This longtime college rivalry has lost a bit of its flair this season with USC down in the rankings, opening the door for UCLA to add to the Trojans' woes on Saturday night.
To say this football season has been a disappointment for USC would be a huge understatement. Today the 20th-ranked Trojans will try to get on track against their long time rivals from UCLA.
After earning its seventh consecutive top-four finish in the AP poll last season, USC (7-3, 4-3) had big aspirations like contending for a national title and winning an eighth straight Pac-10 title. Instead the season has slipped away the Trojans who now are simply trying to get into the best lower-tier bowl that they can.
Pete Carroll's Trojans began their run as one of college football's best programs in 2002, but this year's team will end its season without a BCS bowl appearance or league title. USC which wraps up its regular season against Arizona next week, was still in the mix for both entering its game against Stanford on Nov. 14, but was pounded 55-21 giving up the most points in school history.
Two weeks prior to that, the SC defense was embarrassed at Oregon giving up 613 yards in a 47-20 loss to the Ducks. Not all the blame has been placed on the defense though. The offense wasn't much better with quarterback Matt Barkley having his third straight unimpressive game. Carroll has stuck with the freshman all season although he is averaging only 165.0 passing yards in his last three games, with four TDs and five picks in that span. Barkley might find the sledding tough against a UCLA defense that has forced 10 turnovers in the last two games.
The Bruins (6-5, 3-5) are bowl eligible if not bowl-attractive, but a win over USC could change that. UCLA which missed out on a bowl game last year, is seventh in the conference. Only the top six teams in the Pac-10 are guaranteed a bowl berth.
UCLA hasn't had much success against USC going 1-9 in their last ten series meetings. Although USC has dominated the series recently, UCLA has been playing well while the Trojans' confidence is clearly shaken.
The Bruins' defense allowed more than 27 points once this season and is giving up an average of 14.3 during its winning streak. USC's once-powerful offense averaged 18.3 points in its last three.
Both the side and total are attractive options in this game. I love UCLA getting nearly two touchdowns against a once proud USC defense that’s come up woefully short of expectations.
The Trojans are also 2-8 ATS with the last cover coming back on October 4 against Cal.The Bruins are 6-5 vs. the number and 8-3 to the 'under'. Today’s total is currently a 47½.
To me the numbers point to a low scoring game and a UCLA cover. With the way the season has gone for USC a loss wouldn’t be all that surprising.
Free Pick: UCLA +13 (-110)