UCLA 2025 Football Opponent Primer: USC

The UCLA Bruins are entering their second season in the Big Ten Conference with the hopes of erasing last season's 5-7 record from memory by improving in every facet.

In DeShaun Foster's first full offseason at the helm in Westwood, the Bruins did just that -- improved and restructured nearly every facet of the program from the field to the coaching staff.

With that being said, let's take start taking a look at UCLA's 2025 season opponents and how ESPN's Bill Connelly previews them ahead of the season, wrapping things up with the Bruins' week 14 rivalry matchup against the USC Trojans.

According to ESPN's football power index (FPI), USC is going to be a slightly worse team than it was last season, winning a projected 7.2 games (5.2 in the Big Ten), being the 30th-ranked team in college football.

Here's what Connelly had to say about Lincoln Riley and the Trojans ahead of this season:

"When you've gone just 15-13 in your last 28 games at USC, as Riley has since an 11-1 start, your name is going to automatically show up on "hot seat" lists. That's just the way it works. But damned if Riley isn't building his team like a guy with the best job security in the world. His Trojans' win total has fallen for two straight years, but he signed only 16 transfers, an average number in 2025, and less than half of them are seniors. He elected to stick with junior Jayden Maiava at quarterback after four solid but unspectacular starts. And despite losing quite a bit of depth from his first semi-competent defense in four years -- only 10 of 13 players with 300-plus snaps return -- he definitely didn't overdo it with portal guys.

"Riley reportedly has a pretty prohibitive buyout at the moment, and he's acting like it. Though this team does have a handful of pretty good seniors -- linebacker Eric Gentry and incoming transfers in running back Eli Sanders (New Mexico), cornerback DJ Harvey (San José State) and safety Bishop Fitzgerald (NC State) -- most of this team's best players are guys who will still have eligibility left in 2026, when members of what is currently a spectacular recruiting class come to town. Steel yourself for some serious USC hype this time next year, I guess.

"D'Anton Lynn did a nice job in his first season as defensive coordinator; the Trojans improved from 105th to 48th in defensive SP+, thanks mostly to big-play prevention and outstanding third-down defense. Safety Kamari Ramsey is the only returning starter in the secondary, but he's great, and Harvey and Fitzgerald should help. Gentry is a good playmaker at linebacker, and the addition of 330-pounder Keeshawn Silver (Kentucky) and 350-pounder Jamaal Jarrett (Georgia) up front should certainly provide some, uh, immovability. I don't expect an elite defense, but further improvement is likely.

"On offense, Maiava is a decent scrambler, Sanders and juco transfer Waymond Jordan are exciting and explosive additions, and slot receiver Makai Lemon averaged a whopping 3.0 yards per route, second in the conference.

"The line is more experienced, especially with the additions of senior transfers J'Onre Reed (Syracuse) and DJ Wingfield (Purdue), but I'm not sure about the upside there. Regardless, Riley should have enough to field another top-20 offense, develop further, win another seven or eight games and buy time for the cavalry to arrive in 2026."

This matchup will be one of UCLA's most highly anticipated matchups of the season, and it falls on the last game of the season, giving the rivalry more importance, considering, if things swing the wrong way, winning this game could give the Bruins a bowl game bid.