USC secures bowl game berth with 19-13 win over bitter rivals UCLA

Longtime rivals faced off again Saturday evening when UCLA hosted the USC Trojans in the latest battle for the Victory Bell. This time around, fortune fell in favor of the visitors who walked away with a tight 19-13 win. 
In what was an extremely low-scoring affair, the Trojans’ clutch second half was led by sophomore quarterback Jayden Maiva, who was starting just his second game of the season. He tossed a four-yard touchdown to Ja’Kobi Lane for their first points that weren’t a field goal, giving them just enough to secure the victory.
Kicker Michael Lantz nailed four field goals, all of which were within 30 yards. 
Neither team has been stellar thus far this season, both sitting in the bottom half of the Big 10 standings with just two weeks of regular season play remaining. 
The Trojans, who had high expectations and hopes dashed after a few solid wins to start the year are currently 5-5, needing just one more win to become bowl eligible for the third straight year under Head Coach Lincoln Riley. 
They started the year ranked as the nation’s No. 23 team, even after losing key players like Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, Calen Bullock and MarShawn Lloyd. By Week 5 they had climbed to No. 11 but three consecutive losses knocked them out of the top 25, where they’ve remained since. 
As for the Bruins, the second half of the season has been far better than the first, despite winning their first-ever game under new head coach DeShaun Foster, an extremely narrow 16-13 win over the University of Hawaii.
They then lost their next five games before hitting stride in Week 10, eking out a 35-32 win over Rutgers University that started a three-game win streak, which ended last week with a loss to the Washington Huskies. 
Last season’s matchup saw the Bruins shock the Trojans, with quarterback Ethan Garbers tossing three touchdown passes in their 38-20 win. UCLA’s standout defense, which was then coached by D’Anton Lynn, held USC to just three rushing yards and sacked Caleb Williams four times in the game. Lynn left the Bruins two weeks later to join the Trojans coaching staff as their defensive coordinator. 
Both teams were just 3-4 in Big 10 play prior to the start of the game, in what is their first season after a swap from the Pac-12 that started a slew of re-conferencing across the scape of the NCAA. 
The Trojans now lead the overall series 51-34-7, with two wins vacated for the penalties issued by the NCAA in 2004 and 2005, relating to Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush. 
Whoever wins takes home the Victory Bell, the nearly 300-pound bell turned trophy that once hung atop a Southern Pacific freight locomotive, but was gifted to the UCLA Alumni Association in 1939. After it was stolen by a group of USC students several years later, school administration for both universities agreed that the winner of each year’s football game would take possession until their next matchup.
USC will face off against another bitter rival next week when they host the University of Notre Dame, who are currently ranked No. 6 in the nation at 9-1. UCLA will play host again next Saturday when the Fresno State Bulldogs come to town. They’ll now be unable to earn a bowl game berth after their loss to USC, ending a three-year streak.