USC def. UCLA, 24-7

The San Bernardino County Sun
TROJANS CLINCH PAC-8 CROWN, 24-7
Nov 19, 1972
USC tight end Charles Young stormed into the locker room clutching a long-stemmed rose in his hand. For him and 18 seniors on the Trojan squad it was an occasion to celebrate. The No. 1-rated Trojans had just whipped UCLA 24-7 for the Pacific-8 championship and the first victory for the seniors over UCLA, as well as their first trip to Pasadena in three years. "I'm delighted," said USC coach John McKay. "We proved tonight that the I-bone is back." With slithery halfback Anthony Davis rushing for 178 yards and the SC defense, otherwise known as "Batman's Brigade", stopping the Bruins' attempt to control the ball, the game was over midway through the third period. A bipartisan crowd of 82.923 at Memorial Coliseum watched Davis streak to daylight at every opportunity, helping the Trojans out-rush the touted Bruin wishbone. UCLA's only consolation was that it gained 198 net yards rushing to erase the Pac-8 season record of the 1929 USC team with 3,809. But the Bruins disdained the pass even when they were hopelessly behind - and it was easy to see why. "Batman" (Richard Wood) and his swift secondary combined with the Trojan rush to harass Bruin quarterback Mark Harmon. Wood made 13 unassisted tackles and assisted on five others. He intercepted a pass late in the game to halt UCLA's last scoring penetration. "I thought USC was fantastic," said Bruin Coach Pepper Rodgers. "I've never seen anybody better. You can't be too disappointed when you get beat by somebody that good. You have to be realistic." UCLA was down 17-7 in the third period when Bruce Barnes punted 50 yards to the SC four. The Trojans drove 96 yards in 13 plays for the decider. "That took us out of the game," said Pepper. "There is no question in my mind that USC is better than Michigan and Nebraska." Pepper's parting shot was: "We got no lucky bounces today except maybe that fumble by Davis (punt bobble recovered by UCLA) and believe me, we needed a few to win." Asked to comment on Davis' rushing, McKay said, "Like Mike Garrett, he's got a lot of ability for a small back, but I think our line blocked exceptionally well despite the fact UCLA was shooting all the gaps."
The game proved, as McKay said in the locker room, that, "SC was the better football team." But the Trojans aren't going to scout their possible opponent in the Rose Bowl. "We aren't going to send anyone up North for the Michigan-Ohio State game. We could go, but we won't. I wouldn't want anybody to freeze to death back there," said McKay. USC appeared awesome the first time it handled the ball. After taking the opening kickoff, SC moved from its 40 in seven plays to the UCLA 15 where the Bruins held and Mike Rae booted a 32-yard field goal to make it 3-0. The $1 million scoreboard had it UCLA 3, USC 0. After the Bruins punted, the Trojans moved 71 yards in just eight plays with Davis breaking on a trap over the middle and scooting 23 yards for the score. A key play of the drive was a fourth down pass to Young that netted 9 yards and a first down at the Bruin 21. UCLA then ate up the final nine minutes of the first period on a classic wishbone drive of 75 yards that included 17 plays with James McAlister plunging over from the two. It was the first and last time the Bruins would score, thanks to Wood and USC's swift-footed fleet of linebackers.