USC-UCLA preview

Pasadena, Ca. - The Rose Bowl will play host to the 85th all-time meeting between the No. 19 USC Trojans and the 9th-ranked UCLA Bruins as their cross-town rivalry is renewed Saturday night.

The Men of Troy lead the all-time series 44-30-7, played since 1929, but the rivalry has tilted towards Westwood since the arrival of coach Jim Mora and quarterback Brett Hundley two years ago.

UCLA (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12) dropped 12 of the last 13 meetings with the Trojans before Mora and Hundley came to town, since then taking the last two from USC (7-3, 6-2 Pac-12).

Downing the Trojans 35-14 last season and 38-28 two years ago gave the Bruins their first consecutive victories over SC since taking eight-straight in the 90s. 

Hundley in those two contests has thrown only one touchdown, but rushed for four, and has not thrown an interception. 

"It would mean a lot being able to look back and say I was undefeated versus Southern Cal," Hundley said this week, "but at the same time, right now probably isn't the greatest time to focus on that."

The Chandler, Az. native has not been intercepted in his last three outings, and is coming off a 4 touchdown performance at Washington Nov. 8th, throwing two and rushing for two, going 29-of-36 passing.

Hundley leads the Bruins in rushing touchdowns, but tailback Paul Perkins owns the most yardage on the team (1,172). 

Perkins is second in the Pac-12 with 117.2 ypg, behind USC's Javorius Allen, whose 118.4 yards are the best in the west. 

Allen has rushed for 1,184 yards and eight touchdowns this season, but receiver Nelson Agholor is the feature of the resurgent Trojan offense. In last week's 38-30 victory over California, Agholor snagged 216 yards and two touchdowns through the air, his second time in as many games receiving 200 yards. His 16 receptions were one more than the rest of the Trojans' receiving corps combined.

Cody Kessler has thrown 29 touchdowns this season for USC, sharing the 4th-best mark in the nation with Oregon's Marcus Mariota. He threw 9 touchdowns in his last two contests and 18 in his last four. His four scoring tosses propelled Troy to victory over Cal last week and he has tossed only 3 interceptions this year.

USC will feature Josh Shaw at defensive back for the first time this season. He was suspended from the team after he admitted to lying about how he sprained his ankles in the summer.

"I've welcomed Josh Shaw back to the team," Sarkisian said. "I'm now in the process of evaluating how Josh can contribute to the team's success."