No. 16 USC (4-0, 4-0 Pac-12, No. 15 CFP) at UCLA (3-2, 3-2), Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST (ABC).
Line: USC by 2 1/2.
Series record: USC leads 48-32-7.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Postseason implications are on the line for both teams. USC can wrap up a spot in the Pac-12 championship game with a win while UCLA, which has a winning record for the first time in Chip Kelly’s tenure, could get itself into bowl consideration with a victory.
KEY MATCHUP
USC WR Amon-Ra St. Brown vs. UCLA DBs Quentin Lake and Stephan Blaylock. St. Brown tied a NCAA record with four first-quarter touchdowns against Washington State and has come up big during his career against the Bruins. The junior has 14 receptions for 226 yards and a touchdown in two games vs. UCLA. Lake had a key pass breakup in last week’s win over Arizona State and Blaylock has picked off one pass this season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
UCLA: RB Demetric Felton. The senior is third in the conference at 115.6 rushing yards per game and has gone over 100 yards in three of the past four games.
USC: QB Kedon Slovis. The sophomore leads the conference in completions (29.8 per game, also first nationally), completion percentage (72.1%) and passing yards per game (314.2). He set a school record with 515 yards in last year’s game along with four touchdowns.
FACTS & FIGURES
The Bruins have an 11-7 edge in games played at the Rose Bowl. … The last time an unranked UCLA squad beat a ranked USC team was 2006 at the Rose Bowl when the Bruins had a 13-9 victory over the No. 2 Trojans. … UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson accounted for 241 scrimmage yards (192 passing, 49 rushing) last week. The junior, who missed two games due to COVID-19 contract tracing, passed for 367 yards and three touchdowns in last year’s game against USC. … The Bruins defense is eighth nationally in sacks (3.6 per game) and 16th in tackles for loss (7.8 per game). … USC’s Talanoa Hufanga has picked off a pass in three straight games.
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