UCLA football aims to claim crosstown contest in final stretch to make bowl play

This year’s rivalry game is not just for bragging rights.

UCLA football (4-6, 4-3 Pac-12) will face off with crosstown rival No. 23 USC (7-4, 6-2) on Saturday afternoon at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Despite a 49-3 defeat at the hands of No. 7 Utah that took UCLA out of the race for the Pac-12 South, both the Bruins and Trojans have something to gain this weekend.

USC has won all but two of its games in conference play, including a 30-23 upset over then-No. 10 Utah that gives the Trojans the tiebreaker over the first-place Utes. If USC defends its home turf against UCLA on Saturday, it will keep its chances at a Pac-12 South title alive.

On the other side, the Bruins are two games under .500 and must win out to maintain bowl eligibility. And since USC is sitting one game behind Utah’s Pac-12 record, a UCLA win this weekend, coupled with at least one Utah win in the next two weeks, would prevent USC from having any chance at the Pac-12 South title.

And just like last season – when the Bruins entered rivalry week with a 2-8 record and came out with a 34-27 victory – redshirt senior running back Joshua Kelley said a win in this season’s crosstown contest could prove to be a bright spot to wrap up the regular season.

“Sometimes things go according to plan and sometimes thing don’t,” Kelley said. “We have a rivalry game this week that’s going to get us fired up and amped up a little bit … so I’m excited to see how we respond this week against them.”

Kelley was a key player in UCLA’s win over USC a year ago, collecting 289 rushing yards in the contest – the third-most in program history and most by any runner in the history of the rivalry. This included a 55-yard touchdown run that gave the Bruins the lead for good in the fourth quarter.

But beyond the implications of this game on paper for each team, senior linebacker Krys Barnes said this game is also about pride.

“It’s been a long season, last go-around with everybody, but this one’s special because it’s crosstown,” Barnes said. “I have a couple friends over there at that school and right now we (are) not friends, I take it personally. I for sure (have) to win this one, going out into my last one – keep that (Victory Bell) at home. … It brings pride to our alumni and our fan base.”

To keep the Victory Bell at the Rose Bowl in 2020, the Bruins will have to contend with a Trojan offense run by quarterback Kedon Slovis. As one of three signal-callers USC has had to call upon this season because of injuries, Slovis has started in nine of the Trojan’s games.

Slovis ranks in the top 20 nationally in completion percentage, passing touchdowns and passing yardage.

“(Slovis has) got great poise,” said coach Chip Kelly. “He can keep the play alive – he’s not trying to run back there, but he’s trying to keep the play alive and let his receivers work and try to get open and I think he’s done a really good job. When you watch him on tape, he looks like he’s got a really good grasp of what they’re trying to teach over there.”

Despite Slovis’ success this season, he is still a first-year starter with less than a season of collegiate experience, something Barnes said UCLA will try to take advantage of in order to limit USC’s offense.

“(Slovis) is a freshman – so he’s tremendous at what he does – but I think if you put pressure in his face, then he might get flustered a little bit and throw up a couple of balls or make a couple mistakes,” Barnes said. “At the end of the day, it comes down to what we’ve gotta do and that’s get in front of his face and being in our gaps.”

Kickoff at the Coliseum will be Saturday at 12:30 p.m.