UCLA 3, USC 3, 2:16 left in the second quarter

UCLA faced third and fourth down at the USC 44 to open the second quarter. Garbers ran for two yards avoiding pressure and stepped out of bounds two yards for the first down. On fourth and two, UCLA called a timeout. Garbers threw an incomplete pass and the Bruins turned the ball over at the USC 43.

UCLA 3, USC 3, end of first quarter

UCLA started at 25.

Ethan Garbers passed nine yards to Logan Loya. TJ Harden ran without a win. Harden then ran for three yards and a first down.

Keegan Jones ran for three yards. Garbers passed ten meters to Titus Mokiao-Atimalala.

Garbers ran for six yards. Garber’s option went to Harden for no gain, with Easton Mascarenas-Arnold getting the stop for USC.

Time then ran out in the first quarter.

UCLA 3, USC 3, 4:15 left in the first quarter

USC started on its 5 after the kick.

Woody Marks ran for seven yards. Jayden Maiava was well protected, but had no open receivers and threw an incomplete pass. Marks ran five yards.

Maiava hit Makai Lemon with a streak across the middle of the field, gaining 64 yards.

On the first down on the UCLA 19, Marks ran 16 yards.

On the first goal at the UCLA 3, Maiaiva ran one yard. Maiava then passed to Lake McRee, but he couldn’t get it going as he ran into the referee. Maiava’s next pitch was bobbled and dropped by Walker Lyons.

Michael Lantz hit a 19-yard field goal.

UCLA 3, USC 0, 7:23 left in the first quarter

UCLA started at its seven-yard line after USC’s punt.

TJ Harden ran 40 yards up the middle to the UCLA 47.

Harden ran for two yards. UCLA was called for a false start. On second-and-12 at the USC 46, Keegan Jones ran for two yards. On third and 10, Garbers rolled to his right under pressure and ultimately threw the ball out of bounds.

UCLA punted to the USC 10-yard line. The Bruins were called for illegal formation. USC accepted the five-yard penalty and the Bruins punted again. The ball bounced and UCLA knocked it down at the Trojans’ 5.

UCLA 3, USC 0, 10:00 left in the first quarter

USC started at 25 after the touchback.

Jayden Maiava passed 16 yards to Woody Marks.

Woody Marks ran without winning. Maiava went deep and fell incomplete. On third-and-10, Maiava’s pass was batted down by Jay Toia and fell incomplete.

Eddie Czaplicki kicked and UCLA took a fair catch at the seven-yard line.

UCLA 3, USC 0, 11:32 left in the first quarter

UCLA started at the 25-yard line.

TJ Harden ran eight yards. Ethan Garbers passed 13 yards to Titus Atimalala-Mokiao.

Garbers passed to Atimalala-Mokiao for another 17 yards.

Harden ran for three yards and Garbers passed to Atimalala-Mokiao for one yard. Garbers then tried to throw the ball away while avoiding a sack. Officials called it a fumble on the field recovered by USC and returned it for a short gain. The play was reviewed and deemed an incomplete pass.

On fourth-and-7 at the USC 34, Mateen Bhaghani hit a 51-yard field goal.

UCLA 0, USC 0, start of the first quarter

USC won the toss and postponed.

UCLA received the opening kickoff and took a touchback

The competition was close. Closer than anyone expected, it would certainly be the end of August. So close that Jayden Maiava, the Rebels transfer from Nevada Las Vegas, believed at the time he had done enough to be named USC’s starting quarterback.

The job ultimately went to Miller Moss, the redshirt junior whose six-score coronation had occurred months earlier at the Holiday Bowl. In that case, Maiava understood the uphill battle he faced when he came to LA. But the decision, while not a surprise to the public, was no less disappointing for Maiava.

There was something driving him, other than the need to see if he could get out of bed.

DeShaun Foster had spent the previous afternoon at the UCLA Medical Center, where his viral symptoms forced the freshman into isolation at the team hotel in Pasadena, the night before the 1998 crosstown rivalry football game.

Some chicken soup and about five hours of sleep did wonders for his sore throat. Perhaps the best high school to come out of Orange County woke up ready to devour the college that only wanted him if he played defense.

It’s a wild arm, a wonderful arm, a winning arm.

But is it powerful enough to restore a reputation?

It’s a badass presence, a swaggering presence, a saving presence.

But is it powerful enough to save a coach?

Message boards at USC’s McKay Center could fall to the floor from the weight of what the coach across town said this week.

Speaking about the cross-town rivalry’s influence in homes across Southern California, DeShaun Foster couldn’t help but make a joke about the school he didn’t want to name.

“A lot of families,” the UCLA coach said Monday night, “the smarter one usually comes here and the other one goes to the other school and then the family gets torn apart, you know what I mean?”

His voice sounded hoarse and his fatigue was clearly visible. The flu has caused major damage to the USC locker room since the end of last week. On Tuesday, four days before the Trojans’ crosstown matchup with UCLA, it finally caught up with Lincoln Riley, whose third rivalry week at USC now promises to be a particularly viral one.

The coach even appeared to be coughing when asked about the flu.

“It’s had a little bit of an impact,” Riley said. “It’s part of it, though. As I told the boys today, Saturday at 6:30, no one is going to care what you had or didn’t have. You have to be ready to start playing the game. Various obstacles come up, and you have to face them. We will deal with it, adapt as necessary, but no excuses: we have to be ready for Saturday.”

His arrival last December, in the midst of the darkest defensive stretch in school history, was hailed at USC as a potentially program-saving moment. At UCLA, where he revitalized a struggling defense in one season, his departure was seen as a disastrous setback made worse by its destination.

But almost a full year after defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn traded one side of the cross-city rivalry for the other, the reality appears to be somewhere in the middle. USC didn’t suddenly field one of college football’s best defenses at 5-5 with Lynn at the helm. The Bruins, at 4-6, haven’t hit rock bottom without him either, as first-year coordinator Ikaika Malloe has done a great job of keeping UCLA’s defense afloat.

USC (5-5) looks to become bowl eligible and thwart UCLA’s hopes of playing in a bowl with a win over the rival Bruins (4-6) in the Rose Bowl on Saturday. The game kicks off at 7:30 PM PST and will be shown on NBC and Peacock. The radio broadcast will be available on 710 AM and 570 AM in the Los Angeles area.

Here’s a look at the betting odds for the game: