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UCLA player: ‘We know we’re gonna replicate’ 29-point beatdown of USC from 2021

matt wadleigh
·5 min read
27

It is on. It is on like Donkey Kong.

This is Rivalry Week for a significant portion of the college football world, including USC and UCLA, who will meet this coming Saturday in Pasadena in a very large ballgame.

USC is in the Pac-12 Championship Game with a win here. The Trojans can stay alive in the College Football Playoff race. They would take a huge step toward a New Year’s Six bowl. Caleb Williams is trying to make his Heisman Trophy closing argument. Everything is on the table for USC.

UCLA can’t make the playoff now, but it can still play for a Pac-12 title and a Rose Bowl berth. It’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s last game against the Trojans.

This is huge.

The week is already off to a flying start with remarks made by UCLA safety Mo Osling III. Osling’s comments force us to bring up last year’s USC-UCLA game, which should motivate every Trojan on last year’s roster to bounce back this week against the Bruins.

We start with Osling’s direct quote, and then we recall the gruesome details of last year’s game, which USC hopes to avenge this Saturday:

FIGHTING WORDS

2021 WIPEOUT: UCLA 62, USC 33 -- DTR DID IT ALL LAST YEAR

Stop if you’ve heard this before: Dorian Thompson-Robinson does everything. In the 2021 victory over USC, DTR had five touchdowns — four in the air and one on the ground.

ZACH CHARBONNET COULDN'T BE STOPPED

Zach Charbonnet couldn’t be stopped, and now he might be even better than last year. The Bruins star RB had 28 carries for 167 yards and a touchdown in 2021 versus USC.

GARY BRYANT JR. SHOWCASE

With Drake London out, it was the Gary Bryant Jr. show for USC. The Trojans WR had nine grabs for a game-high 161 yards and a score.

JAXSON DART STRUGGLED

Jaxson Dart was the QB for this game for USC, and he had a tough time. He threw for 325 yards but on a 27-of-47 clip. He tossed two picks with an average of 6.9 yards per pass.

KAZMEIR ALLEN, KYLE PHILLIPS TWO TDS EACH

UCLA didn’t need to throw the ball a whole lot to get the victory, but Kazmeir Allen and Kyle Phillips each had a pair of touchdown catches.

VAVAE MALEPEAI HAT TRICK

Oddly enough, it wasn’t Keaontay Ingram who scored for the Trojans. Instead, it was Malepeai who had three rushing scores on just 10 carries.

KANA'I MAUGA TRIED HIS BEST FOR USC

Kana’i Mauga led the way in a tough game for the Trojans defensively. He finished with a game-high 14 tackles and 0.5 sacks.

KAZMEIR ALLEN KICKOFF RETURN TD

Yes, more Kazmeir Allen. The Bruin WR also returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score in the 62-33 victory.

KEAONTAY INGRAM EFFICIENT

A lot of these players are gone for USC. Keaontay Ingram was efficient in the loss to UCLA last year; the Trojan RB ran for 96 yards on 17 carries and caught three passes for 39 yards.

UCLA POINTS

UCLA scored 21 points in the second quarter, 21 in the fourth. UCLA posted 34 points on the board in the second half to pull away.

UCLA TOTAL YARDS VERSUS USC IN 2021

609

HOW BAD WAS USC'S DEFENSE LAST YEAR?

So bad that UCLA turned the ball over twice and still put up 62 points on the Trojans.

HOW BAD WAS USC'S DEFENSE, PART TWO

UCLA posted the 62 points and 609 yards in just 27 minutes of possession (26:54, to be precise).

HOW BAD WAS USC'S DEFENSE, PART THREE

USC’s defense was so bad in 2021 — especially against UCLA — that the Bruins got 349 passing yards on just 22 pass attempts and 16 completions, an average of 16 yards per attempt and 21.8 yards per completion. That’s crazy.

THIRD DOWNS

UCLA faced only nine third downs all game long … and it converted six against USC last year.

WHY BRING BACK ALL THESE BAD MEMORIES?

Remember: Mo Osling said UCLA is going to replicate this performance this upcoming Saturday. Every USC player needs to remember just how bad last year was. This is motivation. This is fuel for the fire against the Bruins.

WHY BRING UP ALL THESE AWFUL STATISTICS?

We’re mentioning all these terrible stats because as bad as Alex Grinch’s defense was against Cal, it was nothing like last year’s Todd Orlando defense. We have to remember that.

THE TWO ERAS

As much as Lincoln Riley has changed everything at USC, the fact is that the Trojans are still just one year removed from the Clay Helton era. Their lack of defensive depth and quality is a lingering result of the Helton era. When UCLA says it will replicate 2021, it’s bulletin-board material, but it also sends a message to the 2021 Trojans still on the roster: If you really want the Clay Helton era to end in a fuller and more real way, you better show up for this game.

That’s the much deeper message here.

BOTTOM LINE

It’s time for USC’s most intense and focused performance of the year. Let’s get it on, Mo Osling.

Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire