The USC and UCLA football teams stepped into the twilight zone of college football last Saturday when both teams lost games on the last play of the game. The Trojans lost on a Hail Mary pass to Arizona State 38-34 and the Bruins were defeated by Utah 30-28 when their field goal kicker, Ka’imi Fairbairn missed two kicks in a row.
Both teams do not have time to dwell on the losses because they have two big Pac-12 games to play on Saturday. The Trojans are 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-12 South. They travel to unbeaten Arizona (5-0) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The Bruins will host a very good Oregon team at the Rose Bowl on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on Channel 11.
“We all bare responsibility for the loss,” said UCLA’s head coach Jim Mora last Saturday night after his team gave up 10 sacks. “Sacks are a combination of different things.” UCLA has had problems protecting quarterback Brett Hundley all season.
“I take responsibility for the sacks,” Hundley said. “ The lineman are playing their hearts out. You also have to give credit to Utah. They came up with a good defensive game plan. As quarterback, I need to keep everyone calm.”
USC is having some of the same problems as UCLA. Their defense is giving up too many yards. Arizona State passed for 510 yards. Not many teams can win giving up over 500 yards passing. Arizona State’s Jaelen Strong caught the winning Hail Mary pass from backup quarterback Mike Bercovici. Strong caught 10 passes for 202 yards.
USC quarterback Cody Kessler, running back Javorius Allen and defensive back/linebacker Su’a Cravens continue to play well for the Trojans.