Football | November 17, 2019

THEMES

*USC, winner of 4 of its last 5 games and now back home after a victorious 2-game road trip, hosts UCLA this Saturday for the 89th version of the nation's most famous crosstown rivalry. Troy's regular season finale will be shown live nationally on ABC.

*At stake on Saturday, besides staying alive in the Pac-12 South Division race, are city bragging rights, the Victory Bell and Crosstown Cup points. Both teams will wear their home jerseys.

*UCLA has won just 5 of the last 20 meetings in the series with USC, but the Bruins captured last year's game. The Trojans have won 66% of the time against unranked UCLA teams and nearly as frequently versus Bruin teams coming off a loss.

*USC's seniors will be playing their final game in the Coliseum. They will enter the field through a tunnel of former Trojan football players.

*It's also the last home game for 50-year Trojan Marching Band director Dr. Art Bartner and 15-year Traveler rider Hector Aguilar.

*Two-time USC All-American Troy Polamalu, one of the greatest safeties in college football history, will be honored on the field for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

*Head coach Clay Helton's USC team, looking for prime positioning in the post-season bowl derby after fighting through an injury-marred season in which 26 starters or key backups have missed action, posted a convincing win at California last week, getting impressive performances on both sides of the ball. Freshman All-American candidate QB Kedon Slovis, who became the first Trojan to pass for 400 yards in 3 games in a season (he had 406 yards with 4 TDs at Cal behind 83% throwing), is in the national Top 20 in 5 NCAA stat categories: completion percentage (71%), passing TDs (24), passing efficiency and completions and passing yardage (273). USC has the nation's best trio of wideouts: WRs Michael Pittman Jr. (the Biletnikoff Award candidate had 11 catches for 180 yards at Cal and is in the national Top 15 in receptions, receiving TDs and receiving yards as he has 82 grabs for 1,118 yards and 9 TDs in 2019), Amon-Ra St. Brown (60 catches and 6 scores this year) and Tyler Vaughns (62 catches with 5 TDs this year and 10th on USC's career receiving list). And true frosh WR Drake London continues to show well (he had 111 yards on 6 receptions at Cal). TB Stephen Carr has returned to the running back rotation, helping spell true freshman speedster TB Kenan Christon, who began the year fifth string. OT Austin Jackson and OG Alijah Vera-Tucker headline Troy's effective offensive line. USC's young defense (9 freshman and sophomore starters, including the entire secondary) is captained by senior ILB John Houston Jr., the team's tackle leader (he's nearing the century mark). Among the impressive young defenders are Ss Isaiah Pola-Mao (4 picks in 2019) and Talanoa Hufanga, ILB Kana'i Mauga, DLs Jay Tufele and Marlon Tuipulotu and Freshman All-American candidate DL Drake Jackson (10.5 tackles for loss). PK Chase McGrath has been near perfect this year, hitting all 44 PATs and 12-of-13 field goals, while Australian P Ben Griffiths has put nearly half of his punts within the 20-yard line.

*After dropping 5 of its first 6 games of 2019, head coach Chip Kelly's UCLA team won its next 3 before falling last Saturday at No. 8 Utah. UCLA needs to win its last 2 regular season games to get bowl eligible. QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson directs the Bruin offense, which has scored 30-plus points 5 times this year. RB Joshua Kelley is 19th nationally in rushing (104.3). Top receivers include WR Kyle Philips and RB Demetric Felton. UCLA's defense has allowed 442.0 total yards (298.4 passing) and 33.7 points per game this year. Leading tacklers are S Stephan Blaylock and ILB Krys Barnes. UCLA has foreign specialists in 31-year-old Australian P Wade Lees and Canadian PK JJ Molson.

*The USC men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball teams will be in action this weekend in the Galen Center, including the women's hoopsters playing Saturday right after the football game.

SERIES

*USC leads the series with crosstown rival UCLA, 47-32-7 (dating to 1929, a 76-0 Trojan win), not including Troy's 2004 and 2005 victories that were vacated due to NCAA penalty (original record: 49-32-7). UCLA only has been victorious 5 times in the last 20 meetings dating to 1999, but the Bruins won last year.

*In games against UCLA in the Coliseum, including in years when the Bruins were the home team while it was their home stadium, USC holds a 39-21-7 lead (not including the Trojans' 2005 win that was vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record, 40-21-7). The Bruins have posted just 1 win over USC in their last 10 trips to the Coliseum.

*In 2017 in the teams' last meeting in the Coliseum, TB Ronald Jones II ran for 122 yards with 2 short TDs, QB Sam Darnold ran for another score while throwing for 264 yards, the Trojans used a trick play to score on a punt return and Troy's defense withstood Bruin QB Josh Rosen's 421-yard passing outing by getting 2 takeaways and 4 sacks as No. 12 USC held off UCLA, 28-23.

*Last year in the Rose Bowl, RB Joshua Kelley ran for 289 yards--the second most by any player against USC--with 2 touchdowns and UCLA scored 13 unanswered fourth quarter points to defeat the Trojans, 34- 27. It snapped Troy's 3-game winning streak over the Bruins and was USC's first loss to a team with at least 8 losses since falling to a 1-8 Notre Dame squad in 1960. Kelley's rushing yardage, which came on a USC opponent record 40 carries, was the third most in UCLA history, as well as the most by any runner in a USC-UCLA game. The crowd of 57,116 was the smallest at a USC-UCLA game since 51,906 were at the 1950 game.

USC VERSUS UNRANKED UCLA

*USC is 27-13-5 against unranked UCLA teams (not including 1 win vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record 28-13-5). An unranked Bruin squad beat the Trojans last season, 34-27 in the Rose Bowl. When neither team was ranked by AP (as happened in 2018), USC is 12-7-4 against UCLA, with the wins in 1937-40- 43 twice-48-49-56-63-64-99-2000-10, the losses in 1950-57-61-70-83-96-2018 and the ties in 1936-41-44- 58.

VERSUS PAC-12

*USC has won 69.9% (473-195-29) of its games against current Pac-12 opponents (not including 9 wins later vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 482-195-29, 70.3%).

IN COLISEUM

*USC has a 449-140-27 (.751) all-time record in the Coliseum since the stadium opened in 1923 (not including 6 wins vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 455-140-27, .753). USC's 622 games played in the Coliseum (including the 6 vacated wins) is the second most that any school has played in its home stadium (behind Georgia Tech's 699 in Bobby Dodd Stadium).

IN NOVEMBER

*USC has a 262-134-20 (.654) all-time record while playing in the month of November (not including 3 wins vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 265-134-20, .656).

SENIOR DAY

*Fourteen USC seniors and redshirt juniors will be appearing at their final home game in the Coliseum this Saturday: ILB Matt Bayle, OT Clayton Bradley, OG Jacob Daniel, WR-CB Dominic Davis, TB Chris Edmondson, PK Thomas Fitts, S Richard Hagestad, WR Matthew Hocum, ILB John Houston Jr., CB Justin Newell, S Brandon Perdue, WR Michael Pittman Jr., DL Christian Rector and OT Drew Richmond. They will be introduced individually prior to kickoff as they run onto the field through the Heritage Tunnel comprised of former Trojan players.

INJURIES

*USC has had a number of starters and key backups miss games with injuries in 2019. They include (with games missed): ILB Jordan Iosefa, knee (11), ILB Solomon Tuliaupupu, foot (11), DL Jacob Lichtenstein, knee (11), OT Clayton Bradley, hand (11), QB JT Daniels, knee (10), OG-OT Andrew Vorhees, ankle (9), OLB Eli'jah Winston, ankle (6), TB Vavae Malepeai, knee (5), OLB Abdul-Malik McClain, knee/shoulder (4/1), CB Max Williams, knee/ankle (2/2), TB Markese Stepp, ankle (4), WR Munir McClain, knee (4), ILB Palaie Gaoteote IV, ankle (4), OT Liam Jimmons, concussion/elbow (1/2), TB Stephen Carr, hamstring (3), S Talanoa Hufanga, concussion/shoulder (1/2), DL Christian Rector, ankle (3), OLB Hunter Echols (2), shoulder CB Olaijah Griffin, back (2), TE Josh Falo, ankle (2), DL Drake Jackson, ankle (2), CB Greg Johnson, shoulder/concussion (1/1), C Brett Neilon, calf (1), QB Kedon Slovis, concussion (1), CB Isaac Taylor-Stuart, concussion (1), CB Chris Steele (1), knee, and DL Marlon Tuipulotu (1), back. In 2019, USC has started 3 different quarterbacks and has entered games down to a fourth string tailback or with 4 defensive starters out or missing both starting cornerbacks or both starting defensive ends.

USC-UCLA CONNECTIONS

*USC ILB Ralen Goforth's brother, Randall, was a cornerback at UCLA (2012-16).

*USC TE Erik Krommenhoek's parents both attended UCLA.

*USC ILB Spencer Gilbert's mother, USC director of track and field Caryl Smith Gilbert, was a 3-time AllAmerican sprinter at UCLA.

*USC men's volleyball head coach Jeff Nygaard was a 3-time (1993-95) All-American and 2-time National Player of the Year at UCLA.

*Marisa Samaniego, a senior learning specialist in USC's Student-Athlete Academic Services, was an All-American and Pac-10 champion diver at UCLA.

*USC head athletic trainer Russ Romano spent 1997 at UCLA.

*USC sports dietitian Becci Twombley and USC assistant athletic director/Trojan Athletic Fund Scott Wandzilak held similar positions at UCLA

*USC sports science coordinator Kyle Voigt was a UCLA graduate assistant athletic performance coach.

*UCLA baseball coach John Savage was USC's pitching coach from 1996 to 2000

*UCLA assistant women's basketball coach Shannon Perry-LeBeauf was an assistant at USC from 2000 to 2004.

*UCLA women's volleyball associate coach Brad Keller and men's volleyball assistant coach John Hawks were men's volleyball assistants at USC.

*UCLA senior associate athletic director/senior woman administrator Christina Rivera previously worked in USC's student athlete academic services department.

*UCLA assistant athletic director/sports medicine Mark Pocinich previously was an assistant athletic trainer at USC.

*UCLA learning specialist Dominique Randle played women's soccer team (2014-18).

HOME JERSEYS

*For the first time since 1982, both USC and UCLA wore their home jerseys in the 2008 game (a UCLA home game in the Rose Bowl) and the teams have continued to do so since (except for 2011 when the visiting Bruins chose to wear white jerseys). Per an NCAA football-playing rule (no longer in effect beginning in 2009), because the 2008 Trojans were not in their white road jerseys, they were charged with a timeout at the opening kickoff. UCLA responded by calling a timeout immediately after to even things up. The tradition of USC in its cardinal jerseys and UCLA in its blue jerseys, regardless of whose home game it was, went on from 1949 to 1951 and then 1957 through 1982 before an NCAA football rule change required the visiting team to wear white.

VICTORY BELL

*The winner of the annual USC-UCLA football game gets year-long possession of the Victory Bell, a 295-pound bell off a freight locomotive. Originally given to UCLA in 1939 as a gift from the UCLA Alumni Association, several USC students took the bell in 1941 and hid it in a variety of locations for more than a year. A controversy ensued and school administrators had to intercede. In 1942, the bell resurfaced and, by agreement, became the trophy given to the game's winner. However, tradition calls for the Victory Bell to spend most of the year in storage…or, rather appropriately, in hiding. Since the bell became a trophy, its carriage has been painted cardinal 42 times while in USC's possession and blue 32 times while in UCLA's hold (there were 4 ties) (not including 2 USC wins vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 44).

CROSSTOWN CUP

*The winner of the USC-UCLA football game scores 10 points toward the Crosstown Cup, a trophy awarded annually to the school with the most successful athletic year against the other. The competition was formerly known as the Crosstown Gauntlet. Points are awarded to the winner of each Trojan-Bruin headto-head contest and the Crosstown Cup will be awarded to the school with the most points at year's end (100 points is the magic number). USC has won the Crosstown Cup 11 times in the competition's 18 years, including a span of 5 consecutive years: 2001-02, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2013-14, 2015-16 and 2018-19. Currently, UCLA leads this season's Crosstown Cup competition, 25- 10.