USC vs UCLA Prediction Game Preview

USC vs UCLA game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 12 game on Saturday, November 19

USC vs UCLA prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 12, Saturday, November 19


USC vs UCLA Prediction, Game Preview

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USC vs UCLA How To Watch

Date: Saturday, November 19
Game Time: 8:00 ET
Venue: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
How To Watch: FOX
Record: USC (9-1), UCLA (8-2)
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Why USC Will Win

The offense keeps on improving.

Dog the defense all you want – it’s not great against the run, it’s allowing way to many yards, it’s been too shaky – but the offense is doing whatever it wants now.

The loss of RB Travis Dye hurts – he’s out for the year with a leg injury – but the attack has other options, the line has been great, and Caleb Williams is playing like a Heisman contender – 31 touchdown passes, two picks, six touchdown runs – who now gets his chance in the spotlight.

Only Minnesota is better on third downs, there have only been three turnovers on the year, and Williams is airing it out averaging close to 14 yards per completion.

UCLA will give up passing yards – it’s getting hammered way too easily by anyone who can push the ball down the field – it’s going to have a hard time in pass protection against the Trojan pass rush, and …

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Why UCLA Will Win

Here comes the UCLA running game.

The Trojan defensive front was able to hold up for the most part, but it’s allowing 4.5 yards per carry, teams that commit to the ground game are able to rip off yards in chunks as the game goes on, and overall the team is giving up close to 400 yards per game.

UCLA might not be thought of as physical, but it’s a tough team that grinds it out with over 400 rushing yards against Arizona State, over 300 against Stanford, and average over six yards per carry overall.

Run well, come up with manageable third down tries, and let veteran QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson keep it all moving. The Bruins can do that.

No, they’re not quite as explosive as USC, but they’re not turning the ball over enough to matter, they’re incredibly balanced, and they’re never going to be out of this. They’ll have no problem answering every USC big scoring drive.

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What’s Going To Happen

Can USC take its game up another few notches?

It’s been fun rolling up Colorado and Cal, but it struggled against Oregon State, the O didn’t get to 400 yards against Washington State, and all the yards weren’t enough in the loss to Utah.

It’s up to Williams to have the game of his career.

How did UCLA lose to Oregon and Arizona? Duck QB Bo Nix and Wildcat QB Jayden de Laura were deadly accurate – they each hit more than 78% of their passes.

Williams will take his downfield shots, but you beat UCLA with steady cuts.

It’ll cede the time of possession battle by a mile – Arizona had the ball for over 34 minutes and Oregon had it for 33 – and USC should have it about five minutes more. That won’t be enough.

Williams will be amazing, but the UCLA ground game will rumble for over 200 yards, Thompson-Robinson will be sharp, and the thrilling back-and-forth game will come down to one late drive.

UCLA will control the clock and the game when it absolutely has to.

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USC vs UCLA Prediction, Line

UCLA 41, USC 38
Line: USC -2.5, o/u: 75.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
USC vs UCLA Must See Rating (out of 5): 5

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USC vs UCLA Prediction, Game Preview

USC Trojans vs UCLA Bruins prediction and game preview.

USC vs UCLA prediction and game preview.


USC vs UCLA Broadcast

Date: Saturday, December 12
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
Network: ABC

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USC (4-0) vs UCLA (3-2) Game Preview

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Why USC Will Win

Now there’s the USC we were all waiting for.

It took a few games to get there, and the win over Utah provided a glimpse of what the team could be, and then came the first half against Washington State in the 38-13 win.

Kedon Slovis finished up completing 78% of his throws for 287 yards and five scores, and it was over fast. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught seven passes and four scores, the defense held down the Cougar offense to under 300 yards, and it all worked. Okay, so there were a few missing parts, but more on that in a moment.

UCLA is playing well, it’s getting good line play, and it’s dangerous, but it has a problem with turnover margin. USC lit up Wazzu helped by three takeaways and is a +6 on the year, and UCLA is -7 in its two losses.

However …

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Why UCLA Will Win

The Bruins are +4 and didn’t lose the turnover battle in the three wins.

The secondary has been solid – only Oregon went off and had a big day – the lines are terrific with a great pass rush taking over, and the run defense has to own the Trojans.

For all of the good things USC did against Washington State, running wasn’t a part of it with five net yards on 20 carries, and that’s coming off a rough outing against Utah. If Slovis isn’t great, USC is in big, big trouble.

On the other side, the UCLA offense showed what it could do once it got its quarterback back.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson went through the contract tracing protocol and missed two games, and then he came back to hit 18-of-24 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown with 49 rushing yards and a score in the thrilling win over Arizona State.

UCLA might have lost last year, but DTR gave the Trojans a ton of problems with 367 passing yards and three touchdowns to go along with a good day on the ground. He’s the quarterback USC hasn’t faced so far – even though Arizona State’s Jayden Daniels is close – and this is his chance to make his mark on the rivalry.

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What’s Going To Happen

This is it. This is the big moment for USC head coach Clay Helton and his talented team to make a giant statement.

The Trojans moved up five spots to 15 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, and while finishing in the final four is a big ask, a blowout win over the rival with everyone watching would make this interesting.

Everyone will show up for Slovis and the USC offense, but it’ll be the defense that takes over. UCLA’s running game won’t go anywhere, and as good as Thompson-Robinson will be, it won’t be enough to keep up as the Trojans get into a second half groove with two third quarter scoring drives to take control.

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USC vs UCLA Prediction, Line

USC 38, UCLA 30
Bet on USC vs UCLA with BetMGM
USC -3, o/u: 62
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3

Must See Rating: 4.5

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