Predictions for the 91st annual rivalry matchup

Adam Jasper, Sports Editor

Prediction: UCLA 41, USC 31

I have a strong feeling there’s no way this game won’t be entertaining. We’ve stood witness to a number of blowout losses for the Trojans this season, but the crosstown rivalry game means much more than other conference games. Both of these teams no longer have conference championship game ambitions, but pride is still absolutely to play for.

Freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart will start the game and that means two things. First, USC’s crowd is going to be energized behind him, and he’s prone to make some pretty electrifying plays. Second, we might see some of his inexperience come into play. But there’s no reason to believe Dart’s magic has run out just yet, and his play will keep the game interesting. 

The USC defense versus the UCLA offense sounds a lot like a damage control situation to me. Can the Trojans do just enough defensively to stay competitive in the game? There’s a chance. Can they win the game off the back of the defense? That’s highly unlikely. This game will be UCLA’s to win if its offense is playing even at 75% of its normal capacity. 

In terms of how the game will shape up, I think it’ll take the course of many of USC’s other losses this season. The Trojans will hang in there in the first half, maybe even have a lead at some point, but, ultimately, the offense won’t be able to keep up with UCLA’s scoring output. 

Pratik Thakur, Assistant Sports Editor

Prediction: USC 27, UCLA 24

Let me just start off by saying that this is going to be a close game. Regardless of how the season has gone for either team, this rivalry always brings out some of the best performances from both schools. 

So, I don’t really care if UCLA beat Stanford away and kept a close game against No. 3 Oregon even as USC got blown out by the Cardinal at home and lost to Oregon State. 

None of that matters when it comes down to this crosstown rivalry in the Battle for Los Angeles. I would have given USC a higher margin of victory if Drake London was available, but things will be a lot tighter will be a lot tighter. 

However, I still think the Trojans will prevail over the Bruins for three key reasons.

The first is freshman quarterback Dart’s official start for the Trojans as junior Kedon Slovis recovers from his leg injury. Although it was an interesting experiment to see both quarterbacks take reps during the Arizona and Arizona State game, having one quarterback at the helm throughout the game will bring more stability to the offense. 

The second reason is the Trojans’ unexpected bye week after the UC Berkeley game was postponed. Since the Golden Bears had an unfortunate outbreak of coronavirus cases, USC has the luxury of extra time to prepare for UCLA. On the other hand, the Bruins still played Colorado and now have less time to dedicate toward game planning for USC, giving USC the advantage there for scouting. 

Finally, one of the most important reasons is the Trojans are playing at home in front of the fans. You might wonder why I would cite this as an advantage since USC has only won two home games this season, but I know that the student body and campus in general get much more motivated to cheer for their team when it comes to the UCLA game. Having fans riled up will definitely benefit the Trojans when they take the field. In the end, it might be the game changer.

David Ramirez, Associate Managing Editor

Prediction: UCLA 34, USC 21

USC is playing uninspiring football. After firing Head Coach Clay Helton following an embarrassing defeat to Stanford early in the season, the Trojans have set records for all the wrong reasons. USC lost to Oregon State at home for the first time since 1960 in September and was defeated by Utah in Los Angeles for the first time since 1916 a few weeks later. 

Junior wide receiver Drake London was targeted on 38% of USC’s passing attempts in the eight games he played before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. London’s presence was missed by USC in its only game without him, a Nov. 6 loss to Arizona State. Freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart, who is making his first career start, and the rest of the Trojan offense will continue to struggle without their main target. 

UCLA has the worst passing defense in the Pac-12, but USC’s isn’t much better as both teams allow more than 390 yards per game. USC and UCLA average more than 400 yards of total offense per game, so I’d expect both teams to put up points. UCLA averages over 200 yards rushing per game, partially because senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson is running for over 50 yards per game on his own. 

UCLA will likely try to spread USC’s defense out and empty the box to create running lanes for Thompson-Robinson, junior running back Zach Charbonnet and the rest of the Bruin offense. USC will likely go pass-heavy, attack UCLA’s secondary and try to create mismatches in UCLA’s defensive personnel.

Although momentum usually goes out of the window when these two teams match up, USC has too many things working against it this season to pull out a vintage win over UCLA. USC has defeated UCLA twice in a row, including its 18-point second half comeback victory at the Rose Bowl last season. The Bruins will look to carry their momentum into the game after securing bowl eligibility for the first time since 2017 last week. UCLA is trending in the right direction and, with memories of last season’s last-minute defeat fresh on their mind, they will have the edge Saturday.