One of college football’s greatest rivalries takes center stage once again this coming Saturday as the USC Trojans and the No. 22 UCLA Bruins lock horns in a pivotal Pac-12 showdown. It’s bound to be one heck of a contest with the winner of this matchup advancing to the Pac-12 title game against No. 13 Stanford.
With the stakes this huge, which side will handle the pressure better? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this all-important clash and while you’re at it, you can check out our previews of Auburn vs. No. 2 Alabama and No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 9 Stanford.
The UCLA Bruins moved to within a victory of their first Pac-12 championship game since 2012 after beating Utah, 17-9, on Saturday. Josh Rosen threw for 220 yards and a touchdown as the Bruins effectively ended the Utes’ Pac-12 title hopes. It was a huge bounce-back win for the Bruins who suffered a gut-wrenching 31-27 defeat to Washington State the previous weekend.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]The Bruins will have their work cut out for them, however, against the Trojans as they will be without star running back Devontae Booker. The senior is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a torn meniscus and bone bruise in his left knee last week against Arizona. Booker had been an integral part of the UCLA offense, rushing for 1,261 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He accounted for 63 percent of the Utes’ carries and rushing first downs and 69 percent of the Utes’ rushing yardage this campaign.
With Booker now out, the onus is on quarterback Josh Rosen to lead the way for the Bruins’ attack. The freshman star completed 15 of his 30 passes in the win against Utah and finished the game with a quarterback rating of 122.6. Rosen has now thrown a school-record 218 consecutive passes without an interception. He will be licking his chops at the prospect of facing a USC secondary that’s allowing a whopping 265.6 yards per game through the air this season, 105th in the entire FBS.
The Bruins are 3-0 SU and ATS in their last three meetings with the Trojans.
The USC Trojans had their four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday with a 48-28 blowout loss to No. 17 Oregon. The Trojans had no answer for Ducks quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. who threw for 407 yards and six touchdowns. That’s the most ever recorded by an opposing QB against USC.
They will need to sort out that leaky passing defense if they are to snap their three-game losing skid against UCLA. The USC secondary struggled mightily in the game against Oregon, allowing Adams to amass 313 yards passing and four touchdowns in the first half alone. That kind of performance simply won’t do against a UCLA side that is ranked 22nd in the FBS in passing offense, averaging 291.2 yards per game this season.
It’s also crucial for the Trojans that quarterback Cody Kessler deliver a huge performance in this rivalry game. He enters the showdown with 2,953 yards passing, 69.2 percent completion percentage and 25 touchdowns this season against just six interceptions. He has struggled against the Bruins in the past, though, passing for just 214 yards against UCLA last season, and managing only 174 yards two years ago.
The Trojans are 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS in their last eight home games with the Bruins.
Writer’s Prediction
USC (-3.5) grabs the Victory Bell with a thrilling 35-31 win.
