The Group29 Editor writes "This is the lucky 13th preview of the annual UCLA - USC football game. It has not really every looked like a slam dunk for the Bruins any of the reviews we have done in the past, and this year is no exception. (The Bruins could not win with machetes is one of my all-time favorites from the past.) This game is always meaningful, but perhaps not on a national level. USC already has earned their spot in the Pac-12 championship game. UCLA has very little to show for this season.
This year coach Clay Helton and coach Jim Mora are battling to preserve their jobs. That seems hard to believe, given that USC is first in the Pac-12 south, and is slated to be the first South team to win the Pac-12 championship and advance to the Rose Bowl. But, the Trojans got taken to the woodshed 49-14 at Notre Dame. That, and a loss to UCLA in the same year puts the head of a coach squarely on the chopping block at the University of Southern California. Jim Mora just has not produced at the level that UCLA fans want, but the win and loss level is about at what UCLA has historically as a program.
Both teams have been suffering from injuries. Both have potential big time stars in their quarterbacks with Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen. Both teams have produced great offensive numbers. USC has shown some middle of the road defensive numbers. The numbers for the UCLA Bruins tell their story, near the bottom of the ranks in total defense, 126th in the nation this week. Unless, by some extraordinary twist of fate where the Bruins figure out how to stop ball movement on the field, the Trojans will run right over them to the tune of 50 or more points in the Coliseum.
Here is the entire set of past UCLA -USC games reviews.
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