In the final game of the 2025 season – a campaign where the Bruins lost three in a row to start the season and currently are riding a four-game losing streak – UCLA football (3-8, 3-5 Big Ten) will face No. 19 USC (8-3, 6-2) Saturday evening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Daily Bruin Sports editor Connor Dullinger breaks down the Trojans’ offensive and defensive strengths and weaknesses.

USC’s offense:
Offensive scheme: Air raid
Run-pass percentage: 50.5% pass, 49.5% run
Strength: Offensive weapons
Weakness: Injuries
X-factors: QB Jayden Maiava, WR Makai Lemon

Few can match USC’s offensive explosiveness.

The unit ranks sixth in the nation in total offense, No. 10 in scoring offense, No. 9 in passing offense and No. 8 in third-down conversion percentage.

The numbers don’t lie – USC’s offense is the best of the best.

But it’s the team’s offensive efficiency that sets it apart.

The Trojans average 5.3 yards per carry, but the team’s two leading rushers – tailbacks Waymond Jordan and King Miller – average 6.6 and 6.5 yards per carry, respectively. Although Jordan hasn’t played since Oct. 11 against then-No. 15 Michigan, he is slated to return against the Bruins.

And if the tailback tandem is fire, the Bruin defense is a match.

The UCLA front seven gives up 195 ground yards per contest, the 11th-most rushing yards given up per game in the nation.

The Bruins have given up 108 yards to Washington backup running back Adam Mohammed, 112 ground yards – on 7.5 yards per carry – to backup Ohio State tailback Bo Jackson and 232 all-purpose yards to Nebraska’s Emmett Johnson.

Miller and Jordan may be the new two to join the group that has decimated the Bruins’ rush defense. The duo has rushed for more than 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns.

I expect the Trojans to hit the ground often in order to control the time of possession while keeping redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava off the field and wearing down the UCLA front seven.

But as much as USC can win this game comfortably by running it every play, it is the team’s passing game – which is ranked No. 28 in the country – that has led to its 8-3 record.

Quarterback Jayden Maiava is having a career year, notching 2,868 passing yards and 24 total touchdowns on an efficient 66.8% completion percentage. Maiava leads the Big Ten and ranks ninth in the nation in passing yards.

And receivers Ja’Kobie Lane and Makai Lemon have aided the signal caller’s 2025 excellence.

Lane – the team’s main outside target – has accumulated 585 receiving yards and four scores, averaging 14.6 yards per catch. Lane excels at reeling in the deep ball and in contested-catch situations.

He has strong hands, patience and the IQ to find open spots in zone defenses, strength and physicality to dominate smaller cornerbacks and concentration that allows him to make catches through contact and tight coverage.

Although Lane is impressive in his own right – Lemon steals the show.

The wide receiver ranks third in the nation in receiving yards, amassing 1,090 yards and eight touchdowns on 15.4 yards per catch this season. Lemon will excel in the slot against a UCLA defense that struggles with tackling and preventing opposing receivers from hitting the second and third levels of the defense.

Lemon has impeccable hands, paired with the speed and elusiveness to force missed tackles, gain separation and hit the second and third gear after making receptions.

Expect Lane and Lemon to terrorize UCLA’s defense come Saturday.

USC’s defense:
Defensive scheme: 4-3
Strength: Secondary
Weakness: Stopping the run
X-factor: S Bishop Fitzgerald and LB Eric Gentry

Although USC excels in the rushing game, it struggles to protect against it.

The Trojans have given up more than 175 rushing yards in four of their last five games, forfeiting 306 against Notre Dame and 228 against Fighting Irish tailback Jeremiyah Love.

UCLA’s rushing attack is nothing to write home about, but its three-headed attack that consists of redshirt senior Jalen Berger, redshirt junior Anthony Woods and junior Jaivian Thomas can have a breakout performance in the 2025 season finale against a relatively weak USC front seven.

UCLA has yet to see the explosive and efficient running ability from Thomas – who posted seven touchdowns and more than 600 ground yards on over six yards per carry last year at California – but Saturday could be his breakout day.

Berger and Woods may be less impactful against the Trojan defense, given their power rush style and pass-catching ability.

But what the Trojans lack in their run prevention, they make up for in their secondary.

The USC secondary has limited opposing quarterbacks to 150 passing yards or less in four of the last five games and has allowed 300-plus passing yard performances just twice this season.

Safeties Kamari Ramsey and Bishop Fitzgerald lead the secondary.

Ramsey – a former Bruin who left for the crosstown rival to follow defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn – excels as the squad’s strong safety, utilizing his physicality and athleticism to finish tackles and dominate smaller offensive pass catchers.

Fitzgerald, on the other hand, leads the team in turnovers with five interceptions – a tally that is tied for first in the Big Ten and in the nation. The safety tandem may ballhawk Iamaleava and prevent the Bruin signal caller from making explosive plays through the air.

Iamaleava has thrown just seven interceptions this season, but he has garnered four across his last four appearances, including two against Maryland and two against Indiana.

Joining Fitzgerald in powering the team’s turnover production is linebacker Eric Gentry.

Gentry has forced a team-leading four forced fumbles this season, showcasing not only his tackling proficiency but also his key role in causing chaos.

The presence of Gentry, Ramsey and Fitzgerald will make doing anything over the middle of the field difficult for Iamaleava and assistant head coach and tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel.

USC has been recently known for its explosive offense that scores more than 40 points per game and a defense that makes every contest too close.

But the Trojans have redefined the narrative this season, boasting premier talent on the defensive side of the ball, particularly in the secondary.

Don’t be surprised if Iamaleava’s possible last day in a UCLA jersey is an ugly one.