Football bears down on UCLA rivalry game

On Saturday, USC and UCLA face off for the 84th time in a rivalry that includes bragging rights, history and lots of familiarity. The Bruins enter the game with a 5-5 record, but plenty to play for in what should be an emotional contest.

“It is a rivalry game,” head coach Clay Helton said. “There’s a lot of pride with both teams. I think [special teams coordinator John Baxter] told me today, there’s like 57 kids on each team right here from Southern California. We all know each other and that pride of being able to be the city champ for 365 days, I think is important to everybody.”

The Trojans have already punched their ticket to Levi’s Stadium for the Pac-12 Championship in two weeks, but a win over the Bruins is vital for other reasons. When the College Football Playoff rankings were unveiled on Tuesday, USC polled as the highest ranked Pac-12 team for the first time since Week 8.

Currently, FiveThirtyEight is giving the Trojans an 8 percent chance of making the playoffs. To accomplish that goal against all odds, the team must take care of business against UCLA on Saturday.

“I think our chances of making the playoff, they’re slim,” sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold said on Tuesday. “But they’re still there. I think that obviously to do that, we got to win out. But right now we’re just focused on UCLA and winning this game.”

UCLA will be relying on an explosive passing offense in their effort to put the Trojans on upset alert. Much has been said about UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen over the past three years — some claim he’s the second coming, others predict he’ll be a bigger bust than JaMarcus Russell. In reality, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle; he’s having a solid bounce-back campaign after an injury-riddled 2016, throwing for 3,094 yards and 21 touchdowns on a 62.2 percent completion percentage.

“[Rosen] is so confident in releasing the football and finding open windows,” Helton said. “There’s no hesitation in his game, [he has] great anticipatory skills. He’s got extreme arm talent, can make every throw on the field. And probably the thing I’ve been most impressed with is his accuracy, especially deep ball accuracy.”

Rosen may captain one of the most prolific offenses in the Pac-12 (the unit is averaging a third-best 462.5 yards per game), but he’s hardly the only Bruin playmaker. Running backs Bolu Olorunfunmi and Solo Jamabo make up a formidable tandem both on the field and in pronunciation guides (846 combined rushing yards, 12 combined syllables).

Meanwhile, wide receiver Jordan Lasley has become one of Rosen’s favorite targets for the quarterback’s signature long bombs this season, especially with fellow star wideout Darren Andrews going down with an injury. Lasley has hauled in 705 yards in just six games played.

USC’s offense is also elite (it’s second in the conference in total yards per game), and it’s been especially explosive over the past three weeks, averaging 45 points since the Notre Dame loss. With playmakers like junior tight end Daniel Imatorbhebhe, senior wide receiver Steven Mitchell Jr. and sophomore wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. all healthy after dealing with injuries for much of the year, the offense’s ascension has coincided with good fortune on the injury front. Over the first half of the season, the receiving corps remained a big question mark, but now Darnold seems to have an arsenal of weapons at his disposal (including junior running back Ronald Jones II who’s run wild for 552 in the past three wins).

“We’re starting to get healthy and I think our play has improved, especially offensively with the health that’s coming back,” Helton said. “Guys on the offensive line playing together, getting Daniel Imatorbhebhe back, I think has been a real help for us. And any time that you can keep guys in that lineup and build that chemistry with the quarterback, I believe it helps.’

This weekend’s game against UCLA is not just important within the College Football Playoff and Pac-12 landscapes; it doubles as the last home game for a group of seniors that dealt with plenty of adversity over the course of their careers (fifth-year seniors such as redshirt senior safety Chris Hawkins and Mitchell Jr. played for three different head coaches). For the likes of Hawkins, Mitchell Jr. and senior outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (16.5 career tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks), Saturday will be a particularly emotional game.

“I told them today what a special group they are,” Helton said. “Really, the word I used is legacy, that they’re going to have the opportunity to leave a legacy here with what they accomplished, with hopefully what they do on Saturday.”