USC prepares for UCLA in regular season finale at the Rose Bowl


Redshirt junior Nick Figueroa and USC’s defensive line will be tasked with slowing a potent UCLA rushing attack. (Photo courtesy of John McGillen / USC Athletics)

USC will take on UCLA Saturday at the Rose Bowl for the 90th all-time matchup between the crosstown rivals.

The Trojans are coming off a decisive 38-13 victory over Washington State that upped their CFP ranking to No. 15 and continued their undefeated season. A victory for the Trojans would give them a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

“[This is an] important game for our season and everything we want to accomplish, but a really special game, to be honest with you, for both teams and our city,” said Clay Helton, who has only lost once to UCLA as USC’s head coach, in a virtual press conference Tuesday. “This is one of the best rivalries in college football.” 

Assuming coronavirus testing goes well, all players who missed the WSU game amid USC’s coronavirus outbreak will be available Saturday, according to Helton. Sophomore inside linebacker Ralen Goforth will also likely return this week after suffering a foot injury against Utah in Week 3.

Helton praised UCLA head coach Chip Kelly Thursday, especially for UCLA’s run game this year, something the Trojans will have to contain. 

“Chip’s obviously a brilliant offensive mind, he always has been,” Helton said. “He’s really one of the better run game coaches there are in college football … He really tries to stay ahead of the sticks, not having negative yardage plays.”

The Bruins have the second-most rushing yards per game in the Pac-12 this season with 227.6. Senior running backs Demetric Felton and Brittain Brown are main contributors, alongside junior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. 

Felton leads UCLA in rushing, gliding for over 100 yards in three of UCLA’s five games this year. He is also the team’s third-leading receiver. 

Brown has been a consistent part of the offense as well, coming in second in rushing and fourth in receiving. 

Thompson-Robinson is the key for the Bruins. He has 901 total yards in three games this year. Against Colorado in Week 1, he threw for 303 yards and four touchdowns, while also running for 109 yards and one touchdown. 

Helton had high praise for the junior. 

“He’s probably the best creator in our league,” Helton said. “When bad plays happen, he finds a way to make them great.”

Sophomore quarterback Kedon Slovis and the USC offense exploded against Washington State last Sunday. Slovis threw for five touchdowns and 287 yards.

However, the Trojans lacked consistency on the offensive side in the second half. They only had 66 total yards of offense and 3 points, after 221 total yards and 35 points in the first half. 

“You know, when you get up early, sometimes it’s hard to keep the energy up and I think that’s probably what happened,” offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said Tuesday. 

The inconsistency could pose problems against a solid UCLA front.

Even though the Trojans ran for five total yards last week, the run game was far from a concern for Harrell, who cited Slovis’ performance and Washington State playing man-to-man coverage for the underwhelming rushing total.

“I think when the quarterback goes 17-of-17 to end the half and throws five touchdowns, you’re doing some things well,” Harrell said. “So that’s our level of concern.”

Being unable to stay focused throughout the game, however, could be problematic for USC, especially since UCLA’s offense can score quickly. 

Helton emphasized the need to be locked in the entire game.

“This is a really important game to be able to play [the] full 60 minutes, keep your foot on the gas pedal,” Helton said. “I thought we did that defensively the entire night [against Washington State] especially with our energy and we got to be able to do that consistently offensively.”

The Trojans will face a Bruin defense allowing the eighth-fewest passing yards per game with 229.4, aided in large part by outstanding junior defensive back Stephan Blaylock and redshirt junior linebacker Caleb Johnson as well as redshirt senior defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa. 

Similar to the Bruins offense, USC has been hot on the defensive side of the ball. The Trojans have allowed the fifth-fewest rushing yards, third-fewest total yards and fewest points per game in the conference this season. 

The defensive line for USC has emerged into a suffocating presence on opposing offensive linemen. One main contributor — redshirt junior Nick Figueroa, who leads the Trojans in sacks with 3.5 and tallied three last week alone — will play a key role in stopping this run-heavy UCLA offense.

“It’s no surprise to me that he’s thriving in this package,” defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said Wednesday. “He’s got talent and a lot of people have talent, but it’s the internal talent that to me measures a person [and] how much success they’re going to have. And he has that in bunches.”

Figueroa, a transfer from junior college whose final decision came down to USC and UCLA, said that the relationship between the defensive linemen has been a main catalyst for the group’s strong play. 

“Our D-line’s a really tight-knit group, so we just always want to see each other be successful,” Figueroa said Wednesday. “And when that success happens, it starts to be a little bit contagious.” 

It’ll be up to Orlando to scheme up a defense to stop the highly-potent UCLA ground game. 

Kickoff is 4:30 p.m. Saturday.