O/NSO: Game 11 –No. 7 USC at No. 16 UCLA edition
The Obvious: Simply put, if the No. 7 USC Trojans (7-1 Pac-12, 9-1 overall) beat the No. 16 UCLA Bruins (5-2 Pac-12, 8-2 overall) on Saturday night (5 p.m. PT/FOX) at the Rose Bowl before a sellout crowd of 70,865, the Trojans advance to the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday night, Dec. 2, in Las Vegas - period. A loss in the 92nd crosstown rivalry game to the Bruins, and things could get very problematic. Not so simple. The Not So Obvious: Both USC and UCLA can be dominate on offense, and both teams can be a major liability on defense. There are offensive skill players on both sides of the ball, the type of skill players that can change a game in a heartbeat. So, the game figures to get down to which defense raises its game - if that’s possible - from units that have been so lacking in dictating and controlling a game.
