Lane Kiffin dives head first into USC vs. UCLA rivalry

Former USC head coach Lane Kiffin has joined in on friendly banter ahead of this weekend’s rivalry game between the Trojans and UCLA.

Kiffin, who is the current Ole Miss head coach and ran the Trojans program from 2010-2013, took to Twitter on Friday and tagged former quarterback Matt Barkley in a photo commemorating the 10-year anniversary of USC’s 50-0 thrashing of the Bruins in 2011. 

⁦@MattBarkley⁩ ❤️🏈🔥 pic.twitter.com/cUVpwqJW1C

— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) November 19, 2021

Barkley commented “It’s just so beautiful” at the bottom of the post, which was a reminder of a big day for the former Trojans star. He was 35-for-42 with 423 yards and six touchdown passes in the shutout. True freshman wide receiver Marqise Lee caught 13 passes for a season-high 224 yards and two touchdowns in the game. 

The Trojans quarterback, who was a junior at the time, had his best season in 2011. He led all Power Five signal callers with 39 touchdowns passes. In total, Barkley threw for 3,528 yards with a passer rating of 161.2 and had just seven interceptions.

USC went 10-2 that season, but they were banned from the postseason as a result of sanctions related improper recruiting practices. Kiffin was 28-15 overall as the USC head coach and was fired in September 2013 at an airport in the now-famous “tarmac firing.”

Crosstown Showdown is back

The rivals meet again this weekend in the rivalry dubbed the Crosstown Showdown. This rendition will be held at the Coliseum. 

All in all, the stakes are relatively low for the matchup. USC is currently led by interim head coach Donte Williams, as the 4-5 Trojans fight for bowl eligibility. The Trojans did not play last weekend, as their game against Cal was postponed until Dec. 4 due to COVID-19 issues for the Bears. 

Chip Kelly’s UCLA team is trending in the right direction, already eligible for the postseason at 6-4. 

USC boasts the better passing attack, which makes sense given they run an Air Raid offense, while the Bruins are superior in the run game. USC’s strength is a problem for the UCLA defense; they defend against the run well, but the Bruins are giving up 267.2 passing yards per game, which is 113th in the nation.

USC quarterback Kedon Slovis threw for a school record 515 yards in the 2019 game against UCLA, but he won’t be getting the start on Saturday due to a leg injury.

True freshman Jaxson Dart will get the nod for his first career start. Dart is the first USC quarterback to make his first career start against the Bruins since 1980. Thankfully for USC, he has played a fair amount this season despite tearing his meniscus in September; the 18-year-old is 50-for-81 with seven total touchdowns and three interceptions this year.

Southern Cal leads the series 49-32-7 all-time, and they have won two straight meetings and five of the last six. The Trojans are 2-3 at home this season, with their only wins coming against San Jose State and Arizona. 

UCLA is a 3-point favorite, and the game kicks off at 1:00 p.m. PT on Fox.