The Sports Report: UCLA’s amazing turnaround continues, but USC loses to Notre Dame
- Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
From Ben Bolch: Tim Skipper took a deep breath. What else could he do?
His quarterback had just clutched his right knee and needed assistance to make it off the field with a little more than two minutes left in a taut game in which his team appeared on the verge of losing its magic touch. Skipper had been in enough of these situations to know that sometimes injuries that look scary turn out just fine, so the UCLA interim coach inhaled and waited for the medical staff to render a verdict.
Once Skipper saw Nico Iamaleava starting to walk around the Rose Bowl sideline, his facial expression no longer transfixed in a grimace, the coach figured a team in need of a late break might get one.
“I was like, man, we have a shot here, we have a shot,” Skipper said. “And then they cleared him and I was like, all right, let’s go.”
Having already engineered one fourth-quarter scoring drive, Iamealeava needed to lead another with the score tied against Maryland and only 35 seconds left Saturday evening.
In just four plays, a warp-speed drive that started at UCLA’s 27-yard line ended at the Maryland five after two pass completions and a hard-charging run by Anthony Frias II in which the reserve running back refused to be brought down, spinning and breaking tackles on the way to a 35-yard gain.
Kicker Mateen Bhaghani took it from there, nailing a 23-yard field goal with two seconds left to give the Bruins a 20-17 victory after the Terrapins couldn’t conjure a miracle on the ensuing kickoff.
USC FOOTBALL
From Ryan Kartje: It was an ominous bit of imagery, at the bitter end of a century-long series. Dark clouds descending over Touchdown Jesus, and a heavy downpour soaking every soul in Notre Dame Stadium, as if Mother Nature was lashing out at the prospect of one of college football’s defining rivalries dying in vain.
Both USC and Notre Dame have suggested they hope the rivalry can continue beyond this season, if they can come to an agreement in the coming months. But if this was indeed the end, 99 years since USC and Notre Dame first met on a football field, it would be a particularly crushing final scene for the 20th-ranked Trojans, who now find their hopes of a College Football Playoff bid hanging by a thread after a 34-24 loss.
“We just flat-out did not play good enough tonight against a good team on the road,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said. “[We] had some missed opportunities that make you sick right now.”
The game seemed well on its way to a different sort of conclusion, when the 13th-ranked Irish shanked a 31-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Three plays later, USC quarterback Jayden Maiava found wideout Makai Lemon for a 42-yard gain.
MLB POSTSEASON SCHEDULE, RESULTS
All times Pacific
NLCS
Dodgers vs. Milwaukee
Dodgers 2, at Milwaukee 1 (box score)
Dodgers 5, at Milwaukee 1 (box score)
at Dodgers 3, Milwaukee 1 (box score)
at Dodgers 5, Milwaukee 1 (box score)
ALCS
Seattle vs. Toronto
Seattle 3, at Toronto 1 (box score)
Seattle 10, at Toronto 3 (box score)
Toronto 13, at Seattle 4 (box score)
Toronto 8, at Seattle 2 (box score)
at Seattle 6, Toronto 2 (box score)
Sunday at Toronto, 5 p.m., FS1
*-Monday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox/FS1
*-if necessary
KINGS
Seth Jarvis scored 1:45 into overtime and the Carolina Hurricanes extended their undefeated start to the season to five games despite giving up a three-goal lead in a 4-3 win over the Kings on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Jarvis netted his sixth goal of the season, capitalizing on a fortunate bounce after Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke blocked Sebastian Aho’s shot, scoring into an open net with goalie Anton Forsberg unable to get back in position.
Jordan Staal had two goals, Jesperi Kotkaniemi also scored, and Brandon Bussi made 25 saves for the Hurricanes.
GALAXY
Matheus Nascimento and Joseph Paintsil each scored on Saturday night to help the Galaxy beat Minnesota United 2-1 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Minnesota (16-8-10) is fourth in the Western Conference and will play fifth-seeded Seattle in the best-of-three first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.
Nascimento gave the Galaxy (7-18-9) the lead for good when he scored on a first-touch shot from the center of the area in the 12th minute.
LAFC
Andrew Moran scored his first MLS goal on a rebound off the post in the 90th minute and LAFC played the Colorado Rapids to a 2-2 draw on Saturday night.
LAFC (17-8-9) reached the 60-point plateau for the fourth time in its eight seasons in MLS.
Colorado (11-15-8) didn’t get the help it needed on “Decision Day,” the final day of the regular season, to secure a playoff spot.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1940 — Alabama snaps Tennessee’s defensive scoreless streak of 71 quarters but still loses 27-12. Tennessee hadn’t allowed a point since Oct. 29, 1938, when it beat LSU 14-6.
1957 — Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadians scores his 500th career goal in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
1960 — After 13 years in Minneapolis, the Lakers opened their inaugural season in Los Angeles with a 140-123 loss at Cincinnati.
1966 — Bobby Orr makes his NHL regular season debut for the Boston Bruins.
1985 — Robbie Bosco of Brigham Young passes for 585 yards in a 45-23 victory over New Mexico.
1985 — Dale Klein of Nebraska ties an NCAA record with seven field goals in a 28-20 victory over Missouri.
1986 — Lloyd Burruss of Kansas City intercepts three passes and returns two for touchdowns to lead the Chiefs to a 42-21 victory over the San Diego Chargers.
1994 — Duke beats North Carolina 3-2 in women’s soccer to end the Tar Heels’ unbeaten streak of 101 games.
1997 — Pittsburgh goaltender Tom Barrasso makes 22 saves to earn his 300th career victory with a 4-1 win over Florida. Barrasso becomes the first American-born goaltender and 13th overall to record 300 wins.
2002 — Avon Cobourne becomes the fifth Division I-A rusher with four 1,000-yard seasons as West Virginia beats Syracuse 34-7. Cobourne has 108 yards in the game for 1,002 yards this season.
2012 — The National Hockey League announces the cancellation of the 2012-13 regular-season schedule through November 1. A total of 135 regular-season games are now lost from Oct. 11 through Nov. 1.
2014 — Peyton Manning breaks Brett Favre’s NFL record of 508 career touchdown passes and he throws four TD passes in Denver’s 42-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The record-breaker was an 8-yarder to Demaryius Thomas with 3:09 left in the first half. Manning reaches the milestone in his 246th regular-season game. Favre needed 302.
2014 — DeMarco Murray becomes the first running back in NFL history to start a season with seven straight 100-yard games in a 31-21 win over the New York Giants. Murray, with 128 yards and a touchdown, breaks Hall of Famer Jim Brown’s 56-year-old record.
Compiled by the Associated Press
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1997 — Sandy Alomar Jr. of the Cleveland Indians hits the 700th World Series home run.
Until next time...
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
