UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper discusses Bruins' 29-10 loss to USC

On Saturday evening, the USC football team defeated rival UCLA 29-10 at the Coliseum. With the victory, the Trojans retained the Victory Bell and finished the 2025 regular season with a record of 9-3. While USC awaits its bowl game destination, UCLA's season is over, as the Bruins finished the year 3-9.

Following the game, UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper discussed his team's loss. Here are some of the highlights of what he had to say:

On the difference between the first half and the second half

"It’s a game of moments," Skipper said. "In the first half, we were controlling the pace of things, it was going the way we wanted to go. The second half and the third quarter were kind of a seesaw battle. And in the fourth quarter, penalties started adding up on us, and we just didn’t make enough plays. We started moving and then we went backwards."

On his team's fight

"I’m proud of the guys," Skipper said. "They fought their tails off. We wanted to win this battle for LA. We attacked the moment. We had good practices all week, and I really feel like they gave their all, so I’m proud of that."

On USC's two-point conversion

“They kind of gave us a chaos formation," Skipper said. :That’s what we call it when they break the set like that. We were all over it, we were waiting for it. They actually subbed into it, so we knew it was coming. We were covering the guy, and he made a play. So we have to give it to him. They got it, they earned it."

On being stopped on fourth down in the fourth quarter

"We threw it under the sticks, but they were playing deep," Skipper said. "They were playing the sticks, so we had to try to throw it under and try to run for it. That’s just how it was. It was a long distance, it was too far. It was hard to make that play. But we did that to ourselves, we went backwards on our own pre-snap penalty stuff. So it is what it is. They were smart and played a good defense for that, and we threw it underneath to hopefully make somebody miss and get the first, so it is what it is."

On his team needing to learn about the USC-UCLA rivalry

"The rivalry started on Sunday for us," Skipper sai. "We watched a documentary, and then we had guest speakers all throughout the week, so we did everything possible to get set for it. There are a lot of guys who grew up and didn’t know much about it, so we wanted to make sure they understood what was ahead of us here. I think the team was excited for it. It was awesome, I loved coaching in it. I wish we had a different outcome, but it still was a good game. The atmosphere was awesome and the build-up was awesome. I loved everything about it. This thing will keep on going, it’s gonna keep getting better and better. I’m excited to see how the games will be played."

On the future of UCLA's program

"Bruin football is going to continue," Skipper said. "This is a top-notch university and a top-notch athletic program. Bruin football will be fine. It’ll be back and ready to roll, so keep cheering and keep supporting. Everything’s going to work out."

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: UCLA's Tim Skipper discusses his team's 29-10 loss to USC football