USC Trojans vs. UCLA Bruins

SAN FRANCISCO-The USC Trojans captured the Pac-12 South Division title as they defeated rival UCLA, 40-21, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Saturday afternoon.

Here are my picks for where Pac-12 teams are headed at the moment with the conference’s bowl game tie-ins. And it could enhance Helton’s bid to retain his job, minus the “interim” tag. USC sophomore two-way player Adoree’ Jackson is the only player nationally that has at least 300 yards in receiving, 500 yards in kickoff returns and 200 yards in punt returns.

What the win means for USC: Despite all the early-season turmoil, the Trojans have somehow qualified for the Pac-12 title game and are a win against Stanford away from the Rose Bowl.

Ironically, it was UCLA that threw the Trojans a life line last week by beating Utah in Salt Lake City. “The guys came together and made a decision, we weren’t losing this game”. The last came with 7:16 left in the third quarter, when USC’s Claude Pelon stripped Rosen on a sack and Trojans freshman Rasheem Green scooped and rumbled 31 yards for a touchdown.

Kessler beat UCLA in his final opportunity, earning a lifelong highlight in the final Coliseum appearance for the Trojans’ three-year starter. USC’s Pete Carroll won seven consecutive games from 1999-2005, though the 2004 and 2005 victories were vacated by order of the NCAA.

The Oregon Ducks may still be in the running for a coveted New Years Day Bowl.

“There is certainly room for both to be great in town”, said Petros Papadakis, a former USC running back who now serves as a college football analyst for Fox. If the Foster Farms Bowl also passes, USC would go to the Sun Bowl.

Kessler will play two more games for the Trojans and then depart, no matter what.

USC and UCLA keep trading the lead back and forth, and it appears this year’s rivalry game has all the makings of an instant classic.

“It’s like a bad dream, really”, receiver Thomas Duarte said. “Everything was right there for us”.

The Bruins finished the regular season 8-4 and 5-4 in conference play.

“It just breaks your heart to see the looks in their eyes”, he said.

Rosen, a freshman, was involved in three turnovers, but he said the Trojans did “absolutely nothing” to throw him off.

“I’m down for Coach Helton in 2016”.

“I’m just all UCLA”. Jim Mora, UCLA’s coach, used to routinely refer to the Trojans as the team from “Southern Cal”, a variation of University of Southern California that is universally disliked by the USC faithful.

From there, it was back and forth between the two, with USC claiming the lead, and then UCLA recapturing. The junior tailback punched the ball in from one-yard out for his second score of the game.

“Toward the middle of the season, we kind of didn’t know what type of team we were”, Davis said. “He knew who we were and we knew who he was”. “We’ve been playing very, very physical and our defense has been playing lights out”. After being gutted early in conference play following injuries to defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes and linebacker Myles Jack, Brown saw signs of progress in the 17-9 win at Utah.

Armed Forces Bowl – Washington vs. Air Force – I think the Huskies get into a bowl even if they don’t win the Apple Cup.