USC Trojans Schedule Update Vs. UCLA Bruins

The Los Angeles foes have had two tales of very different seasons. The top-25 Trojans have climbed, and fallen, their way through the rankings and enter week 13 with just two-losses. For the Bruins, their season has been a mix of hope and desperation.

UCLA fired former head coach Deshaun Foster after an 0-3 start to the season, and turned to Foster's special assistant Tim Skipper to fill in as interim head coach. With Foster’s release being one of the first of the season, it opened the door to what has become one of the most expansive coaching carousels college football has seen.

The Bruin's sliver of hope came from a 42-37 win over then-No. 7 Penn State, which led to wins over Michigan State and Maryland to go on a 3-0 conference win streak. However, their winning run camer to an end when No. 2 Indiana defeated them 56-10, and have since lost to Nebraska and No. 1 Ohio State to sit 3-7 overall.

USC's season has been restoring for Trojan fans, sitting 8-2 entering their road contest with the Ducks, one of their most anticipated meetings all year. The Trojans have been impressive this season, with home-ranked wins over then-No. 15 Michigan and No. 21 Iowa to keep them 5-1 in Big Ten play, with a loss to Illinois.

Especially in a comeback win over Iowa, coach Lincoln Riley called the win a "culture win" and spoke to what the program has been working towards all season.

"That’s a culture win, right there. If there ever was one. We didn’t play very good football in the first half. Our team’s resilience and response at halftime was impressive. We brought the guys up right away when we came in at the half, which we don’t typically do," Riley said after the win. "You could tell from the look in their eye that they knew we didn’t play our best, and they knew we could go out and really make a run at this thing."

USC Looks To Keep Victory Bell In South Central

While the Trojans first have to travel north to Eugene and play a talented Oregon team, the USC vs. UCLA rivalry is the determiner of who gets to keep the beloved victory bell of Los Angeles. Last year, the Trojans reclaimed the bell in a 19-13 win over the Bruins at the Rose Bowl.

For USC, a win over the Bruins could either be the deciding factor of their CFP path or depending on the results in Eugene. As for rivalry games, the Trojans and the Bruins went head to head last year with a bowl game in sight. This year, the Trojans would look to secure their best record since Riley was named head coach, and the Bruins look to escape their worst record since the 2018 season.

The Trojans and Bruins rivalry dates all the way back to 1929, when the two LA teams met for the first time and USC shut out the Bruins 76-0.

Since 2020, the results have been back-and-forth, with the Trojans winning in 2024, 2022 and 2020, when UCLA took the win in 2023 and 2021, making for one of the Trojans most competitive rivalries. While the stakes for both programs look much different, Trojan fans can expect a competitive rivalry for their final game at the Coliseum on Senior Day.