The Sports Report: Chargers peaking at the right time

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Jeff Miller: A franchise for which so many seasons have gone sour, the Chargers’ fortunes on Sunday continued to sweeten.

They won their fourth in a row and fifth in six weeks in lopsided style, defeating the Rams 31-10 at SoFi Stadium.

The Chargers improved to 10-6 and moved into fifth place in the AFC when Baltimore lost to Pittsburgh on Sunday night. They can clinch the conference’s top wild-card spot with a victory over Denver in their regular-season finale.

Sitting at 6-6 and with their fate teetering just four weeks ago, the Chargers have surged behind improved defense and improving health.

“We’re the team that you have to fear,” tight end Gerald Everett said. “You have to come out and play your best ball or you’re gonna lose. That’s something we really wanted to establish. I’m really happy that we’re actually on that path.”

Of the Chargers’ first eight victories, seven were decided by one score. Now they’ve won consecutive games by a combined 51-13 total. During this four-game win streak, their opponents have managed 44 points.

Against the Rams, they also righted an offense that had been sputtering, struggling to sustain drives and finish in the end zone. The 31 points marked the Chargers’ second-highest output of the season.

“The goal is to find your rhythm … in December and snowball that into the playoffs,” center Corey Linsley said. “I feel like we’re hitting our stride. Four-game win streak, it’s a huge, huge confidence builder.”

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UCLA BASKETBALL

From Ben Bolch: Adem Bona scored a career-high 18 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. added another 17, and No. 11 UCLA defeated Washington 74-49 on Sunday night.

It was the Bruins’ 10th straight victory to close out their Pacific Northwest road trip.

David Singleton added 14 points for the Bruins (13-2, 4-0 Pac-12) and Tyger Campbell had 15 points and 11 assists.

Washington (9-6, 1-3) has dropped their last three, two against ranked opponents. The Huskies were led by junior center Braxton Meah, notching a season high 20 points on 9 of 10 shooting.

Washington was held to 35% from the field (19-55) and two of 25 from three-point range.

UCLA finished 45% from the field (29-64) and hit nine of 23 three-point attempts. UCLA narrowly edged Washington in the rebound battle (36-34).

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The No. 10 UCLA women’s team wasn’t the same team without leading scorer Charisma Osborne and Oregon State took advantage of her absence.

Raegan Beers had 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Beavers (9-5, 1-2 Pac-12) in a 77-72 win Sunday. It was Oregon State’s first victory of the season against a ranked opponent.

UCLA (13-2, 2-1 Pac-12) saw its six-game winning streak come to an end.

USC BASKETBALL

Jabe Mullins and DJ Rodman each scored 16 points, Justin Powell added 15 points and seven assists and Washington State ended a 12-game losing streak to USC with an 81-71 victory on Sunday.

Mullins came off the bench to sink four of six from three-point range and Powell hit four of seven for the Cougars (6-9, 1-3 Pac-12 Conference). Rodman buried three of six from distance and connected on seven of eight from the free-throw lines. TJ Bamba pitched in with 14 points and six boards. Mouhamed Gueye scored 12 and blocked three shots.

Mullins hit back-to-back three-pointers in the middle of a 10-0 run and the Cougars grabbed a 19-11 lead with 13:11 left in the first half. Kobe Johnson’s three-point play ended the run and Drew Peterson followed with two straight baskets to pull USC within a point. Washington State answered with 3-pointers from Mullins, Andrej Jakimovski, Powell and Rodman to take a 31-22 lead at the 6:43 mark.

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The USC women’s basketball team couldn’t keep pace with No. 17 Oregon on the Ducks’ home turf, falling 73-45 in a tough day on the road for the Trojans. USC goes home with a road split after beating Oregon State on Friday, and now holds an 11-3 overall record with a 1-2 mark in Pac-12 play.

USC FOOTBALL

From Ryan Kartje: His limp would linger long after USC’s Pac-12 title game heartbreak, the pain in his left hamstring a lasting reminder of all that was lost that night in Las Vegas. In the weeks that followed, his coach would caution about the significance of his injury, laying the groundwork for the quarterback to bow out of a bowl game, which, on paper, meant little in the grand scheme of a terrific turnaround season.

Yet to Caleb Williams, there was never a question. USC’s Heisman Trophy winner had assured — and reassured — in the aftermath of the loss to Utah that he’d return, and on Sunday morning, his coach would finally confirm his quarterback’s plans to play against Tulane in the Cotton Bowl on Monday.

“He’s ready to play,” Lincoln Riley said. “He’s progressed maybe a little faster than what we anticipated. Certainly very fortunate on our part that we had the opportunity to have a month before this game. Had it been even two weeks, I doubt he’d be available.”

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USC’s Eric Gentry feeling confident and healthy ahead of Cotton Bowl

Rose Bowl Game: Five things to know about Utah vs. Penn State

Commentary: Georgia vs. TCU a Hollywood-worthy Duggan vs. Goliath title matchup

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1961 — George Blanda passes for three touchdowns and kicks a field goal and the extra points to give the Houston Oilers a 24-16 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the first American Football League championship game.

1965 — The New York Jets sign Alabama quarterback Joe Namath for a reported $400,000, the most lucrative rookie contract in football history.

1966 — Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung gain 201 yards on four inches of snow at Lambeau Field to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 23-12 victory over the Cleveland Browns and their third championship in five years.

1977 — Atlanta Braves’ owner Ted Turner is suspended one year by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn for tampering in the free-agent signing of Gary Matthews.

1982 — Rolf Benirschke’s 29-yard field goal at 13:52 of overtime ends one of the wildest and highest-scoring playoff games as the San Diego Chargers beat the Miami Dolphins 41-38. San Diego’s Dan Fouts completes 33 of 53 passes for 433 yards and three TDs. Miami quarterback Don Strock completes 29 of 43 passes for 403 yards and four TDs.

1984 — Miami defeats Nebraska 31-30 in the Orange Bowl to win the national championship.

1985 — Nevada Las Vegas beats Utah State 142-140 in triple overtime as both teams set an NCAA record for total points. The Runnin’ Rebels score a record 93 points in the second half, and coach Jerry Tarkanian gets his 600th victory.

1986 — Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders becomes the 11th NHL player to score 500 goals. Bossy scores No. 500 on an empty netter with 17 seconds remaining to clinch a 7-5 victory against the Boston Bruins at Nassau Coliseum. Bossy reaches the milestone in 647 games, fewer than anyone in NHL history at that time.

1987 — No. 2 Penn State beats No. 1 Miami 14-10 in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship.

1989 — Notre Dame beats West Virginia 34-21 in the Fiesta Bowl to finish the season at 12-0. The Irish are named national champion in the polls.

1996 — No. 1 Nebraska demolishes No. 2 Florida 62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl, making them the first repeat champions in 16 years.

2001 — Jose Theodore becomes the sixth NHL goalie to score a goal in a regular-season game and stops 32 shots as Montreal blanks the New York Islanders 3-0.

2002 — Carolina’s Ron Francis becomes the fifth player in NHL history to record 500 goals and 1,000 assists when he scores in the Hurricanes’ 6-3 loss to Boston.

2009 — Utah finishes 13-0 with a convincing 31-17 win over No. 4 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The Utes are the first team from a non-BCS conference to win two BCS bowls.

2009 — Doug Weight has a pair of assists for the New York Islanders in a 5-4 loss to Phoenix to become the eighth American-born player to reach the 1,000-point mark.

2011 — Seattle becomes the first sub-.500 division champ in league history with a 16-6 win over St. Louis. The Seahawks finish as champs of the NFC West at 7-9, the first playoff team with a losing record — sans the 1982 strike-shortened season — since the merger in 1970.

2018 — Marc-Andre Fleury stops 29 shots in his second shutout of the season, leading Vegas past Nashville 3-0. Vegas wins its eighth straight and earns at least one point in 13 consecutive games, both NHL records for a first-year team.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Mike Bossy scores his 500th goal. Watch and listen here.