Five Things: UCLA vs. USC

UCLA football (4-7, 4-4 Pac-12) lost possession of the Victory Bell after losing to USC (8-4, 7-2) on Saturday. The 52-35 loss was the second in a row for the Bruins, who are no longer bowl eligible. With the postseason now out of reach and the season essentially over, here are the five biggest takeaways from Saturday’s game.

1. Azzinaro has got to go

Saturday marked the second time this season UCLA’s secondary allowed 500 or more passing yards.

Once is excusable, maybe it was just a fluke. Twice is a sign that things need to change.

And while it may be futile to fire defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro with one game left on the slate and the postseason officially out of reach, he shouldn’t be invited back to Westwood next season.

Maybe it isn’t fair to judge somebody’s performance based off two games, but this isn’t a pattern exclusive to the USC and Washington State games.

Opposing quarterbacks boast a 170.3 passer rating against the Bruins this season, and that includes their three above-average performances against Stanford, Arizona State and Colorado. But, generally speaking, UCLA’s pass defense has struggled mightily from week one to week 13.

Azzinaro has worked under coach Chip Kelly for almost a decade at this point, and his hiring likely had more to do with the familiarity between the two than Azzinaro’s defenses’ production over the years.

Kelly may not be on the hot seat just yet, but it would be a bad sign for the future of the program if he refused to cut ties with Azzinaro this winter.

2. No repeat for Joshua Kelley

The standout player of the 2018 battle for the Victory Bell was undoubtedly then-redshirt junior running back Joshua Kelley.

One year later, Kelley was shut down by the Trojans’ front seven, and he failed to make a serious impact on the game. In the final crosstown rivalry game of his career, Kelley posted a season-low 45 yards.

Kelley said after the game that he knew this year would be different and the USC coaching staff would tailor their game plan around him. That mindset paid off for the Trojans, who kept Kelley in check and won the game.

Sophomore quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson wound up as UCLA’s most effective runner, out-rushing Kelley by 48 yards on two fewer carries – discounting the signal-caller’s three sacks on the day.

3. Don’t blame Thompson-Robinson

Thompson-Robinson posted a subpar performance in Salt Lake City a week ago, and he failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time all season.

Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, he tossed three scores – his most since UCLA’s historic comeback over Washington State on Sept. 21.

Thompson-Robinson’s 367 passing yards Saturday were also his most since the game in Pullman as well, and his 64 rushing yards were three shy of a season-high. His interception in the first quarter was costly, preventing the Bruins from cashing in on a muffed punt by the Trojans, but it was the only notable mistake for the sophomore all day long.

Thirty-five points and 540 total yards from the offense should be enough for a win nine times out of 10. Saturday’s game against USC was that one game out of 10 for UCLA, and the Bruins lost despite Thompson-Robinson’s stellar bounce-back performance.

4. USC is back

I wrote a column in January about how the City of Los Angeles was up for grabs in the college football world.

USC has just posted a losing season, Clay Helton was on the hot seat, the Trojans had athletic director drama and Kliff Kingsbury spurned them to join the Arizona Cardinals.

Disregard all of that – USC is on its way back to glory and UCLA seems to have missed its window.

Instead of jumping on the Trojans’ mistakes and making a leap of their own in 2019, the Bruins stayed relatively level this season. There have been improvements on the field, but not nearly enough to overtake a historic powerhouse well on its way back to the top.

Even USC’s quarterback issues have been solved by Kedon Slovis – who the Bruins still have to play at least two more times in his Trojan career.

Everyone knew USC wouldn’t be down forever, which is why UCLA needed to take advantage of that this fall. That didn’t happen, the Trojans are back and the Bruins will continue to be the little brother in LA.

5. Philips is key for the offense moving forward

The 2019 season is nearly over, so at this point, it’s better to just look ahead to 2020.

Redshirt freshman receiver Kyle Philips is bound to be one of Thompson-Robinson favorite targets come next season.

Thompson-Robinson targeted Philips eight times on his first 10 attempts Saturday, and Philips hauled in seven passes for over 90 yards in the first quarter alone. The two have been talking about their improved chemistry over the course of the season, and Philips’ production has demonstrated the difference it has made.

Through four games, Philips was averaging 27 yards and two receptions per game. In the seven contests since, the redshirt freshman is averaging 72.1 yards on 6.7 receptions per game.

Philips has the ability to line up and remain effective both in the slot and outside the numbers, and his performance against USC on Saturday was proof of that. Next fall, expect a full, efficient season from the young receiver.