Trojans Visit Bruins in Pac-12 Rivalry Game on Saturday Night

UCLA Opened as a 3-point Home Favorite Against USC.

Saturday night's Pac-12 college football matchup between the USC Trojans (7-3) and UCLA Bruins (8-2) could have a big impact on the College Football Playoff rankings as the two Los Angeles schools continue their annual intercity rivalry. UCLA has won the last two meetings as an underdog after USC was victorious in each of the previous five games in the series with a 3-2 mark against the spread.

The Bruins are favored against the Trojans for the first time since 2001, opening as 3-point home chalk at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook and sitting at -4 as of late Friday (click here to check latest college football odds). The game kicks off at 5 p.m. (PT) and will be televised nationally on ABC.

UCLA still has one more game remaining on its schedule during the regular season, hosting the Stanford Cardinal next Friday. The Bruins can capture the Pac-12 South Division title with a victory in each of their last two games while the Trojans can do the same with a win here and a loss by the Arizona State Sun Devils against the Arizona Wildcats on Friday as well. Arizona State can win it with a USC victory and a win over the Wildcats. Whoever wins the Pac-12 South will play the Pac-12 North champion Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Dec. 5 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

The Ducks are the conference's best shot at getting a team into the College Football Playoff right now, ranked No. 2 behind only the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide. UCLA is No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings and can really mess things up by winning out, conceivably sneaking into the top four despite two losses. But first the Bruins need to take care of business with a win over the No. 19 Trojans at the Rose Bowl.

USC has thrived on the road in conference play, winning six of its past seven away from home against Pac-12 opponents. The lone loss during that stretch came one month ago against the Utah Utes, who also figure into the Pac-12 South title picture because they have defeated both the Trojans and Bruins. However, the Utes need the Sun Devils to lose Saturday and Friday and UCLA must beat USC and then lose to Stanford, otherwise they have no chance.

The Bruins are just 1-3 ATS in their last four home games against conference foes, and the Trojans are 3-1 vs. the line in their past four Pac-12 matchups on the road. This year's meeting will likely come down to which quarterback plays better between UCLA's Brett Hundley (2,547 passing yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions) and USC's Cody Kessler (2,919 with 29 TDs and just three picks). Hundley was viewed as a leading Heisman Trophy candidate before the season, but Kessler has emerged as arguably the conference's best QB in 2014.

Even though the offenses will be very critical in this game, each team's defense will be equally important. The total is high at 62.5, but the "under" has cashed in six of the previous seven meetings. The "under" is also 3-0 in the last three conference home games for the Bruins and 4-0 in the past four Pac-12 road games for the Trojans.

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