USC Takes Care of UGLA . . . 28 - 7

Like a weekly chore . . . such as taking out the trash . . . USC took
care of business against the UCLA Bruins for the 7th time in 8 years in
workman-like fashion.

Only a Trojan turnover gave the Bruins a chance to score. But other than
that, it was Trojan business as usual in locking up another BCS Rose
Bowl appearance.

The grades:

Offense

QB - Mark Sanchez was pretty efficient on his way to 18 - 33 for 269
yards and (2) TDs. He did have one interception on a great play by a
Bruin CB, but Sanchez also made good decisions by running for yardage
himself rather than forcing balls downfield. Grade: B

RBs/FB - Joe McKnight led this unit with 99 yards on 15 carries with a
TD. Stafon Johnson also chipped in with 47 yards on the ground and a
short yardage TD. Frosh Marc Tyler looked good again in the late going
with a couple of good runs. The only demerit for the night was an early
fumble by CJ Gable that led to a Bruin TD. Grade: B

WRs/TE - WR Pat Turner capped off a very solid season with 5 catches for
81 yards and a TD. And Damian Williams once again proved he is a
playmaker by racking up 68 yards on only 3 receptions (22 yards per
catch), including a nifty red zone TD. TE Anthony McCoy's role increased
as he caught 4 balls for 50 yards - but he'll have nightmares about the
one he dropped - a sure TD on a seam route. Grade: B+

OLine - Real good game for the big uglies upfront. The Bruin front 7 was
intent on not allowing SC to run the ball, but the Trojan OLine still
led the way to 209 yards of rushing. They also did not allow any sacks
or QB hurries. The only way UGLA got to the QB was on late hits.
Grade: A minus

Defense

DLine - The DLine controlled the line of scrimmage from the outset, helping to limit the Bruins to only 43 net yards rushing. Fili Moala and Christian Topuo, in particular, did a nice job in the middle. Grade: B+

LBs - The trio of Maualuga, Cushing and Maiava were all over the line of scrimmage, and combined for 12 tackles and 3 pass break-ups. Grade: B+

DBs - This unit wasn't tested much as UCLA QB never had enough time to look downfield and only passed for 89 yards. In fact, the Bruin's best play was a trick play (WR pass) that Taylor Mays and crew didn't make the hit on. They also had a few chances at INTs that they didn't come up with , and that was the only negative. Grade: B

Special Teams - Kicker David Buehler had his worst day as a Trojan missing on 3 field goals that kept the score from being a complete blowout. Stafon Johnson also wasn't able to get anything going on punt returns as Bruin punter did a nice job of angling his punts. Grade: D minus

Coaching - The game plan offensively was solid. SC's missed FGs kept the score lower than it should have been, but there were some nice play calls like the reverse to Joe McKnight that led to the first touchdown. Defensively, there was nothing UCLA could do to sustain any drives against the Trojans. Except for the Bruin trick play, nothing else worked. Grade: B+

Game Balls:

Offense - RB Joe McKnight
Defense - LB Rey Maualuga
Special Teams - None

Prediction Winner: DMoody was all over the final score.