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| Johnnie Morton catches the game-winning touchdown pass with 16 seconds to give USC a 45-42 win over crosstown rival UCLA. |
One of their most memorable games came in 1990 where the two teams combined for 87 points and six lead changes in a game that came down to the final seconds.
The Trojans entered the game as the favorites as they were ranked #18 with a 7-2-1 record under fourth-year head coach Larry Smith.
Even though they were out of the national championship picture, the Trojans were still under the spotlight because of their redshirt sophomore quarterback, Todd Marinovich.
Marinovich had gotten national attention before he stepped foot on the campus of the University of Southern California because of his father's intense training and workout regimen of Todd in high school, leading to an cover on the California magazine in January 1988 calling Marinovich "Robo-QB".
After sitting out the 1988 season as a redshirt, Marinovich lead the Trojans to a 9-2-1 record and a win in the Rose Bowl.
Marinovich was considered a candidate for the Heisman Trophy in 1990 but erratic play and a one-game suspension because he was skipping classes caused a lot of drama at USC.
Marinovich didn't even know if he was going to start the UCLA game until the morning of the game.
UCLA entered their contest with their crosstown rival, hoping to get bowl eligible as they stood 5-5.
The Bruins had a young quarterback of their own in redshirt freshman Tommy Maddox, who had become the first freshman in UCLA history to throw for at least 2,000 yards, and that was before the USC game.
With Marinovich and Maddox under center for both USC and UCLA, fans anticipated a shootout and a lot of fireworks.
They would not be disappointed.
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| Tommy Maddox(8) became the first UCLA quarterback to throw for over 400 yards in a game as he threw for 409 yards on 26-of-40 passing. |
The fireworks began on the second play of the game when USC safety Stephon Pace stepped in front of tailback Brian Brown on a screen pass to make the interception and return it 27 yards for the game's first touchdown just 52 seconds into the game, the earliest touchdown in the history of the USC-UCLA series.
However, the Trojans could not convert on the extra point as holder Pat O'Hara mishandled the snap from center, keeping the score 6-0.
Maddox responded to the pick-six by completing five of six passes for 58 yards on the Bruins' ensuing possession, 11 plays for 77 yards, that was capped off by a nine-yard touchdown run by Maddox that with the extra point gave UCLA a 7-6 lead with just over nine minutes to go in the first quarter.
Finally, it was Marinovich's turn to get the ball as the Trojans began their first possession of the game at their 16-yard-line.
"Robo-QB" completed three of four passes for 41 yards on the 12-play, 84-yard drive that culminated with a seven-yard touchdown run by running back Mazio Royster, who carried the ball six times for 31 yards on the drive, to put USC back in the lead.
Following the touchdown, the Trojans went for the two-point conversion, which was successful as Marinovich completed a pass to fullback Scott Lockwood to make the USC lead 14-7 with 3:22 left in the first quarter.
The score remained 14-7 going into the second quarter as the Bruins began a drive from their 24-yard-line that saw UCLA pick up 29 yards on four running plays, setting up a 3rd-and-4 at the USC 47-yard-line.
That is when Maddox completed a short pass to Sean LaChappelle, who then proceeded to outran the Trojans defense for the 47-yard touchdown that tied the game at 14 midway through the second quarter.
The Trojans turned it over on their next possession as Marinovich was intercepted by UCLA defensive back Damion Lyons on a deep pass intended for Gary Wellman, giving the Bruins the ball at their 15-yard-line.
But three plays later, the Trojans had the ball again as Maddox was sacked by USC linebacker Kurt Barber, forcing a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Don Gibson to give USC the ball at the UCLA 29-yard-line.
The Trojans used the running game to drive for the touchdown as they ran the ball five straight times, the last being a sneak by Marinovich for the one-yard touchdown to give USC a 21-14 lead with 2:43 left in the first half.
The Bruins tried to get some points before the halftime break as they drove to the USC 10-yard-line only to have Maddox be intercepted again, this time by USC linebacker Scott Ross keeping the score 21-14 in favor of the Trojans as the first half came to a close.
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| USC running back Mazio Royster carried the ball 31 times for 157 yards and scored a touchdown in the Trojans' 45-42 win. |
The Trojans got the ball to start the second half and held possession for nearly 11 minutes as they drove 68 yards in 18 plays, with 45 of the 68 yards coming on the ground.
Royster had 29 of those 45 yards as the Trojans twice went for it on 4th down and were successful both times as fullback Raoul Spears picked up a yard on 4th-and-1 from the Trojans 39-yard-line, then Royster running for six yards on a 4th-and-1 at the UCLA 25-yard-line.
However, the Trojans could not punch into the end zone and had to settle for a 18-yard field goal by Quinn Rodriguez that pushed their lead to double digits, 24-14 with 4:19 left in the third quarter.
It didn't take long for the Bruins to respond as they drove 73 yards in six plays, with Brian Brown scoring on a five-yard touchdown run to cut the USC lead to a field goal, 24-21 with 1:43 left in the third quarter.
The game went into the fourth quarter with USC ahead 24-21 when the fun really began.
It got going with another USC pick-six as Maddox's pass for Reggie Moore, was tipped by Pace, and landed in the hands of cornerback Jason Oliver, who returned the interception 34 yards for the touchdown to push the USC back to 10 points, 31-21 with just over 12 minutes to play in the game.
The Bruins would strike back on the ensuing kickoff as Shaun Wills returned the kick 35 yards that went with a 15-yard penalty on USC after the play, put UCLA on the USC 39-yard-line.
Four plays later, the Bruins were back in the end zone as Maddox found Scott Miller down the middle for a 29-yard touchdown to make it a three point-game again at 31-28 with 10:46 to go in the game.
Then, the UCLA defense rose up to force a turnover as Lockwood could not handle a handoff from Marinovich, leading to a fumble that was recovered by Bruins defensive back Dion Lambert at the USC 38-yard-line.
The Bruins decided to go for it all on the first play after the turnover as Maddox went deep down the middle for Miller, who made the diving 38-yard touchdown catch, to give UCLA the lead for the first time since the first quarter, as the Bruins' two touchdowns in 89 seconds gave them a 35-31 lead with 9:17 to go in the game.
Following an exchange of punts, the Trojans got the ball at the UCLA 47-yard-line with a chance to tie or take the lead.
Up to this point, Marinovich had been quiet as he had only completed 10 of 17 passes for 105 yards in the game.
But on this drive, "Robo-QB" would get going as he found Johnnie Morton for 13 yards on 3rd-and-10 from the 47-yard-line.
Then after Spears picked up 4 yards on a 4th-and-inches, Marinovich found Morton in the right corner of the end zone to give USC a 38-35 lead with 3:19 to play.
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| Todd Marinovich completed six of eight passes for 110 yards and threw two touchdowns on the Trojans' last two offensive possessions. |
Still, that was plenty of time for Maddox and the Bruins to salvage at least a tie(there was no overtime in FBS until 1996)or steal the win away from the Trojans as UCLA took over at its 25-yard-line following the kickoff.
It only took one play for the Bruins to get into USC territory as Maddox connected with Miller for 29 yards on the first play of the drive, giving UCLA a 1st down at the Trojans' 46-yard-line.
Then, Maddox hit Reggie Moore for 14 yards and another 1st down, which was followed by a 11-yard run by Maddox for another 1st down at the Trojans' 21-yard-line.
The Bruins picked up their fourth straight 1st down when Maddox found Moore for 11 more yards to set up a 1st-and-goal at the 10-yard-line.
After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Maddox hit LaChapelle for nine yards, setting up Brian Brown's one-yard touchdown dive to give the Bruins a 42-38 lead with 1:19 remaining.
However, there still left plenty of time for the Trojans to drive for the winning touchdown, especially since they had all three timeouts remaining as they took over at their 25-yard-line with 1:13 left.
The drive did not get off to a good start as Marinovich completed a pass to Royster that only went three yards, then fired an incomplete pass, setting up a 3rd-and-7.
That is when Marinovich found Wellman for 27 yards and a 1st down at the UCLA 45-yard-line where the Trojans called their first timeout with 36 seconds left.
Following the timeout, Marinovich connected with Wellman again, this time for 22 yards, to put the Trojans at the UCLA 23-yard-line with 26 seconds after another USC timeout.
That is when Marinovich went for it all, as he lofted a pass toward the left corner of the end zone, that was caught by a leaping Johnnie Morton to give USC a 45-42 lead with 16 seconds left(double-click to play).
USC kicked it short on the ensuing kickoff but Maddox and the Bruins could not pull off a miracle as the freshman quarterback threw two straight incomplete passes on the final two plays of the game, allowing for the Trojans to walk off with a 45-42 win in a game that saw both teams combine for 885 yards of total offense and four lead changes in the fourth quarter.
The loss handed UCLA their second straight losing season, though the team would rebound the following season behind Maddox as the Bruins went 9-3 in 1991, which included a 24-21 win over USC, and finished in the top 20 of both the Coaches and AP poll.
Maddox would declare for the NFL draft and be selected by the Denver Broncos in the first round as the heir apparent to John Elway.
However, Maddox struggled in Denver and would eventually be out of the NFL after the 1999 season before making a comeback in Pittsburgh where he lead the Steelers to the playoffs in 2002 which included a 36-33 win over the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round after the Pittsburgh fell behind 17 points.
Maddox would gave win to Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 and served as the team's backup as the Steelers won the Super Bowl in January 2006, which was followed by Maddox's retirement.
As Marinovich and the Trojans, their last-second win over UCLA pushed their record to 8-2-1, but USC would lose their final two games, including a loss to Michigan State in the Sun Bowl which saw Marinovich screaming at his head coach, to finish the season with a 8-4-1 record.
After the season, Marinovich was arrested for cocaine possession and decided to leave USC and declare for the NFL draft, where he was drafted in the first round by the then Los Angeles Raiders.
Marinovich would only make 17 starts in the NFL as drug problems forced him out of the league after the 1992 season.
Unfortunately, Marinovich has not been able to shake his demons as he was arrested in August 2016 for possession of methamphetamine.
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