Marshall Illin’ — u$c chokes away a 14-0 second half lead, losing to Cal for the first time in 15 years, thanks to Iman Marshall’s penalty for jawing at the Bear sidelines, costing troy the ball with 3:28 left in a 15-14 game
Trojans just don’t know when to keep their mouths shut. Or maybe they are just so USED to NOT being disciplined when they act like thugs, that they have no idea that it’s wrong. Well, on Saturday night, a trojan was all the way over on the Cal sidelines, screaming at his opponents, and he got flagged for an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty that basically cost sc the game, in their 15-14 loss to California, which ELIMINATES u$c from the Rose Bowl.
How did it come down to that? It’s hard to believe, since u$c took a 14-0 lead in the first half and was about to make it 21 until they fumbled right in front of the Bear goalline right before the half. If you had placed a bet on the trojans at this online betting site, you would have been feeling confident. It still didn’t look like the Bears were ever going to score 14 or more against the trojans in the second half… but they got some help from the Cardinal and Gold.
It started with a horrendous Center Snap that went 22 yards backwards into the sc end zone, which troy recovered, but it resulted in a Safety to get the Bears on the board. Cal took the free kick and scored, making it 14-9. Then they got a Pick, and were able to score AGAIN, making it 15-14, still in the 3rd. The 2-point conversion failed, so the margin remained at 1.
The trojan Offense was abysmal in the second half, so it was still 15-14, and Cal had the ball with under 5 minutes left. Then sc forced a 3rd down, and a long Cal reception at the sidelines gave the Golden Bears a first down. However, the Receiver’s foot was out of bounds, so the call was correctly overturned. That would have made it 4th down, with plenty of time to come back for a game-winning Field Goal. But Marshall cared more about his thuggish ego than his trojan team, so he got right in the faces of the Bears, and kept yelling at them, right in front of two officials. One of them threw the flag, and Cal had a first down. They proceeded to gain one more first down — on a gutsy 4th and 1 call — enabling the Bears to run out the clock, and break their 14-game losing streak to Fig. Tech. Also, it was their first win at the Coliseum in 18 years. It also made them Bowl Eligible for the first time in a few years. That’s an accomplishment the Bruins will not enjoy this season.
Speaking of the Bruins, they lost to ASU in Tempe 31-28. It wasn’t a horrible loss, but it still left UCLA at 2-8. So you might ask if it is wise to laugh at the choking 5-5 trojans. Well, no, even though they just lost AT HOME to a team that UCLA throttled 37-7 ON THE ROAD, I still fully expect sc to be favored to beat the Bruins in the Rose Bowl on Saturday. But this season was already a lost cause for the Bruins, while sc was still contending for a Pac-12 Title. Not any more, after their collapse against Cal, which was the second of TWO STRAIGHT HOME LOSSES (after 19 consecutive wins).
So their loss is much more painful than UCLA’s is. No one is calling for Chip Kelly to be fired, but Todd Helton will probably be fired if the trojans don’t turn it around in these next two weeks against their two football rivals, and it’s highly unlikely that they will be able to topple the undefeated Fighting Irish, so even a win in Pasadena may not save him. Hopefully, his replacement will be just as bad as him and his two pathetic predecessors.
So now we start Rivalry Week. It’s anybody’s game, as is often the case in this type of emotion-filled contest, where you can throw out the statistics. Of course, both these teams would like to bury their season stats, so that’s fine. U$c has an edge ON PAPER, and in experience, but the Bruins have a Coaching Advantage, and the Home Field Advantage. The team who makes the fewest stupid mistakes will win, and UCLA has had no shortage of those as the season has progressed, but hopefully, sc will bring their arrogant thug attitudes into the stadium, and get flagged for some key conduct penalties, giving UCLA a chance.
Speaking of chances, chances are you’d like to see some more photos of the UCLA Dance Team, so here you go.
