USC still has 'terrible taste' from 2012 loss to UCLA

By foxsports
Published

LOS ANGELES -- USC interim head coach Ed Orgeron said he won't have to bring up last year's 38-28 loss at the Rose Bowl to UCLA much, if at all, this week.

"We don't have to," Orgeron said.

The players remember it vividly. Orgeron does too. He doesn't have any good thoughts from that soggy afternoon at the Rose Bowl that ended with a Trojans loss.  

"Getting beat," he said. "(It left a) terrible taste in our mouth against our rival team, not playing well, letting down the Trojan family. (It's) not a very good feeling."

It was the first time USC was defeated by UCLA since 2006.

It was a long, wet afternoon that saw the Trojans unintentionally spot UCLA 24 points. The first play from scrimmage for USC was intercepted -- one of three turnovers on the day.

While UCLA starter Brett Hundley completed 10 passes in a row to start the game, USC didn't complete a pass until about a minute left in the first quarter. They were already trailing 17-0 at that point.

The Trojans cut the deficit to three points in the fourth quarter but would get no closer.

"Give (UCLA) credit," Orgeron said in reference to the 2012 game. "They played better than we did. That's no excuse, at all."

This time last year, the Trojans had lost two of their previous three games heading into their matchup with UCLA and were reaching the peak of a downward spiral that ended the 2012 season.

On Saturday, when the Trojans enter the Coliseum to renew their crosstown rivalry. They'll do so in front of a home crowd and as winners of five in a row.

Still, Orgeron feels in order for the Trojans to make it six in a row and not lose for the second consecutive year to their rivals, the Trojans have to bring their "A-game." Orgeron has high praise for Hundley and says linebacker Anthony Barr is one of the best pass rushers in the country.

This week for USC, just like every week, under Orgeron will be about "sticking to the plan" during the week and "trusting" their preparation on Saturday.

"Obviously this is a big game for us," Orgeron said. "This is a rivalry game. It's our last regular season game but here will be no difference in the planning."