Wilton Speight threw a long pass to the middle of the end zone, but Isaiah Langley intercepted it, giving USC possession on its own 25-yard line with 12:21 left to play in the third quarter.

The Bruins gained 35 yards in six plays before the turnover, with three rushes for 19 yards by Joshua Kelley and a rush apiece from Martell Irby and Speight. Kelley has rushed for 166 yards in 24 carries, with a touchdown.

The interception was Speight’s fifth of the season. He has completed nine of 15 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown.

Velus Jones Jr. caught a short pass from JT Daniels, got a block from Michael Pittman Jr. and tore down the field untouched to the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown play, giving USC a 24-21 lead over UCLA.

The play was Daniels’ second touchdown pass of the game and Jones’ first catch. It was Jones’ longest reception of the season and his first touchdown.

Nate Meadors intercepted JT Daniels’ pass in the second quarter, setting up UCLA for a touchdown drive to take a lead over USC.

Daniels aimed the pass for Michael Pittman Jr. down the left sideline, but he overthrew the ball, and Meadors bolted for the interception — Daniels’ ninth of the season. 

Once the Bruins gained possession, they got inside the five-yard line when Wilton Speight threw a deep pass to Theo Howard down the left sideline. After Brandon Pili picked up an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty, Joshua Kelley made the 1-yard touchdown run for the Bruins.

As UCLA lined up to punt deep in its own territory, Jake Russell rushed the punter with his USC teammates. He blocked the punt and sent the ball tumbling into the end zone, where USC recovered for a touchdown, taking a 17-14 lead over UCLA.

The Trojans held Joshua Kelley to three net rushing yards in two carries then sacked Wilton Speight for a nine-yard loss to force the punt. It was UCLA’s first drive of the game that did not result in a touchdown.

With the score, USC took the lead for the first time since its game-opening field goal.

JT Daniels nailed a deep throw to Amon-ra St. Brown the left side of the field. St. Brown kept running into the end zone for a 44-yard touchdown play.

St. Brown, Daniels’ high school teammate, has tallied 64 receiving yards in two catches. His catch was Daniels’ second completion on the drive.

Before the successful pass, the UCLA defense had effectively contained USC by limiting rushing yards, as the Trojans lost yardage from two penalties. St. Brown’s catch was USC’s longest of the day so far, as Daniels has completed seven of 11 passes for 148 yards.

Joshua Kelley broke free of the USC defense and took off running. He darted 61 yards before being dragged down within yards of the end zone, setting up the Bruins for their second touchdown in the first quarter, taking a 14-3 lead over the Trojans.

Kelley earned 12 yards in two carries before the big run. He has totaled 89 yards in six attempts in the first quarter, averaging 14.8 yards per carry to boost the Bruins to 156 total yards on offense.

The Trojans held Martell Irby and Wilton Speight’s rushes outside the end zone before Speight found a hole on a passing play and sprinted into the end zone, holding the ball out triumphantly as he completed the score.

Theo Howard bolted past his USC defender to the right corner of the end zone and dove for Wilton Speight’s throw. Howard fell to his knees as he made the 33-yard touchdown catch, giving UCLA a 7-3 lead after the Bruins’ opening drive.

UCLA took control of momentum when Speight dropped back for a pass with Jonathan Lockett hurtling toward him. But Speight broke the tackle, and a would-be sack became a 29-yard pass to Caleb Wilson.

Speight completed all four of his passes on the drive while Joshua Kelley contributed 16 yards in three carries, giving UCLA a lead early in the first quarter, after an eight-play, 75-yard drive that took less than four minutes. 

Michael Brown lined up for the field goal and drilled a 46-yard kick that barely fell inside the posts, giving USC a 3-0 lead over UCLA after the opening drive.

JT Daniels connected with Amon-ra St. Brown for a 20-yard pass to energize the drive. The Trojans got in field goal range when Michael Pittman Jr. grabbed Daniels’ pass on the left sideline and darted inside the 25-yard line.

But the Bruins’ defense stifled the Trojans attack, holding them to a short rush, an 8-yard sack of Daniels and an incomplete pass, leaving Brown to make the long field goal. 

Just because it’s a down year for the USC and UCLA football programs doesn’t mean the teams’ fan bases are any less passionate about the rivalry game coming up Saturday.

Just ask the Bruin Bear.

The well-known statue, located in UCLA’s Bruin Plaza, was found covered in red and yellow spray paint — likely the closest some overly enthusiastic USC fans could come to their Trojans’ cardinal and gold — around 10 a.m. on Thursday, according to the Daily Bruin.

Clay Helton spent much of this week addressing his job status after having taken his team to a major bowl game in each of his first two seasons.

Chip Kelly, who’s won all of two games in his first season with his team, mused about the fall of Milli Vanilli and narrated a video about a papa bear and his cub.

These are strange times in Los Angeles’ crosstown rivalry, with both teams wishing they really could throw out the records when UCLA faces USC on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl.