UCLA football: A fan’s look back at USC

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After 59 minutes of excruciating football on both sides -- but even worse if you’re a UCLA fan -- the annual crosstown rivalry game against USC was injected with some life.

Unfortunately, it was for all the wrong reasons (more on that later).

My instincts leading up to the game were that there were too many people feeling too happy about the Bruins, and everyone within earshot was purposefully chipping away at the suddenly vulnerable Trojans after their historic loss to Stanford.

So, of course, this was the perfect scenario for a role reversal, and sure enough...

Here are observations, opinions and reflections from the fan’s chair after UCLA’s 28-7 loss to USC.

-- Beginning with the end: It was by design that I waited an extra day to write this, because I didn’t want to let emotion get the better of me and say something I’d regret regarding the game’s final 54 seconds. Of course, like any UCLA fan, I was incensed by what happened, but after thinking it over -- and even though I don’t agree that the throwing of a bomb was necessary when leading by 14 points -- Coach Rick Neuheisel is correct when he says the Bruins needed to defend the play.

-- Having said that, the problem I had was the ending was the hoopla and over-the-top celebration afterward, and that’s something USC Coach Pete Carroll is responsible for. I realize this is a rivalry game and emotions run high, but if you hadn’t watched any part of the game and tuned in at the moment of this spectacle, you’d think USC had just taken the lead on a last-second play. The touchdown I can deal with when all is said and done (I won’t even bring up Carroll’s now seemingly hypocritical ‘What’s your deal?’ comment to Stanford Coach Jim Harbaugh after a 55-21 loss to the Cardinal that saw Harbaugh’s team try for a two-point conversion late). It’s the taunting, the pointing, the endless high-fiving, the sticking out of the tongue by one USC player caught on camera and the overall whoop-it-up, rub-their-nose-in-it mentality that overtook the sideline that is infuriating and troubling. The spirit of the game was lost.

-- And to quote Forrest Gump: ‘That’s all I got to say about that.’ Now, on to the actual game.

-- Quarterback Kevin Prince, who turned 20 on Saturday, had a chance to cement the starter’s job for next season, but he was ultimately outplayed by senior backup Kevin Craft after Prince suffered a shoulder injury in the third quarter.

-- Forgotten moment: After Prince injured his shoulder, he actually came back into the game on the Bruins’ next possession and subsequently threw an interception on an awful pass that eventually led to USC’s second touchdown and 14-0 lead. My question is: Why was an injured Prince even in the game? He did not play again. After the game, Neuheisel admitted that he probably made a mistake by putting Prince back in the game.

-- Speaking of that second USC touchdown, I appreciated Tony Dye’s hit on Allen Bradford on the play before the Trojans scored. Dye kept Bradford, who was headed for the corner flag, out of the end zone -- at least temporarily. The effort is noted.

-- Early in the game, it was another Prince interception -- returned for a touchdown by USC’s Malcolm Smith -- on a telegraphed pass that set the tone for these offense-challenged teams. Or as Neuheisel said of the throw during his halftime interview: ‘An ill-advised decision.’

-- My hot-and-cold feelings about receiver Nelson Rosario are cold again. Rosario, who had come on strong the latter part of the season, reverted to his old ways by dropping at least three catchable passes. After one of those passes, television analyst Petros Papadakis said: ‘Right now, it just seems that the stage is a little too much for Nelson Rosario.’ That’s certainly the way it looked.

-- Even during Rosario’s best moment of the game, when he caught passes on consecutive plays on the Bruins’ last possession of the first half, he ended up fumbling the second one to put an end to any hope of UCLA’s cutting into USC’s 7-0 lead. The Bruins were within kicker Kai Forbath’s range at the moment of the fumble.

-- Did you notice: Center Kai Maiava was injured early in the fourth quarter and was replaced by Jake Dean, who moved over from right guard. Afterward, there was no mention or follow-up on Maiava’s injury, but you can’t underestimate the loss of a player at such an important but often overlooked position.

-- The play when Maiava was hurt was the first one for Craft after Prince was injured. Craft had come in at quarterback for one play in the first half in what on TV was called the ‘wild cheetah’ formation.

-- Craft ended up leading the Bruins on their only scoring drive, twice completing passes on fourth-and-three plays to keep it alive. Chane Moline, playing in the wildcat, took a direct snap and ran two yards for a touchdown to cap a 13-play, 65-yard drive to make it 14-7 USC with 5:41 left.

-- Good news: UCLA actually outrushed USC, 134-130. Bad news: 74 of those yards were gained by Prince and Craft.

-- Senior receiver Terrence Austin had one of his better games in recent memory, with four catches for a team-high 66 yards and 157 all-purpose yards. Speaking of receivers, I wish the offensive game plan had turned to Taylor Embree a little more.

-- Defensive tackle Brian Price had five tackles, including two for losses, but it didn’t feel as if he dominated the line the way he usually does. USC did not allow a sack of quarterback Matt Barkley.

-- Quick thoughts: Akeem Ayers had a team-high nine tackles, including 2 1/2 for losses. ... Senior Alterraun Verner’s second-quarter interception was his fifth of the season and 13th of his career. ... Sophomore safety Rahim Moore, who leads the nation in interceptions, did not add to his total, but he did have seven tackles. ... Johnathan Franklin got a few carries but fumbled (though he didn’t lose it) on a 20-yard gain, the longest run of the game for the Bruins

-- Final grade: C. To put it in simple terms, the defense was a ‘B’ and the offense was a ‘D.’ The bottom line in any game, but in rivalry games especially, is to make big plays. UCLA didn’t and USC did. Still, there is plenty to be hopeful for even though a bowl game is looking less and less likely this season. I see progress, and I slowly see the mentality of a program changing. Consistency is the next step, but I do like the direction things are headed.

-- Jim Barrero