USC fans stormed the field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, only months after the Trojans took heat for low attendance.
The half-empty 77,500-seat stadium for early-season non-conference games seems like a distant memory for the Trojans after a 30–18 win over No. 2 Ohio State. Meanwhile, No. 7 UCLA improved to 8–0 for the first time since 2005 with a 27–0 beatdown of the Nevada Wolfpack at the Rose Bowl earlier in the day.
With the Bruins looking their best in two decades and USC beating a top-two team, Los Angeles looks like a college football city for the first time since the early 2000s. That’s when USC won back-to-back national titles under former head coach Pete Carroll in 2003 and 2004.
USC and UCLA had to fill the major football void back then, with the NFL gone from Los Angeles, the Rams in St. Louis, and the Raiders back in Oakland for a second stint. Both former Pac-12 legacy programs have seen significant ups and downs since the early 2000s, and the Rams’ return and the Chargers’ addition added competition for the attention on the Bruins and Trojans.
In a sports-saturated market, UCLA and USC haven’t stood out consistently enough for much of the second millennium.
UCLA has gone 11 losing seasons since 2005, with no major bowl games in that span. USC has been to one Rose Bowl since 2008, and the Trojans have failed to win 10 or more games in 11 of the 16 seasons since the Carroll era ended in 2009.
The Trojans have yet to make the College Football Playoff despite being one of the most storied programs around with 11 national championships. USC and UCLA likewise have endured mediocrity since moving from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, but that’s changing.
The Trojans entered Saturday with slim playoff chances, but USC (6–2) jumped back into the race with Saturday’s win over the Buckeyes. It marked USC’s first win over a top-two team since beating No. 2 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl to win the 2004 national championship.
USC came out strong behind quarterback Jayden Maiava, who threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Trent Mosley, and the Trojans never trailed. Ohio State played shorthanded without starting quarterback Julian Sayin due to injury, but the Buckeyes haven’t slowed down with a starter out in the past.
Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley, who came over from Oklahoma in 2002, earned his signature win over USC on Saturday. UCLA head coach Bob Chesney, meanwhile, is having a signature season in his first year after leading James Madison to the CFP.
The Bruins have beaten then-No. 13 Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Maryland, Purdue, and California among Power Four squads.
UCLA beat a Group of Six team for the second time on Saturday, but the Bruins did the same quickly in September against San Diego State and again on Saturday against Nevada.
Most importantly for the Bruins, the offense is clicking despite quarterback Nico Iamaleava being lost for the season to a knee injury. Bruins quarterback Ty Dieffenbach has a 61.4 percent completion rate for 505 yards and two touchdown passes, as the team has put up at least 27 points back-to-back weeks.
UCLA has two quality running backs, Anthony Woods and Wayne Knight, to shoulder the load. Knight has 627 yards and 12 touchdowns on 99 carries, and Woods has 459 yards and six touchdowns on 67 attempts.
Both UCLA and USC will run through plenty more tests in the Big Ten during November, which they could conclude with a major rivalry showdown on Nov. 28.
