Laiatu Latu, UCLA defense meet expectation against Caleb Williams and USC

Edge rusher Laiatu Latu and the UCLA defense’s matchup against Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and USC’s offense was billed as a heavyweight fight ahead of the crosstown rivalry game at the Coliseum on Saturday.

UCLA would get the best of its rival in the final Pac-12 showdown between the two teams with a 38-20 victory

Defensive back Alex Johnson helped his case for an All-American bid by recovering a fumble and scoring to finish a 14-0 swing after UCLA running back TJ Harden scored on the previous drive for the Bruins in the third quarter.

Cornerback Jaylin Davies forced USC running back Marshawn Lloyd to fumble the ball at the USC 11-yard line and Johnson scooped up and ran the ball back the 11 yards for the touchdown.

Davies’ forced fumble also served as redemption for a play he gave up in the second quarter and put USC on the scoreboard for the first time after UCLA built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Williams completed a pass to Brenden Rice for a 74-yard touchdown, while Davies was trailing in coverage and missed on a diving attempt to tackle Rice shortly after the catch.

“That’s football. That’s Jaylin. That’s all of our guys,” UCLA coach Chip Kelly said. “They’ve got resiliency. You won’t knock people out and win games 84-0. It’s going to be back and forth. This is as talented of a football team as we’re going to face.”

Kelly compared the Bruins’ performance in the crosstown rivalry game to a boxing match with his team having the ability to keep applying pressure and attacking the open wound.

“We didn’t come into this game thinking we were going to shut them out and score 38,” Kelly added. “It’s going to be a battle. It’s a heavyweight boxing match. It’s going to go back and forth but you have to weather the assault, stand your ground, not back down and then attack. …  We cut them early and kept working the cut.”

UCLA has won 14 straight games, including five times this season, when forcing multiple turnovers.

Safety Kenny Churchwell III and cornerback Devin Kirkwood were responsible for forcing two of those turnovers in the first quarter on back-to-back defensive series.

Churchwell forced receiver Zachariah Branch to fumble and managed to recover it at the USC 19-yard line. The fumble provided an opportunity for quarterback Ethan Garbers to find tight end Hudson Habermehl to score just three plays later.

Kirkwood intercepted Williams’ pass at the USC 45-yard line to help build UCLA’s early momentum.

Latu finished the game with a game-high seven tackles and two sacks. He was named as one of four finalists for the Lombardi Award, along with Notre Dame offensive lineman Joe Alt, Georgia tight end Brock Bowers and Utah defensive end Jonah Elliss.

The Bruins allowed just 3 rushing yards against the Trojans and gave up just its third rushing touchdown of the season when Austin Jones scored for the Trojans with 3:52 left in the game.

The Bruins suffered a significant loss during the game after defensive lineman Jay Toia went down with an injury on the play before Rice’s big touchdown play.

Toia was down on the field before being attended to by the trainers and some players had to come over to help him off the field. He was seen limping and barely able to put weight on his right foot.

He went directly into the medical tent before he would eventually be taken back to the locker room on a cart. Toia came back down the Coliseum tunnel with the use of crutches, wearing a sweatsuit and a hard plastic boot.

Kelly was not asked about Toia’s status after the game and we’ll be asked for more on the defensive linemen’s status during the coach’s media availability on Monday.

UCLA DL Jay Toia just came out of the locker room with crutches and a hard plastic cast on his right leg. pic.twitter.com/jWi6vCnCKm

— James H. Williams covers UCLA football (@JHWreporter) November 18, 2023