Though there isn’t much literally on the line in No. 19 USC football’s matchup with crosstown rival UCLA, both teams have a lot to prove when they face off Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Coming off a brutal 42-27 loss to No. 5 Oregon (10-1, 7-1), the Trojans (8-3, 6-2) are officially out of College Football Playoff contention, which they would have almost assuredly been in the heat of with a win in Eugene, Oregon. On the other hand, USC has already secured bowl eligibility and boasts what is widely considered the best incoming recruiting class in the nation, so hope is still high.

Meanwhile, the Bruins (3-8, 3-5) have largely had a tough go of it this season, being well short of bowl eligibility, firing their head coach and potentially leaving their historic home stadium, the Rose Bowl, for financial reasons.

With both teams down and coming off losses, the rivalry game still has meaning as both sides hope to salvage their seasons and end on a high note.

Ahead of Saturday’s matchup, the Daily Trojan sat down with Daily Bruin sports editor Connor Dullinger on Wednesday to hear his insights on the team and predictions for the game.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Daily Trojan: A lot of the talk about UCLA this season has come from both the firing of former Head Coach DeShaun Foster as well as the new regime that’s taken over, with both Jerry Neuheisel as offensive coordinator and then Tim Skipper as the interim head coach. What would you say the identity of the team is right now, and has that identity significantly changed since the change in coaching?

Daily Bruin: Everything about UCLA football’s season this year has not been about football. It’s been about [whether UCLA will continue playing at] the Rose Bowl. 

Since Tim Skipper has taken over the program, I think at first it was like, everyone’s looking down at us. He had the whole “Are you a one-hit wonder” kind of thing. They went on that three-game winning streak, where I was even saying they could be a ranked team if they beat No. 2 Indiana (11-0, 8-0). 

As quickly as they rose, they quickly fell back to reality, and I think it’s gone from “Tim Skipper and Jerry Neuheisel could be the next head coach and next OC for UCLA” to “I don’t even know what’s going to happen next.” There are a lot of question marks with the entire program. It is in almost disarray, I’d say. 

Now that they’re out of bowl game eligibility, I think the last thing they’re doing is just focusing on football. I think the USC contest will be a big one … But also, it’s the last meaningful game on the schedule.

DT: How much would you say the recent losses have been because of the teams you guys are playing [Indiana, No. 1 Ohio State (10-0, 7-0) and Nebraska (7-4, 4-4)]? Or, is it just that the program isn’t there yet?

DB: I’d say it’s a little bit of both. You play a team like Indiana, you play a team like Ohio State, and you see just how big a gap the rosters, the coaching, everything is. You realize that there’s just such a big gap in terms of talent, in terms of execution, in terms of discipline between those two teams. 

UCLA’s roster lacks a lot of things. The coaching lacks a lot of things. That’s why they lost by 50 to Indiana. That’s why they got beat by three, four scores against Ohio State. But at the same time, those teams are beating most other teams by 40 to 50. 

DT: One standout for UCLA has obviously been quarterback Nico Iamaleava. He’s been a pretty big story. 

What does he bring to UCLA, and what can we expect to see from him? What are his strengths? What is he good at?

DB: In a team that’s full of dysfunction and poor play, poor execution, I think Nico is a bright spot. I think he gets a lot of unnecessary criticism. 

His biggest attribute is his arm. I think he has incredible arm talent. He can throw the deep ball. We haven’t seen it a lot this year, but he can throw the deep ball. He has a huge arm, but he has shown inconsistency with accuracy and timing at times. However, I think another huge thing is his legs. 

He is tall and thin, but he is not afraid to make contact. He’s not afraid to scramble. He will get first downs on third-and-mediums and third-and-longs. UCLA’s offensive line is abysmal, and that’s partly why. These aren’t designed quarterback runs; these are him scrambling and getting the [first down], and I think that’s one of his best attributes. 

When he runs for 50+ yards, UCLA usually has a chance to win, and I think that’s what makes him really special. 

DT: You, earlier, said there were a lot of gaps in UCLA’s roster. What do you see as the biggest gaps right now? And, also, what are some other strengths besides Nico?

DB: The pitfalls of this team are 100% the trenches. The offensive line and defensive line are tragic. 

I’d say the offensive line is probably the weakest part of the team. They let opposing defenses penetrate, get pressure on Nico. That’s why he’s scrambling. That’s why he’s getting sacked so much. That’s why he’s getting injured. Even our running game has really struggled to gain explosive yards, 20+ yard rushes downfield. 

Somehow, the defensive line might be worse. UCLA ranks dead-last, number 134th in the [Football Bowl Subdivision], in sacks. They struggle to get to the quarterback, and that just means time in the pocket. Jayden Maiava could take a nap in the pocket; he’ll have all day. 

I’d say maybe the biggest strength, it’s hard to pick one. I think Mateen Bhaghani is a very efficient kicker. They don’t get to the red zone often, and he has the ability to kick a long 40-yarder to a short 50-yarder. In a tightly contested game — which I think, no matter how much better USC is than UCLA, that game will always be tight just because of the rivalry — Mateen will make the difference in terms of getting those long kicks, chipping away at leads, or getting ahead. 

The secondary has also shown flashes of being good. I think Rodrick Pleasant, Scooter Jackson, Cole Martin and Andre Jordan Jr. have shown that sometimes they can be a little handsy, can draw flags, but at the same time, they have been sticky and have held opposing offenses and opposing elite, alpha wide receiver ones.

DT: What is your final score prediction?

DB: USC, 34-24.