A year ago, when USC visited UCLA at the Rose Bowl, it felt like the start of something great.
The Trojans were 9-1 in coach Lincoln Riley’s first season, and quarterback Caleb Williams’ Heisman Trophy candidacy was just beginning to blossom. The Bruins were 8-2 and had proved their mettle with wins over Washington and Utah. Fox Sports’ top crew of Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt were in the house, a nod to the importance of the crosstown rivalry in the network’s Big Ten future.
Then there was the game itself — an all-time classic, a 48-45 USC win clinched by a late interception that broke your heart for the dazzling Dorian Thompson-Robinson.