Crosstown rivals UCLA and No. 17 Southern California meet for the 95th time on Saturday when the Trojans host the Bruins at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
USC (8-3, 6-2 Big Ten) comes in looking to rebound from the disappointment of having its College Football Playoff hopes effectively dashed its last time out.
The Trojans dropped a 42-27 decision at then-No. 7 Oregon last weekend, which sent USC from No. 15 in the Playoff rankings — within striking distance of the coveted top 12 — down to 17th as revealed on Tuesday.
Coach Lincoln Riley called USC’s 2025 “a very good year, right on the verge of being a great year.”
Riley is 34-17 with the Trojans as he nears the end of his fourth season and 2-1 in rivalry games with UCLA after last season’s 19-13 win at Rose Bowl Stadium. While USC has yet to reach the playoff in Riley’s tenure, the coach’s name has surfaced in media speculation about various vacancies around college football.
Riley flatly denied any interest in leaving USC in his media availability following practice on Tuesday evening.
“Oh yeah, 100 percent,” he said of his commitment to the Trojans. “Like I’ve said before, I’m right where I’m supposed to be. … I love being here. That’s really the end of it.”
Since a midseason resurgence from an 0-4 start, UCLA (3-8, 3-5) has dropped four straight. Last week’s 48-14 loss at home to Washington bumped the Bruins’ average margin of defeat over this stretch to 32.3 points per game.
UCLA scored a combined 51 points in the four losses to Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio State and Washington. In their Week 13 loss, the Bruins were scoreless until late in the third quarter before breaking through on a Luke Duncan touchdown pass to Mikey Matthews.
Duncan replaced Nico Iamaleava at quarterback after Iamaleava sustained an injury in the second half. Bruins interim coach Tim Skipper called the injury neck spasms during his media availability on Monday.
Iamaleava is day-to-day, Skipper said.
Another significant injury looming for UCLA against a high-powered USC offense averaging 37.2 points per game is the loss of defensive back Rodrick Pleasant. Pleasant underwent shoulder surgery for an injury that Skipper said the defensive back had been playing through for much of the season.
“This is an explosive offense,” Skipper said of USC. “We’re going to have our hands full. We’re going to have to have all hands on deck. We’re going to have to throw different things at them, try to confuse them.”
Skipper said that while USC’s passing attack with quarterback Jayden Maiava and wide receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane presents obvious threats, the UCLA interim praised Riley-coached teams for effectively balancing the run game.
Rushing has been a barometer for the Trojans’ success in 2025. In losses at Notre Dame and Oregon, USC finished with just 68 and 52 yards on the ground.
Those losses are also the Trojans’ only games without a rushing touchdown this season.
The USC backfield has dealt with its own share of injuries. Waymond Jordan has been out since sustaining an ankle injury in the Oct. 11 win over Michigan, Bryan Jackson missed four games with turf toe and Eli Sanders sustained a season-ending knee injury vs. Michigan.
Freshman King Miller emerged as the primary option in the depleted ball-carrying rotation, producing consecutive games of 129 and 127 yards at Nebraska and vs. Northwestern, but has not scored a touchdown in the last two outings.
