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Guys, not only is it rivalry week but it's also going to be a treat being able to watch to future NFLers take the field as Josh Rosen will lead the his UCLA Bruins into Trojan territory as Sam Darnold and his offense continue to click on all cylinders.
As we all know, USC is coming off a convincing victory against the Colorado Buffaloes (38-24) where we saw Darnold throw for 329 yards and two touchdowns. Last week's win clinched the PAC 12 South for the Trojans but this week is obviously a must-win—if USC wants any shot at the playoffs (albeit, however small) then they will have to win this week, win the PAC-12 Championship, and, then, get lots of help from other teams ahead of them losing games they will probably win.
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UCLA has had a down year to say the least—they have a 5-5 record (3-4 in conference) and this can largely be attributed to inconsistencies on the offensive and defensive sides of the football. Josh Rosen has been decent - he has amassed 3000 passing yards while throwing 21 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
During their three-game winning streak, USC has averaged 45 points per game. This combined with UCLA's poorly ranked defense (123rd scoring defense in the nation) has all the makings for the Trojans to continue their roll.
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This is a rivalry game, through and through, but it's also one of the final opportunities for both starting quarterbacks to add something to their film for NFL teams to evaluate them by. Rosen and Darnold could decide to return for another year at their respective schools, but that could prove to be a risky road that they may decide not to go down.
Either way, rivalries are fun and I know that I'm very cited for this.
Kickoff is on Saturday (11/18) at 5:00pm on ABC/WatchESPN.
Fight on!