UCLA

The Bruins won a thrilling game, 29-28, against the visiting No. 19-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. With the victory, UCLA improved to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in conference action. Currently, the Bruins are tied for first place in the Pac-12 South Division.

The game was even throughout the entire four periods, but the Bruins managed a late touchdown with less than a minute remaining to escape with the one-point win. Down five points, Derrick Coleman rushed up the middle for one yard and the eventual game-winning score.

“This is the kind of win I’ve been waiting for my whole life,” Coleman confesses to the media afterward. “This is what you play football for.”

UCLA visits Utah on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 3:30 p.m.

USC

The No. 21-ranked Trojans went into Colorado hoping to just gain momentum back, but the team accomplished more than that in their 42-17 stomping of the host Buffaloes before 50,083 at Folsom Field in Boulder. With the victory, the Trojans improved to 7-2 overall, 4-2 in Pac-12, and thus, bounce back from their heartbreaking loss to Stanford.

“It could be one more year,” starting junior quarterback Matt Barkley tells the media afterward, playing off the chants of traveling USC fans.

Unarguably, Barkley was the player of the match for the Trojans; he passed for 318 yards on 25 of 39 completed passes, which included six touchdowns and one interception. For the game, Barkley’s passer rating was 178.2. The six touchdown passes are a new USC record.

“I didn’t know it was going to come tonight. Our receivers were a lot better than their secondary. It means a lot to set the record. I don’t think I’m close to what those other guys did in their careers,” Barkley adds.

USC head coach Lane Kiffin was happy for the record to be broken.

“We tried to do it a million times around here,” he says. “It is nice to see that record broken after all this time.”

Earlier this week, Kiffin was fined $10,000 for criticizing the officials after their home loss to Stanford.

“I can’t even say they were awesome. I get fined for that, too, in reading the rules,” Kiffin adds. “So, I’ve moved on.”

Three different Trojan players saw significant action on the field while rushing the ball. Amir Carlisle posted 90 yards on 10 carries, while Curtis McNeal had 10 carries for 87 yards. Additionally, D.J. Morgan gained 56 yards on nine carries.

On the receiving end, Robert Woods and Marqise Lee led the way for the visitors, who next face the Washington Huskies in their homecoming weekend affair. Woods caught nine balls for 130 yards and two touchdowns, while Lee had nine receptions for 124 yards and two TDs as well. Carlisle had two catches and a TD.

“We knew our receiving corps was much better than their secondary, and it definitely showed tonight,'' Barkley says. “We were a little off on a couple of throws, but we were throwing the ball all over the place. Thank you, Coach Kiffin, for the calls.'”

Colorado (1-9, 0-6 Pac-12) got on the board first at 12 minutes in the first quarter when Toney Clemons caught a 37-yard touchdown. The Trojans responded before the end of the quarter, however, as Lee caught a 33-yard TD. Thereafter, the Trojans simply dominated the contest with TD after TD scored.

At 11:19 in the fourth quarter, Colorado quarterback Tyler Hansen again connected with Clemons for 10-yard TD. This made the score 35-17 in favor of USC, but it would be as close as Colorado would come to rallying. USC went on to add another score at 7:06 when Barkley threw a 19-yard TD pass to Carlisle.

Hansen finished the game with 250 yards with two TDs on 17 completions. Rodney Stewart had 88 rushing yards, while Clemons gained 112 receiving yards on five receptions, two of them TDs.

The Trojans were just too much for Colorado during the Friday-night match-up.

“There’s no excuse not to get more than what we got,” Colorado head coach Jon Embree tells multiple media outlets. “We’ve got to do better in the red zone and overall, be smarter with some of the stuff we’re doing.”

USC hosts Washington on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 12:30 p.m. at the Coliseum.