Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

USC tailback Allen Bradford, right, stiff arms UCLA defensive back Sheldon Price during the No. 24 Trojans' 28-7 victory Saturday night.

USC limited the Bruins to 180 yards and no points in the first three quarters, more than making up for the Trojans’ unabated offensive struggles under Barkley, who passed for 206 yards in his first crosstown game. USC also lost starting tailback Joe McKnight on the first drive of the second half to a thigh injury.

“You come here knowing how big this rivalry is, and how much it means to everybody in this city,” Barkley said. “I’m going to remember this one.”

The Bruins barely moved until senior quarterback Kevin Craft relieved Prince, who sprained his right shoulder, in the second half. Fullback Chane Moline scored their only TD on a 2-yard direct snap with 5:41 to play.

But Barkley then made perhaps his best throw, hitting Ronald Johnson with a 20-yard pass on third down with less than 2½ minutes to play. Bradford rumbled 21 yards to the UCLA 2 on the next play before scoring.

USC then took over on downs near midfield with 54 seconds left, sealing the Trojans’ 10th win in the last 11 meetings — and setting up those late shenanigans.

Craft passed for 98 yards and Prince had 90 for the Bruins, whose three-game winning streak ended. The Bruins are bowl-eligible, but they’re the seventh-place team in a strong conference with just six automatic bowl affiliations.

Both teams marched into the Coliseum wearing their home jerseys, a long-dormant tradition revived last season by USC at the Rose Bowl. UCLA even went a step further with the powder-blue 1967 throwback jerseys that the Bruins first wore in a win over Washington three weeks earlier to snap a five-game skid.

But all the color was in the uniforms, not the dull play. USC led 7-0 after a 10-punt first half, the rivalry’s lowest-scoring first half in 33 years.

Prince made the half’s biggest mistake when he lost sight of Smith, throwing a short slant pass right into the USC linebacker’s numbers in the first quarter. Smith outran Prince down the UCLA sideline, showing off the speed he shares with his brother, former Trojans receiver Steve Smith.

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