USC Football: 3 takeaways from dramatic win over UCLA in Week 15

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Dec 12, 2020; Pasadena, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Clay Helton watches from the sidelines wearing a face mask in the first half against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

3. The run game looked the best it has all season

USC has not been able to run the ball for much of the year, especially in short-yardage situations, but tonight the Trojans looked like a more complete offense and a big reason for that was the play of running back Vavae Malepeai.

Malepeai was a physical back all night and was breaking through UCLA defenders all night long. He finished with 110 yards and a touchdown while averaging nearly six yards per carry. He and Stephen Carr are very talented backs and can be one of the most effective duos in the conference and their performance against UCLA showed that.

USC should feel confident in their ability to win against Washington of Friday if they are able to run the ball like they did on Saturday night against the Bruins. USC might run an air raid offense, but they have needed the ability to run the ball in closer games and they showed they could against UCLA.

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