There always seems to be a week in the school year when every student wearing cardinal red doesn’t want to associate with students wearing powder blue. This week will be coming up shortly as the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) square off in one of football’s greatest rivalries on November 30th. The rivalry between USC and UCLA runs deep in the bloodlines of many Palos Verdes students whose elders are alumni.
From the years 2000 to 2011, the Trojans dominated the Victory Bell rivalry despite a slip to the Bruins in 2006. USC fans have always looked at their football program as one of the best and most successful in California, until last season on Saturday, November 17, 2012, Trojan football faithfuls met a rude awakening. Some would blame the loss on former Heisman hopeful Matt Barkley, some on the lackluster play-calling by Lane Kiffin.
Now we come to a time where all Bruins fans are sitting high and mighty in their No. 19 spot in the BCS standings as of November 2, looking down and laughing at the unranked Trojans. But people are still wondering, may the Bruin’s success the past two seasons be accounted for by their hiring of Jim Mora Jr. in place of a pathetic Rick Neuheisel? Or the amazing performances by their sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley? Both seem like valid answers but it truly comes down to the Bruins averaging roughly 40 points a game compared to the Trojans’ 25. USC’s offense under Lane Kiffin was a boring inefficient offense, consisting of 3-yard screen passes and power running. However, USC may have found an offensive spark after relieving “Lane” Kiffin of his coaching duties.
PV Sea King Reid Helton’s father, Clay Helton, may be the answer. Helton is the offensive coordinator for the Trojans and has finally been given an opportunity to call his own offense. Just watching the game, one finds it more apparent that the offense is trying to work the ball down the field more and getting the ball into the hands of the Trojans Star receivers Marqise Lee and Nelson Agholor. Said Reid Helton, “When Kiffin was coaching, many of the players seemed to lose interest in playing football. Now with a change of coaching, the players all seem to have regained their desire to play.”
The Bruins offense is an explosive, methodical offense with Brett Hundley running the read option, averaging around 200 yards rushing per game, similar to USC’s rushing total. The one offensive stat that separates these two teams is UCLA’s 300 passing yards a game compared to USC’s 200. USC’s passing game can nowhere near match UCLA’s because of the Trojans shaky quarterback Cody Kessler and the plague of injuries at the receiver position. UCLA’s aerial attack, led by the receiving trio of Shaq Evans, Devin Fuller, and Jordan Payton, is a force to be reckoned with. Also, tormented by restrictions from the NCAA, USC’s recruiting capacity has put the Trojans in a slump in their depth chart.
However, the Bruins have stumbled upon a rough patch of late, losing consecutive games to Oregon and Stanford on the road. Evan Feller said, “I think those two losses to Oregon and Stanford are tough, but then again, they were both away [games] and [UCLA] did put up a good fight against Oregon.” These two losses do not seem to take anything away from UCLA’s great season, as both losses were to highly ranked teams. Said Feller, “We have USC coming up at the end of the year, and it’s a rivalry, so anything can happen. But I think the Bruins will be victorious.”
With UCLA already on their way to a great season and already past the toughest part of their schedule, the game against a USC team with a new sense of determination this November 30th should turn out to be a great rivalry matchup.
