"Unbelievable! Unbelievable!" Kirk held his head, jumping up and down as if his chair was covered in tacks. His astonished screams pierced the sky, creating a crackling noise in the microphone. "Unbelievable!" Even after saying it many times, it still wasn't enough to express his shock.
"A 43-yard pass! In the final moments of the game, the Bruins' number 11 was under strong pressure from number 96. Lu Ke decisively ran out of the pocket, creating an open space with his own two feet. In a close call, he threw a 43-yard bullet pass! He not only showed amazing arm strength but also the accuracy of his throw while on the run! John Ward displayed his physical talent to the fullest, completing the catch with a diving roll and scoring a touchdown!"
"The 43-yard pass, like a bullet, ended the game! Magnificent, absolutely magnificent! In fact, the moment the football left his hand, Malik Jackson tackled Lu Ke, but unfortunately, he couldn't disrupt the pass. They could only watch the football's trajectory as John, like a circus acrobat, completed that unbelievable catch and completed one of the greatest comebacks in the 2010 NCAA League!"
At this moment, Kirk looked like he had just chugged an entire bottle of baijiu. His cheeks were flushed, and his blood vessels seemed about to burst. He delivered all the commentary in a rush, without taking a single breath. Even so, it was still not enough to express his excitement and exhilaration. "Unbelievable!" Kirk repeated, at a loss for words, holding his head, unable to believe his eyes, having witnessed such a great comeback in an NCAA game!
Amid Kirk's machine-gun-like commentary, the entire Rose Bowl erupted.
Jeff's mouth was wide open, his eyes were wide, and his hands were raised high. He couldn't make a sound. Every cell in his body was screaming, yelling, and jumping with extreme excitement. He was so excited that all his reactions disappeared, and he could only stretch his limbs, cheering and celebrating silently.
Nate was like a lunatic, sprinting, roaring, and howling in the aisles. "Ahhh! We won! We won! We won! Ahhh!" Finally, he stood at the very front of the stands, waving his right arm with all his might, screaming hoarsely, "Victory! Victory! Victory!" The veins on his neck immediately bulged, and spittle flew, unable to control himself. But he didn't care. He just kept shouting.
On the UCLA side of the stands, there were now fewer than 10,000 people. In the huge Rose Bowl, they looked lonely and insignificant, unable to hide the large empty sections. But these fewer than 10,000 people unleashed a tremendous amount of energy, shaking the entire stadium. Even the world seemed to shake, as if the sky was falling and the earth was cracking.
Everyone was roaring and howling. The volcano-like passion ignited the sparks in the air, burning fiercely. It was a sea of fire. No, it was a sea of magma! Jeff and Nate were just two of those sparks.
One side was heaven, the other was hell. One side was a sea of fire, the other a field of snow.
On the USC side of the stands, more than 30,000 fans had held on until the last moment. They thought they would witness another victory, a victory that would crush their rival, but they were disappointed. They had fallen into a bottomless abyss, and they were cold all over. The 30,000-person stand was now completely silent. The shock had taken away all their emotions—not even anger, just astonishment and confusion, as if they were thinking, "What just happened?"
This was the second victory for UCLA in the Los Angeles Derby since the new millennium, and it was a comeback victory. The entire stadium exploded!
Lu Ke quietly watched the football, quietly watching the arc it made, its trajectory, the force with which it landed in John's arms, the moment it entered the end zone, and the moment the whistle blew. He thought he would be ecstatic, but he wasn't. Instead, he let out a sigh of relief. He did it. He finally did it.
His tense muscles relaxed, and an endless ache surged through him like a tide. He felt completely drained!
A smile appeared on his face, a big smile. At this moment, he could finally let go and let the frenzied joy wash over him. From high school to college, from freshman to senior year, from a nobody to the leader of a comeback, the journey had been tough, but every single second was worth it! The feeling of happiness exploded in his chest and slowly spilled out.
He was so in love with this moment, so enjoying this moment.
"Buddy." A voice came over. Lu Ke looked up and saw Malik's face, smiling but unable to hide his disappointment. "Remember, you won today, but that doesn't mean you'll always win." This wasn't a challenge; it was a confident challenge. "Today, you're a hero!"
Looking at Malik's outstretched right hand, Lu Ke didn't sit up. He just raised his right hand and patted the other's palm. "Brother, believe me, the next time we meet, I'll still be the one who gets the last laugh."
Such confident words made Malik smile brightly. "I highly doubt it." After saying that, he turned to leave, but then paused, as if remembering something. He turned back. "I'm Malik Jackson."
"Lu Ke." The two rivals on the field introduced themselves for the first time after the game.
"Bambi! Bambi! Bambi!" The shouts came like a hurricane, interrupting Lu Ke and Malik. Before Lu Ke could react, Logan rushed over and was the first to pounce on Lu Ke, making him let out a painful groan. "Ugh, you bastard! Get off!"
But before Logan could move, Marcus followed, and then one after another, everyone started piling on Lu Ke. Lu Ke felt like he was about to spit up blood. "These damn guys!"
If the referees hadn't come over to stop them, the celebration would have continued. Seeing the pale faces of the referees, they realized that the game was not over yet. The touchdown play had only taken ten seconds, and there were still 23 seconds left in the game.
Both teams left the field, handing it over to the special teams. The Bruins' special teams didn't make a mistake. After the referee blew the whistle, they deliberately stalled for 22 seconds, called a timeout, then started again. They kicked off and successfully scored the last extra point of the game, setting the final score at 35-28.
Only then did the referee blow the final whistle.
The 2011 NCAA Football season, the Pac-12 season, had officially come to an end!
In the final game of the season, the Bruins, who were down by three touchdowns and whose starting quarterback was injured, ultimately completed a huge comeback under the leadership of their backup quarterback. They secured their second derby victory against their rival in ten years and concluded the college careers of the senior players.
What a game! Truly brilliant!
All the Bruins players were cheering and celebrating wildly. They even lifted Lu Ke up on their shoulders and marched toward the locker room as if they had won the world. Not just because of the victory, but also because they had defeated their crosstown rival, and because of the way they had won with a comeback, this victory was incredibly sweet, beautiful like a dream.
"Who is he?" After the celebration, Jeff finally calmed down, his mind full of questions. Even without mentioning a name, everyone who watched the game knew who Jeff was asking about. But unfortunately, no one could answer. No one knew who the number 11 player on the field was. They didn't even know there was such a person on the team.
Danny Reese drove back to the dorm, but before he left, he couldn't help but turn on the radio to listen to the game's result. It wasn't that he was expecting anything; he just wanted to know the outcome. That's when he heard Kirk's wild commentary on the radio. "...The Bruins have achieved an incredible victory. Under the leadership of backup quarterback Lu Ke, they defeated their crosstown rival, stepping over the enemy's corpse to finish fourth in the league..."
"What?" Danny thought he had misheard and froze for a moment. The other guys in the back and passenger seats were already howling. They stuck their heads out and shouted loudly, "The Bruins beat the Trojans!" After this shout, many windows in the dorm were pushed open, and you could hear the entire building singing and dancing. The party had already started, and they were all late.
Danny was completely dumbfounded. "They actually won!" After muttering to himself, the reality sank in. The backup quarterback had actually won! Then Danny held down the car's horn, honking it repeatedly. "Ahhh! We won! We won!" The honking seemed to have completely awakened the campus. Music, horns, and shouting filled the air. The entire campus was now in a frenzy.
It was a sleepless night. This was true for USC, as their humiliating defeat left them dejected. It was even more true for UCLA, as their glorious comeback had them roaring with celebration!
No one could have guessed the process, and no one could have guessed the outcome.
After things calmed down, everyone asked the same question: Who was number 11?
For Jay Fox, this was the most wonderful and glorious moment of his college life, because he could shout to everyone, "Number 11! That's my roommate! That's my brother! I know him!" With just that one sentence, everyone would high-five him. It was that simple.
But the celebration was only halfway through when Jay was pulled away by Emily P. from the stands to the backstage locker room to corner Lu Ke. From a distance, he saw Lu Ke being carried in by his teammates. Jay waved his hand excitedly. "Bambi, Bambi, over here! It's me, Jay!"
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