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Los Angeles • Cody Kessler blinked back tears after he ascended the stepladder and raised his sword to lead the Southern California band in his final act on the Coliseum turf.

Although the Trojans never imagined the path to the Pac-12 title game would include so many detours and setbacks, they're still grateful for the journey.

Particularly because the path led straight through UCLA.

Kessler threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, and USC clinched the Pac-12 South title with a 40-21 victory over No. 22 UCLA on Saturday in the 85th edition of their crosstown showdown.

After snapping its three-year skid in the annual city rivalry game, USC will face Stanford next Saturday in the Trojans' first trip to the Pac-12 championship game.

"I lost it a little bit up there at the end," said Kessler, the three-year starter who beat UCLA for the first time. "It's the way you want to go out. It was tough walking off that field for the last time, but that was the way I wanted to do it."

Darreus Rogers and Taylor McNamara caught TD passes while the Trojans (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) scored 20 consecutive points in the second half before raising the Victory Bell.

USC improved to 5-2 under interim coach Clay Helton, winning five of its last six games to earn a shot at the Pac-12 title despite a litany of off-field distractions headlined by coach Steve Sarkisian's midseason firing.

"This was the goal and the plan all along," linebacker Su'a Cravens said. "I don't like the way we got here, but we'll still take it."

While the Trojans' offense held the ball for 40 minutes, USC got its game-changing plays on defense and special teams.

Adoree Jackson returned a punt 42 yards for a touchdown shortly before halftime, and Rasheem Green put the Trojans ahead to stay in the third quarter when the freshman defensive lineman returned Josh Rosen's fumble for a 32-yard touchdown.

"This was a great day for our seniors, and especially because we run L.A.," said USC receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had six catches for 85 yards.

After another physical performance in the style preferred by their new coach, the Trojans renewed their calls for the full-time hire of Helton, who deferred any speculation about his job prospects.

"This was a great opportunity for our seniors to leave their legacy," Helton said. "They're leaving their mark not only for now in the immediate moment, but for years to come."

Paul Perkins rushed for two touchdowns for the Bruins (8-4, 5-4).

Hogan's leads Stanford to wild win

At Stanford, Calif., Kevin Hogan threw four touchdown passes and drove No. 13 Stanford to the game-winning 45-yard field goal by Conrad Ukropina on the last play of the Cardinal's 38-36 victory over No. 4 Notre Dame.

Hogan threw for 269 yards and calmly led the winning drive in the final 30 seconds for the Cardinal (10-2, No. 9 CFP), who kept their playoff hopes alive with the win. Stanford needs to beat USC in the Pac-12 championship game next week and then get help in the other title games to make the four-team playoff.

DeShone Kizer had given the Irish (10-2, No. 6 CFP) a one-point lead on his 2-yard run with 30 seconds left only to see Hogan drive Stanford to the win.

The drive was aided by a facemask penalty on Isaac Rochell on the first play and then Hogan connected on a 27-yard pass to Devon Cajuste to get Stanford in field goal range. After a short run by Christian McCaffrey, Ukropina came on and drilled the field goal setting off a wild celebration with the fans rushing the field. —

Pac-12 Standings

Conference Overall

North W L PF PA W L PF PA

Stanford 8 1 368 219 10 2 443 278

Oregon 7 2 368 340 9 3 518 441

Wash. St. 6 3 304 274 8 4 389 346

Washington 4 5 261 180 6 6 354 213

California 3 5 237 252 6 5 390 317

Oregon St. 0 9 160 381 2 10 228 444

South W L PF PA W L PF PA

Southern Cal 6 3 287 240 8 4 432 296

Utah 6 3 270 207 9 3 363 262

UCLA 5 4 295 259 8 4 390 301

Ariz. St. 4 4 276 275 6 5 362 344

Arizona 3 6 278 363 6 6 441 428

Colorado 1 8 177 291 4 9 320 357

Friday's games

Washington 45, Washington St. 10

Oregon 52, Oregon St. 42

Saturday's Games

Utah 20, Colorado 14

Southern Cal 40, UCLA 21

Stanford 38, Notre Dame 36

Arizona St. at California, 10 p.m.