USC vs. UCLA point spread: Picking Trojans vs. Bruins

UCLA and USC meet this Saturday for a Week 12 clash in what will be the final matchup between the two schools as Pac-12 programs. The Trojans have opened as 6.5-point favorites over the Bruins — and On3’s Josh Newberg joined Andy Staples’ show to reveal his pick between the two in-city rivals.

Both teams began the year on a high, but the home stretch of the regular season hasn’t been kind to either program. Both teams are just barely bowl eligible — but there’s one major difference between the two programs. One has one of the most dynamic offenses in the country, the other has failed to produce more than one touchdown in each of its last two losses.

“You’ve just got to put up points if you’re Chip Kelly — because that’s the reason you’re there,” Newberg told Staples. “They can bring in anybody and do what they’re doing right now. … I like USC big in this game. They still know how to score points. I don’t think UCLA can come up with the stops to slow USC down. I mean, USC can throw up 35 to 50 in the blink of an eye.”

According to Newberg, if USC doesn’t turn the ball over and play a “somewhat” clean game, the Trojans should cruise to, at the minimum, a two-score victory. To Staples, all you need to look at are the last two weeks of the Bruins’ schedule to get a feel for what Saturday’s outcome will eventually look like.

“Losing 17-7 to Arizona State is a fireable offense — like, when I saw them when they lost Arizona the week before, my thought was okay, Arizona is playing great. … And I liked Kenny Dillingham, I think he’s, he’s actually doing a good job given the circumstances, But that’s an inexcusable loss if you’re UCLA and you’re in year five with Chip Kelly.”

For USC, their College Football Playoff hopes crashed and burned over the past month after turning their undefeated start to the season into losses in four of its last five games. Despite this, Staples feels like USC has enough starpower in Caleb Williams to put the Bruins away this weekend.

“I believe in this offense. Caleb Williams, I think, is probably — Jayden Daniels is going to win the Heisman — but Caleb Williams is going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. He’s a great quarterback and doesn’t really have the weapons and they’ve they’ve made it work. Defensively, they are what they are. UCLA is going to score some points. Well, that’s the question. Arizona State’s defense should theoretically give up the same level of points, so I think it’s a USC to cover in this game.”

Kickoff between the Trojans and Bruins is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET live on ABC. The over/under total is set at 65.5 points.