls for his firing after a six-season tenure that hasn’t produced anything near the high-level success expected, but his Bruins rebounded from back-to-back losses with his third victory over USC — the first over a Trojans team with a winning record. Kelly improved his record to 34-33 with one game left Saturday at home against Cal.

“Not an issue for me,” Kelly said of the speculation. “I’ve never been governed by the fear of what other people say.”

ASHLEY LANDIS AP