USC-UCLA game will have everything on the table for the Trojans, but not the Bruins
This is a throwback year for USC football, not in terms of the style of offense the Trojans use, but certainly in terms of the stakes involved in their November battle with archrival UCLA.
From the mid-1960s through the early 1980s, USC-UCLA was often a high-stakes game. Both schools had great teams in the mid-to-late 1960s. The 1967 game between the two schools remains the most important USC-UCLA game of all time. The games between John Robinson and Terry Donahue in the late 1970s and early 1980s were regularly important. The late 1980s had some very big Trojan-Bruin games as well.
This upcoming game on Nov. 19 won’t be as big as 1967 — that’s really hard to top — but it brings back the magic of a hugely significant Trojan-Bruin battle. Let’s detail all the ways in which this game matters:
PLAYOFF
Had UCLA beaten Arizona, this game was going to be “off the charts” big. The winner would have been in a position to stay alive in the playoff race, needing to win two more games and get a TCU loss (most likely to Baylor or in the Big 12 Championship Game) to pull off the feat and snap the Pac-12’s playoff drought, which extends back to 2016.
As is, USC can still chase a playoff spot, but UCLA is out.
Still: One team is playoff-eligible, and that makes this game very big for USC.
PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
USC automatically qualifies for Las Vegas if it wins.
Had UCLA beaten Arizona, it would have also been in with a win and a subsequent victory over Cal on Thanksgiving weekend. Now, the Bruins have to deal with some Pac-12 tiebreakers to make sure they get in. If Utah beats Oregon this week, life gets very complicated for the Bruins.
HEISMAN
Caleb Williams and Dorian Thompson-Robinson aren’t the clear-cut favorites for the award, but had UCLA beaten Arizona, this game easily could have determined which Los Angeles-based Pac-12 quarterback gets a ticket to the Heisman Trophy ceremony as a finalist.
At this point, Caleb Williams is the Pac-12 quarterback most likely to be a Heisman finalist. He needs a big game here to solidify his case, however.
HEISMAN, PART TWO
Caleb Williams has better Heisman odds partly because Bo Nix and Oregon lost to Washington.
Because DTR and UCLA fell to Arizona, DTR’s Heisman odds dropped considerably.
13 WINS
If USC wins, it will be 10-1 and have a chance for 13 wins this season.
UCLA can’t do better than 12 wins if it wins out (including its bowl game).
NEW YEAR'S SIX
The winner of this game has a great chance to get the Cotton Bowl New Year’s Six at-large slot if it doesn’t win the Pac-12 title. USC’s odds are much higher, however, after UCLA’s stumble versus Arizona.
NEW YEAR'S SIX, EXPLAINED
Staying in the top 12 in the final College Football Playoff rankings on Sunday, Dec. 4 is what will qualify the winner for an at-large New Year’s Six game, which is the Cotton Bowl this year. The Pac-12 champion would either go to the playoff or the Rose Bowl.
PAC-12 COACH OF THE YEAR
Lincoln Riley and Chip Kelly would both have an argument against Dan Lanning and Kalen DeBoer if they win this game. It could be that the winner of the Pac-12 championship will be the coach of the year, but it’s entirely possible that winning 11 games at USC or UCLA this season could be viewed as a top-tier accomplishment, more than winning the Pac-12 itself.
POSSIBLE GAME VS OREGON
UCLA wants to avenge a loss to Oregon. USC would love to get a shot at Oregon. Either way, this game could be for the right to play the Ducks, if UO can beat Utah next week.
