UCLA football determined to outplay rival USC’s offense in regular-season finale

The Bruins have lost four of their last five games against the Trojans.

Junior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson spent most of that lone win on the sidelines, taking just one snap in his team’s 2018 Victory Bell win.

Now, Thompson-Robinson is the starting signal caller for UCLA football (3-2) as it faces off against undefeated No. 15 USC (4-0), and he said the moment certainly stands apart from the rest.

“This is definitely one of those games, the reason why you come to UCLA,” Thompson-Robinson said Wednesday. “You could definitely feel it, whether you’re on social media, just walking around or whatever it may be. The coaches and everybody, they all feel it.”

Thompson-Robinson failed to deliver a victory in the same moment last year, as his Bruins fell to the Trojans 52-35 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The then-sophomore still racked up 431 total yards and four total touchdowns, but he’ll be facing a new look this time around.

USC brought in former Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando to fill the same role for the Trojans back in January, and his unit currently owns the Pac-12’s top scoring defense with 21.8 points against per game. Thompson-Robinson said USC’s talent and coachability are two of its biggest strengths but hinted that Orlando’s defense may have some holes.

“They’re a good team, really well coached, so I expect that to be the same this year,” Thompson-Robinson said. “In terms of weaknesses, I don’t want to spill any of the beans on the table and stuff like that and give anything away what we’re looking at in tendencies. So I’ll keep it short there and keep it with they’re a good team.”

The Trojans aren’t exactly known for their defense this year, however, as their Air Raid offense led by quarterback Kedon Slovis and his stable of top receivers – Amon-Ra St. Brown, Drake London, Tyler Vaughns and Bru McCoy – make most of the headlines.

“We need to try to disrupt the timing of their routes, and then we need to try to get home in our pass rush,” said coach Chip Kelly. “But that will be the big test this week – our pass defense versus their pass game because obviously that is their strength on the offensive side.”

UCLA’s defense leads the conference with 18 sacks and 39 tackles for loss, meaning Slovis’s jersey could get dirty Saturday. In the secondary, redshirt junior cornerback Jay Shaw will be one of the Bruins going up against a passing offense that is averaging 313 passing yards per game.

Shaw said Tuesday he didn’t know too much about Slovis, besides the fact he was at the center of an Air Raid offense. Slovis hung 515 yards and four touchdowns on Shaw and the Bruins last season, and he leads the conference with a 72.1% completion percentage this year.

When presented with that stat, Shaw offered a brief “good for him.” When asked how he plans on beating Slovis, Shaw said the goal was a simple one.

“Let me think,” Shaw said before pausing for a few seconds. “I’m just playing, I’m not thinking about nothing – we just going to stop them.”

Whether or not Shaw, Kelly, Thompson-Robinson and the Bruins can meet their goals will be decided Saturday night, with the regular-season finale kicking off at 4:30 p.m. at the Rose Bowl.