LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California got off to a dangerously slow start in its annual crosstown showdown while its two best offensive playmakers stood on the sideline for much of the first half.
When Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane finally got moving, so did the Trojans — all the way to another victory in their biggest rivalry game.
Lemon caught a 32-yard touchdown pass after being benched for the first quarter, King Miller rushed for 124 yards and two scores, and No. 19 USC completed an unbeaten home season with a 29-10 win over UCLA on Saturday.
Jayden Maiava passed for 257 yards and hit Lake McRee with a TD pass in the fourth quarter for the Trojans (9-3, 7-2 Big Ten), who eventually pulled away to win this annual matchup for the third time in Lincoln Riley’s four years as coach.
“We’re building something special in here,” said Miller, a walk-on redshirt freshman. “That Victory Bell is something special. It’s kind of addictive to win it.”
Riley benched Lemon and Lane for the Trojans’ first two offensive series for a violation of a team policy, the coach said. Both receivers then made key plays in the second half as USC pulled away, and Miller iced it with his 41-yard TD run with 2:29 left.
While USC’s College Football Playoff and Big Ten title hopes ended last week with a loss at Oregon, this victory kept the Trojans perfect at the Coliseum while securing city bragging rights for another year. After flirting with .500 the previous two seasons, Riley’s team will finish with its best record since his USC debut with Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.
“We’re a better program now than we were 12 months ago,” Riley said. “We won tough games. We were able to win games a lot of different ways. There’s just so, so much to build on, and these guys are responsible for it. This program is going to get better and better. We’ll have better teams here in the future than this team, but I don’t know if we’ll have had a more important team.”
Nico Iamaleava passed for 200 yards for the Bruins (3-9, 3-6) in their final game under interim coach Tim Skipper, who replaced DeShaun Foster three games into his second season. Kwazi Gilmer caught an early TD pass, but UCLA was shut out in the second half.
“Our whole locker room learned that if you fight, you can get out of any situation,” Skipper said. “Our guys did the hard work. We’ll just keep moving forward. Setbacks are temporary.”
Both teams wore their home uniforms in keeping with tradition in the 95th edition of this meeting between schools separated by about 13 miles within Los Angeles.
USC marched to Miller’s first TD run on its opening drive, but UCLA’s Scott Taylor blocked the Trojans’ field goal attempt when their second drive stalled.
After the Bruins drove for Gilmer’s 2-yard TD reception, Mateen Bhaghani’s late field goal put UCLA up 10-7 at halftime.
Lemon was no factor in the Trojans’ offense until Maiava finally found him down the USC sideline for a go-ahead score with 25 seconds left in the third quarter. The TD catch was his only reception of the night — his fewest in a game since the Trojans’ 2024 season opener.
After Lemon made a 35-yard punt return, Lane made a 27-yard reception to set up McRee’s 2-yard TD catch with 11:24 left.
Takeaways
UCLA: The Bruins were not phoning in the finale of a lost season, as evidenced by Iamaleava’s decision to play despite dealing with neck spasms all week. They took a halftime lead and appeared to be close to taking control of the game at several points before wrapping up their seventh losing season in the last 10 years with a competitive effort against their biggest rivals.
USC: A slow start turned into a seventh straight home victory for Riley’s team. The Trojans still haven’t reached the heights mandated by Riley’s massive contract and this program’s heritage, but they’ve got momentum heading into bowl season and 2026, when they’re adding a wealth of top-end talent.
Up next
UCLA: A thorough program reboot under a new coach.
USC: An upper-tier bowl game.
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By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
