After failing to find the end zone on three prior trips inside the UCLA 5-yard line, USC cashed in when it mattered most halfway through the fourth quarter when quarterback Jayden Maiava scrambled right and then left, scanned the field and threw a dart to Ja'Kobi Lane in the corner of the back corner of the end zone for a 4-yard go-ahead touchdown pass.
That gave the Trojans the lead, Michael Lantz's fourth field goal of the game would push that lead to 19-13 and the defense would do the rest to close out a dramatic come-from-behind win over rival UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
With the win, USC (6-5, 4-5 Big Ten) earned bowl-eligibility and its first consecutive wins since the first two weeks of the season.
Afterward, coach Lincoln Riley, Maiava and linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold talked about the win in the postgame press conference, followed by subsequent interviews with wide receivers Kyron Hudson and Makai Lemon, running back Woody Marks, safety Akili Arnold, cornerback Jaylin Smith, defensive tackle Gavin Meyer and punter Eddie Czaplicki.
"We're battle-tested. We have, we've been through a lot of them. I told you all when we lost a few of these at some point this is going to become our advantage because we have been in so many we really don't know anything else honestly," Riley said. "Guys were confident, we made the stops when we had to defensively, we were able to get a decent drive down there and get the field goal offensively. No, it feels great, man, it does. More than anything, not for any other week or anything else that's happened, but just this week and what we had to overcome to go win this game, it feels tremendous. I'm really, really proud of how our guys responded."
Watch all of the postgame interviews here ...