UCLA's Josh Rosen Throws Five Touchdowns in Big Victory Over Hawaii (VIDEO)

It's like I can't wait until the end of the season to see the crosstown matchup between USC and UCLA. It's going to be good. Both of these teams are smokin', looking to be contenders for the big bowl games, if not the national championship.

Following-up, "Sam Darnold Bring New Confidence to USC (VIDEO)."

At LAT, "Josh Rosen has a career-best five touchdown passes as UCLA downs Hawaii 56-23":

It was a continuance by design. Almost every pass completed. Plenty of touchdowns to go around. Enough yardage to nearly stretch from the Rose Bowl back to Westwood.

The epic display fashioned by UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen late in a crazy season-opening comeback bled into an equally productive sequel Saturday back on his home field. The only thing missing this time was the cliffhanger ending.

UCLA rolled to a 56-23 victory over Hawaii as Rosen continued his record-setting ways with a career-high five touchdown passes.

The Bruins (2-0) scored touchdowns on each of their first seven offensive drives with the exception of a one-play drive before halftime, giving them 12 touchdowns in 14 drives going back to the 35 unanswered points they unspooled at the end of their triumph over Texas A&M. The only other drive that UCLA didn’t score on during that stretch, Rosen took a knee in the final seconds against the Aggies.

“We have to expect to score every time we touch the ball and you can’t be happy with 70%, 80% success rates that normal people would consider good or whatnot,” Rosen said. “You have to set the bar unreasonably high and always strive for it.”

Rosen was nearly perfect, completing 22 of 25 passes for 329 yards, with one of the incompletions coming on a dropped pass. Over his last five quarters, Rosen has completed 41 of 51 passes for 621 yards and nine touchdowns without an interception.

It didn’t meet his standards.

“I had three incompletions today and I expect to have a perfect game every time I step on the field,” said Rosen, whose 12th game with at least 300 yards passing set a school record, edging Cade McNown’s 11 games. “It’s unreasonable, but I think that’s the standard you have to set for yourself. You have to strive for perfection and hope you fall on greatness along the way, stumble on greatness along the way.”

UCLA’s offense wasn’t great across the board. Its running game produced a middling 132 yards, including Nate Starks’ 42 yards in a starting role after Soso Jamabo was injured in practice earlier in the week.

Rosen was so prolific that it didn’t matter. He said in the days before the game that the offense’s sputtering start through 21/2 quarters last week was largely the result of learning new plays under first-year offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, explaining that he wanted to “basically play a fifth quarter of what we were at last week and keep going where we left off.”

The Bruins did so in building leads of 14-0 after the first quarter and 35-7 at halftime...

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UCLA Scores 35 Unanswered Points to Beat Texas A&M, 45-44

I swear, I'd forgotten about this game and only turned it on after I saw Eric Sondheimer tweet. I thought I'd just check it out, even if UCLA was getting its butt kicked. OMGoodness what misplaced sentiment. That's gotta be one of the most amazing comebacks ever, especially for UCLA. It's just not like the Bruins. They showed some real excellence tonight. Truly amazing. I think folks will be talking about his one for a while. Sheesh.

At LAT, "UCLA completes improbable comeback for a 45-44 victory over Texas A&M":

Any UCLA fan who stays for the entire game at the Rose Bowl will receive a T-shirt, "Loyal UCLA fan." Many sizes available.

— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) September 4, 2017

R-E-M-A-R-K-A-B-L-E comeback. Final: UCLA 45, Texas A&M 44.

— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) September 4, 2017

Diehard fans who stayed got a lot more than a shirt, wow. #UCLA #UCLAvsTAMU #GoBruins #Football #Aggies https://t.co/HDPaCc1dhB

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) September 4, 2017

The seemingly impossible happened Sunday at the Rose Bowl.

UCLA completed a comeback from a 34-point deficit with 35 unanswered points starting late in the third quarter, pulling out a stunning 45-44 victory over Texas A&M in the Bruins’ season opener at the Rose Bowl.

Two plays after UCLA receiver Jordan Lasley dropped a third-down pass at the first-down marker, he pulled in a 10-yard touchdown pass with 43 seconds left, twisting his body in the back of the end zone to make the catch and tie the score.

UCLA’s J.J. Molson then booted the most meaningful extra point of his career through the uprights to nudge the Bruins ahead for the biggest comeback in school history.

The Bruins (1-0) then stopped Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond a yard short short of a first down on fourth and 10 after a lengthy review. After the final snap, several Bruins sprinted over to the student section to celebrate. Their teammates soon followed.

Rosen completed 35 of 59 passes for a career-high 491 yards and four touchdowns, including 292 yards and all four touchdowns in the fourth quarter. He got lucky twice, floating a pass that should have been intercepted but instead went for a 42-yard touchdown to Darren Andrews. He also threw off his back foot with a defender in his face to complete a 16-yard touchdown to Theo Howard.

Caleb Wilson led the UCLA receivers with 15 catches for 203 yards, both career highs.

Trayveon Williams had 203 yards rushing for Texas A&M (0-1), which was held to 58 yards in the fourth quarter.

Stanford Crushes UCLA Hopes, Scoring Touchdown With 24 Seconds Left (VIDEO)

I had my hopes up for UCLA, big time.

Frankly, they should've won this game. The Bruins played well throughout, especially on defense. But the Cardinal got fired up for the final drive.

What can you do?

At LAT, "UCLA can't escape its past in stunning loss to No. 7 Stanford, 22-13":

It happened again. How could it happen again?

For all but the final two minutes Saturday night, UCLA did everything in its power to break an eight-game losing streak to a Stanford team that has long occupied its nightmares.

Then it happened again. Somehow, it happened again.

Stanford got tough. UCLA got tentative. Stanford found focus. UCLA lost control.

Stanford celebrated its history, while UCLA wallowed in its history, and everything changed as quickly as Josh Rosen fell into a heap while thousands stood stunned and frozen in the Rose Bowl stands rising around him.

The nightmare is back because, it turns out, the nightmare never left.

Stanford drove down the field in the final two minutes Saturday night to score the go-ahead touchdown on a leaping catch by J.J. Arcega-Whiteside from Ryan Burns with 24 seconds left, then added a fumble return for a touchdown on the final play for a 22-13 victory.

“Obviously that’s about as difficult as it gets,’’ said Bruin Coach Jim Mora...

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Plus, "UCLA suffers cruel loss to No. 7 Stanford, 22-13."

'Physical' USC Beats UCLA 40-21 at Coliseum, Clinches Pac-12 South Title (VIDEO)

Everybody was using the adjective "physical" to describe USC's mauling of the virtually hapless UCLA Bruins in yesterday's citywide rivalry thriller.

At the O.C. Register, for example, "Physical, opportunistic USC beats UCLA, 40-21, clinches Pac-12 South title."

Also at the L.A. Times, "USC turns on the power to beat UCLA, 40-21, and advance to Pac-12 title game."

More, from Bill Plaschke, "This victory removes all doubt: Make Clay Helton USC's permanent football coach":

Every hit was a prayer. Every run was a plea. Every time a USC player punched a UCLA player in the mouth on a bruising, revealing afternoon at the Coliseum, there was a message.

Hire Clay Helton.

It was heard when Adoree' Jackson caught a punt, shrugged off a shot by Cameron Judge and raced 42 yards for a touchdown. It resounded when Claude Pelon racked Josh Rosen into a fumble that was carried 31 yards by Rasheem Green for a touchdown. It echoed when Darreus Rogers bullied through the grasp of Nate Meadors for a touchdown.

Hashtag Helton2016.

Pat Haden had to be listening. The Trojans alumni and boosters are surely understanding. There is absolutely no way anyone with any Trojans influence can argue against the reality of what is happening.

In the wake of USC's 40-21 blasting of UCLA on Saturday, it is clear that Clay Helton should be named the Trojans' permanent head coach, and it should happen now.

Don't wait for the outcome of the game against highly ranked Stanford in next week's Pac-12 Conference championship bout. How fair is it to judge an interim coach with a 6-2 record, a bowl victory, a win over UCLA and six decorated years on the USC staff on whether he can lead a team from the dregs of a distracted season to the Rose Bowl?

Save the announcement for after the game to avoid distraction, but get the news conference and paperwork ready now. The coronation occurred Saturday, when Helton's culture change was brutally evident in how the Trojans outmuscled, outhustled and simply outfought a Bruins team that had spent the previous three seasons beating them double-digit senseless...

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#UCLAvsUSC to Determine Line-Up for #Pac12 Championship Game — And More! (VIDEO)

Following-up from Thanksgiving, "UCLA Bruins Riding the Wave of College Football's Crosstown Rivalry in Los Angeles (VIDEO)."

See the O.C. Register, "USC-UCLA about more than bragging rights this year":

LOS ANGELES – Forget bulletin board material.

The lead-up to Saturday afternoon’s UCLA-USC rivalry game offered little as far as shots or verbal sparring between the players and coaches.

“I’m not too big into rivalries and hate for another school,” USC’s two-way star Adoree’ Jackson said. “I’ve got much love and respect for those guys over there.”

Among the Bruins, they hardly expressed love, but they avoided needling their crosstown counterparts. No one publicly said “Southern Cal,” a name unpopular among USC fans and officials, so much so that the school’s media guide explicitly requests it not be used.

During his first few years as UCLA coach, Jim Mora rarely turned down the opportunity to utter the term.

But the Bruins have moved on.

“We’re finger tips away from what we’ve worked so hard for,” UCLA sophomore linebacker Kenny Young said.

Both No.22 UCLA and USC go into this game knowing a win gives them the Pac-12 South title and a rematch with Stanford.

The winner advances to the Dec.5 conference title game in Santa Clara against the Pac-12 North champion Cardinal, which has been a thorn in the side of both programs lately. Stanford has won eight straight against the Bruins (8-3, 5-3 in the Pac-12) and five of the past seven against the Trojans (7-4, 5-3).

“It’s really not about the rivalry,” USC senior defensive tackle Antwaun Woods said. “It’s about fixing our errors. We’re not really worried about them or the rivalry.”

Clearly, much more than city bragging rights are at stake.

A win will be a narrative-shaping moment for either side, adding to USC interim coach Clay Helton’s case to take the reins on a full-time basis or putting Mora in position to win his first Pac-12 championship in his four seasons in Westwood. The former NFL coach has had little trouble putting away the Trojans, winning all three previous meetings by double-digits, but he has yet to beat either of the North Division heavyweights, Stanford and Oregon...

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Plus, at the Los Angeles Times, "UCLA and USC paths were filled with rocks but still could be strewn with roses."

UCLA Bruins Riding the Wave of College Football's Crosstown Rivalry in Los Angeles (VIDEO)

This is the time of year in college football I love the most. The college rivalries are awesome, and L.A.'s crosstown rivalry is more interesting than ever. The Pete Carroll era at USC is ancient history; the Trojans are corrupt shell of their former selves. Amazingly, I find myself warming up to UCLA's football program, and believe me, this is a first.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Beating USC turned tide for Jim Mora and UCLA, and Bruins are still riding the wave":

Saturday's #UCLAvsUSC game has huge city-wide consequences. It's going to be huge. #Pac12 @lamblock

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) November 26, 2015

Security was sparse at UCLA's football practice Tuesday.

The workers the school employed to guard the practice field before the Bruins played rival USC in 2012 haven't been seen in a few years.

Even the rhetoric has been dialed back. Jim Mora, UCLA's coach, used to routinely refer to the Trojans as the team from "Southern Cal," a variation of University of Southern California that is universally disliked by the USC faithful.

He still slips in the term occasionally, though in recent days it has seemed like he was trying to avoid mentioning UCLA's next opponent by any name at all.

This is evolution.

When Mora arrived in Westwood, USC was firmly established on top in the crosstown rivalry. The Bruins were wannabes.

Since then, the momentum has flipped entirely. Mora-coached teams have three consecutive victories in series.

The teams meet again Saturday at the Coliseum, where two years ago Mora could be heard shouting "We own this town!" in the tunnel near the USC locker room.

"Beating USC validated Jim's position as the head coach," said Dan Guerrero, the UCLA athletic director who hired him. "It was important for him to flip that switch."

But ruling the home roost was only part of Mora's end game.

The winner Saturday advances to play in the Pac-12 Conference title game Dec. 5. From there, the Pac-12 champion goes to the Rose Bowl game...

More.

UCLA's Josh Rosen: 'The Chosen One' (VIDEO)

The Bruins had a great opening day yesterday.

 At LAT, "Josh Rosen's debut is stellar, UCLA defense staunch in 34-16 win over Virginia," and "UCLA defeats Virginia, 34-16, with Josh Rosen in starring role."

Plus, from Bill Plaschke, "Josh Rosen's debut as UCLA quarterback illuminates why he is the chosen one":

It's only one game. He's only 18. The sample size is small. The season is long. Afterward, his coach understandably attempted to slow the buzz by pushing his outstretched palms downward in a suppressing motion.

"Let's just do this, OK?" pleaded Jim Mora, pushing down, down, down. "OK?"

OK ... not. Forget it. Not gonna work. No amount of rationalizing will pick all those jaws off the Rose Bowl floor. No chunks of common sense will stop the rubbing of eyes, the nudging of neighbors, the emptying of lungs that filled the Arroyo Seco with stunned surprise.

Nothing, it seems, can quiet the roaring hope that freshman quarterback Josh Rosen brought to UCLA football Saturday in his debut, season-opening 34-16 victory over Virginia.

Sorry, coach, but the kid was unbelievable, OK?

Rated as one of the nation's best high school quarterbacks, he exceeded even the wildest dreams of Bruins fans. Everyone figured he would be good. Few had any idea that this quickly, he would be this good.

Rosen completed passes over defenders, around defenders, and occasionally just torched the ball through defenders. He threw while on the run, while falling on his back, and sometimes, splendidly, while just standing 6-feet-4 inches tall in the pocket.

While getting hammered in the stomach, he completed a screen pass that led to the first touchdown. With his team leading by a point, he threw an absolutely perfect 30-yard pass over the middle of the Virginia defense for the second touchdown. Finally, while being thrown to the ground, he found an open 310-pound nose guard on a screen pass for a third touchdown.

"Hit me right between the numbers," chortled Kenny Clark.

He was precise. He was powerful. He was inspirational, slapping hands and backs and telling his teammates, "This game is slower than I thought."

"I heard that and I'm like, 'Oh-kay?"' said receiver Eldridge Massington.

In all, Rosen set the UCLA first-year freshman quarterback record with 28 completions in 35 attempts for 351 yards. He tied the record with three touchdown passes.

His debut was at least equal to the brilliant debut of his predecessor, Brett Hundley, and his aura reminded one of Cade McNown, who led UCLA to 20 consecutive victories in the late 1990s. Rosen might have unkempt blond hair and a scraggly kid mustache, but his swagger is solid.

Sorry, coach, but your own players and coaches couldn't help themselves.

"Sometimes we're looking at each other like, 'OK, how did he do that?' " said Thomas Duarte, who caught that 30-yard touchdown pass in traffic...

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