The USC Trojans (7-5, 4-4 Pac-10) visit the Rose Bowl on Saturday for their yearly battle with the UCLA Bruins (4-7, 2-6 Pac-10) for city bragging rights and the coveted “Victory Bell.”
For Trojan and Bruin fans this will be the last chance to see their 2010 football team plays as the Trojans are on NCAA sanctions and the Bruins failed to qualify for a Bowl.
Some outsiders are saying that there is really nothing to play for … but we know better than that.
Here is our head-to-head comparison of the greatest rivalry west of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
THE HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON | |||
 |  | THE POSITION BATTLES WITHIN THE BATTLE | BRIEF EXPLANATION OF WHY THE CHECK LANDED THERE |
| OFFENSE: TWO TEAMS DOING TWO DIFFERENT THINGS | |||
 | QUARTERBACK | The Trojans' Matt Barkley is expected to play making this one is a no-brainer. | |
 | RUNNING BACKS | Both running back stables have a tendency to not show up and to put the ball on the turf. But the Bruins are dedicated to the run. | |
| OFFENSIVE LINE | USC passes three times as much and is sacked less and has fewer plays for negative yards. | |
| TIGHT ENDS | Jordan Cameron is Barkley's safety value in the right spot at all times. And Stanley Havili is a FB with TE skills. | |
| WIDE RECEIVERS | The senior/freshman duo of Ronald Johnson and Robert Woods might be the best in the Pac-10. | |
| DEFENSE: TURNOVERS, THIRD-DOWN STOPS & BIG HITS | |||
| DEFENSIVE LINE | The Trojans have NFL talent on their D-Line with the ability to stuff the run. | |
| LINEBACKERS | Even without Pat Larimore, the Bruins are faster, tougher and tackle better with Sean Westgate and Akeem Ayers. | |
| SECONDARY | Rahim Moore and the Bruins' secondary are adept at forcing turnovers. Bruins need a big game from the back four. | |
| SPECIAL TEAMS: A GAMES OF INCHES AND YARDS | |||
| PUNTER | Jeff Locke has the third best net average in the FBS (45 ypp). Locke has 17 punts inside the 20, and 16 of 50+ yards. | |
| KICKER | Kai Forbath is the reigning Lou Groza winner, and has converted 52 of his last 60. Forbath is "Mr. Automatic." | |
| RETURN GAME | USC is deadly in the return game. In a blink of an eye, Johnson and Woods can swing momentum to the Trojans. | |
| COACHING: PUSHING THE RIGHT BUTTONS | |||
| COACHING | Lane Kiffin is a better play caller and developer of players. Look for Kiffin to provide a little wrinkle you haven't seen all year. | |
DISAGREE?
Leave a comment and share your two-cents worth on where our head-to-head comparisons between the Bruins and Trojans are wrong. If we like it, we just might post it in our game wrap-up.
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GAME DETAILS:
UCLA vs. USC (Rose Bowl) 7:30 p.m. Kickoff
