Q&A: Daily Trojan Sports managing editor talks expectations for UCLA-USC football game

UCLA football (4-6, 4-3 Pac-12) and USC (7-4, 6-2) will face off Saturday with the Victory Bell on the line. In honor of the crosstown clash, Daily Bruin Sports editor Sam Connon took some time to talk with the Sports managing editor at the Daily Trojan, Aidan Berg.

You can read the first half of their conversation – with the roles reversed – on Daily Trojan Sports.

Daily Bruin: Was there any expectation of a drop-off at the quarterback position when JT Daniels went down in the season opener, and has Kedon Slovis eased that pain at all?

Aidan Berg: Initially, I was under the impression that (the Trojans) were going to have to change up the offense a lot, just because bringing in a three-star, true freshman quarterback one game into the season is a tough scenario to put that guy in. But (Slovis) has been, by far, better than JT Daniels was at any point last year. He, for the most part, makes good decisions, has really great accuracy, pretty good pocket presence (and) he’s getting better each week from what I can tell. So he’s kind of alleviated any real concerns about a drop-off at that position, and, honestly, he’s the guy that the offense is based around now, for better or worse. At times, there were a few games this season where he has not quite been up to the task, but, again, (Slovis) is a three-star true freshman, so he’s done pretty well for the position he was brought into and the initial expectations for him.

DB: With a new athletic director coming to USC, does head coach Clay Helton have to beat UCLA to keep his job, or is it already too late for him?

AB: I think a whole lot more than just winning this game would need to happen for Helton to keep his job. It would start with Utah somehow losing one of (its) last two games so USC can get to the Pac-12 championship game, and then (the Trojans) would probably have to win that championship game for (Helton) to keep his job, in my opinion. It’s been better this season, but not better enough I think. There’s just not enough development in certain areas that were killer last year, like discipline, decision-making and also just overall toughness. I don’t think they’ve been better enough or I don’t think they’ve improved enough this year for him to really have any chance at keeping his job, regardless of what happens. If they lose to UCLA, then that will be the nail in the coffin – along with the Oregon game – but it’s a tough way for him to go out, even though they’re making a bowl game.

DB: What will USC do to prevent redshirt senior running back Joshua Kelley from tearing up its defense again this year?

AB: As I remember, he kind of blasted them in between the tackles last year, … but that is an area where they’ve really improved. USC has two really good interior defensive linemen in Marlon Tuipulotu and Jay Tufele, and then they also have some depth in Brandon Pili in there. So they’ve actually been pretty good up the middle against the run – I would be shocked if UCLA didn’t counter that by running to the outside, where USC has had massive issues, especially in outside zones, but also outside the tackles. I would be surprised if UCLA didn’t get Kelley going on the outside, stretching them horizontally and then breaking upfield, because that’s where USC has struggled. I would think USC will key in on Kelley just because he was so good against them last year and was the main reason UCLA won that game. USC has been better at making coaching adjustments in recent games, but we’ll just have to see. USC will definitely key in on him, whether or not that works is another question.

DB: Who is the key player USC needs to succeed in order to win Saturday?

AB: (Wide receiver) Michael Pittman Jr. is probably the best player on this team – other than maybe Austin Jackson at left tackle. But Pittman is a guy who has, honestly, won USC games at times this year. He won that Utah game with 230 yards – which was crazy – and then was basically just as good against (California) last week. I think the thing about him is he’s obviously a really good deep-ball guy with jump balls, but he’s also improved a lot in all areas of the game. (Pittman’s) really good with the ball in his hands, he can take screens and break tackles, get big chunks of yardage and be pretty strong for a guy who is as thin as he looks out there. And then he’s also just improved his route running underneath, he’s got really good hands – he’s a pretty complete receiver, so I would just image that USC is going to try to scheme him into stuff and then also just throw it up and let him go make a play. And I don’t know if I even have to mention that UCLA will definitely want to account for him, especially if USC receiver Tyler Vaughns is going to continue to be kind of gimpy as he was against Cal last week.

DB: If the Bruin secondary manages to slow down Pittman, do you trust the other receivers to pick up the slack and keep the passing game rolling?

AB: I definitely do. Obviously USC versus UCLA is a different-level matchup, a different pressure and stage that these guys have to perform on, but I have total confidence in Amon-Ra St. Brown to play really well – he had a long touchdown against UCLA last year. His stats have kind of lagged behind Vaughns’ and Pittman’s, but he’s still just a really talented wide receiver. And with Vaughns out against Cal, true freshman Drake London, who’s a two-sport athlete – he’s also on the basketball team – had over 100 yards and a touchdown. It was his third straight week with a touchdown. So USC has a lot of depth at wide receiver; it’s by far their best position group. I think Cal’s head coach said after the game that he hadn’t seen a receiving group like USC’s in the Pac-12 in his time coaching at Cal. They have a lot of depth, but they also have the star-power, so I would imagine that USC has plenty of confidence in those guys to go make plays, even if Vaughns and Pittman are limited.

DB: Does it seem like anyone on USC is out for revenge Saturday?

AB: It’s interesting – last year, when Cal beat USC in the (Los Angeles Memorial) Coliseum, (its) quarterback Chase Garbers, there’s a photo of him doing the “Fight On” and then pointing it down – kind of like a “Horns Down” type of thing but with the “Fight On.” A bunch of guys on the team, after this win over Cal this last week – including cornerback Olaijah Griffin – tweeted about that photo, basically like “Thanks for making fun of us.” It’s a pretty vengeful group from what I can tell, they don’t necessarily take too well to slight. It doesn’t always go over so well – USC has a lot of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, late hits, just kind of stupid stuff when they get overly competitive and overly vengeful with the other team. But I think the fact remains that they’re out for revenge in this game. Whether that ends up being a good thing is up for consideration.