Taylor Mays is no stranger to the USC football rivalry against UCLA. Having played at USC from 2006-2009, the three-time All-America safety played against the Bruins four times, going 3-1 in those matchups. Now, Mays will be on the Trojans’ sideline for the Crosstown Showdown Saturday night as USC’s assistant defensive backs coach.
Earlier this week, Mays discussed the significance of the rivalry on USC’s weekly “Trojans Live” show.
”It does have a different feel, being at the Coliseum or the Rose Bowl playing UCLA,” Mays said.
”This is one of the reasons that you come to USC, to play in an awesome rivalry game like this. I’m not even from Los Angeles, and the rivalry means everything to me.
“You wanna be in the moment and really take it all in. But then you also want to go out there and slam their face in the ground.”
With neither USC nor UCLA having a particularly successful season, the stakes of this year’s matchup are not nearly as high as in years past. However, major bragging rights are still on the line this weekend, so there will certainly be no shortage of motivation on either side.
Kickoff of the Crosstown Showdown is set for 7:30 p.m. local time on Saturday night from the Rose Bowl.
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