Micah's takeaways for USC's final win of regular season vs UCLA

The USC Trojans got a very ugly win over their rival, the UCLA Bruins. The Trojans had some unique strategies that helped them achieve a 9-3 season, but also prevented them from reaching the College Football Playoff. If the Trojans want to improve even more next season, they will need to ditch this year's poor habits and be a 60-minute football team instead of a second-half team.

Here are my takeaways from the Trojans' ugly win versus rival UCLA in Week 14:

King Miller might be the star of this season offensively

The games the Trojans have had success in have been successful; they won the football game because their run game complemented their pass game. The games the Trojans lost this season were due to their inability to run the ball. King Miller had another great game on the run. Miller ran for 124 yards on 17 carries and two rushing touchdowns. He stepped up against UCLA, and that has been a consistent trend for the Trojans. Once King Miller starts getting going, the whole offense opens up, and then it is really tough to stop this offense. He is great at making big runs happen and creating great momentum for his offense. He came into this season as a walk-on running back and will leave this season as the guy at running back heading into next season. He deserves it; he stepped up more than any Trojan on this offense this whole year, and he filled the void of two starting-caliber transfer running backs. King Miller would be my MVP for the Trojans on offense this season.

Trojans played a cleaner and more disciplined game

As bad as this game started off for the Trojans after a King Miller rushing touchdown in the first drive, the Trojans put together one of their cleanest games of the season. They had fewer penalties in this match, and that is something that could not be said for this team every game. The Trojans also had no turnivers in this game. As great as the second half defensive performance was, you gotta give credit to how disciplined the Trojans were in this game with turnovers and penalties.

Trojans need a new special teams coach

There has been a special teams blunder in just about every game this season, and the Trojans have been one of the worst in that unit in the country. Whether it is penalties on special teams or poor execution on field goals, it is a continuous issue. The coach needs to be fired. There is a chance a game like Oregon has a different outcome if this team is better on special teams in that game. Lincoln Riley needs to pay some attention to that unit this offseason, or else it will cost him again in a couple of games next season.

Second half defense rises again

Death, taxes, Trojan defense making second-half adjustments are all things you can rely on. The Trojans' defense shut out another team in the second half, propelling them to a victory rather than an upset. This unit just may be a second-half defense. You want your football team to show up in the biggest moments, but it would be nice, in the bowl game or next year, for this team as a whole to play a 60-minute game. Against the good teams like Oregon, they won't give you an opportunity to catch up if you keep starting slow and waiting until the second half to get something going. While this trend has been fun to watch, next season, many fans would rather see this team put teams away earlier.

USC success at home continues

The Trojans were perfect at home, and that is a trend that Riley has been consistent with in his tenure at USC. The Trojans got big wins against Michigan and Iowa at home this season, the two statement wins of the year. 7-0 at home is very impressive, but with more talent, the hope is that this team can steal some big games on the road as well. To the Trojans' benefit next year, they have Oregon and Ohio State coming to the Coliseum instead of having to go on the road.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Lincoln Riley and USC football finish season with Victory Bell vs UCLA