Talk wasn’t swirling around Malcolm Smith’s 62-yard interception return for a touchdown, his 15 total tackles or the overall performance of the defense.

Rather, it was a play with less than a minute left and the outcome all but decided that was the main topic of debate following USC’s 28-7 victory over UCLA Saturday at the Coliseum.

We’re the Trojans piling on by responding to a Bruin timeout with a 48-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds left?

USC coach Pete Carroll denied there any ulterior motives, saying only afterwards that the Trojans were competing to the end.

“This is an extraordinary rivalry and it’s about competition,” Carroll said. “Rick (UCLA coach Neuheisel) understands that. You go back to Jim’s (Stanford coach Harbaugh) call (2-point conversion try with a big lead in the fourth quarter) a couple of weeks ago, I had no problem with that.”

USC quarterback Matt Barkley, who threw the scoring pass to Damian Williams, saw it differently.

“They can’t disrespect us like that,” Barkley said.

“I don’t forget much,” Neuheisel said.

While Carroll felt nobody on the other side was offended, UCLA players obviously took exception to the bomb by moving across the field towards the USC sideline when Trojan players appeared to be taunting them, leading to a potential brawl. It took a few minutes to calm everybody down so they could finish out the final seconds.

“It is just the heart of a competitor, just battling,” Carroll said. “We just wanted to win the game and have fun. When the moment was there, I wasn’t thinking about what others might be thinking. You are either competing, or you’re not.”

Both teams’ competitive fires were fully stoked by the sequence that began when USC stopped the Bruins near midfield on downs with 54 seconds left, preserving a 21-7 lead after Allen Bradford’s second TD run a few moments earlier. Barkley then kneeled on the ball. Neuheisel called the first of his three timeouts, drawing boos from the USC crowd.

“I was trying to make them punt, and maybe if they run, we cause a fumble,” Neuheisel said. “They have their take on it, but I was trying to get the ball back. People can make their own conclusions. I don’t blame them for doing it.”

USC play-caller Jeremy Bates suggested a long pass, and Carroll eagerly agreed.

“That was a heck of a call,” Carroll said.

USC (8-3, 5-3), which closes the regular season against Arizona Saturday at the Coliseum, is looking at a likely bid to the Holiday or Sun bowls with a victory over the Wildcats.

UCLA (6-6, 3-6) is looking for an invitation to the one of the lower-tier bowls. Representatives from the Humanitarian and New Mexico bowls were at the game Saturday.

Until the final tense moments, this was a game marked by inconsistent offense and tough defense.

Smith had a big night for the Trojans, as did All-American safety Taylor Mays (nine tackles) and cornerback Josh Pinkard (six tackles, interception).

Linebacker Akeem Ayers (nine tackles, 2.5 for loss), safety Rahim Moore (seven tackles), linebacker Reggie Carter (six tackles) and tackle Brian Price (five tackles, 2.0 for loss, forced fumble) led the UCLA defense.
Allen Bradford ran for 62 yards and two TDs, including a score with 1:30 to play.

“This was a tremendous bounceback (from the 55-27 loss to Stanford) for us,” Carroll said. “The defense was huge. It never let them (Bruins) get going. If anything messed us up it was we kept going backwards on offense (due in large part to 12 penalties for 107 yards).”

The Bruins barely moved until senior quarterback Kevin Craft relieved Kevin 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.