Week 12 features one of the great historic rivalries in the history of college football and the operative word there is indeed “history.” For both the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins memories of when their rivalry mattered on a national level are becoming far more distant. UCLA has not been a relative player in the Pac 12 Conference for a generation and counting while the glory days of USC ended with NCAA sanctions, Pete Carroll’s departure and a decade of falling short of expectations at Heritage Hall. While USC can still attain bowl eligibility to a game nobody will want to watch or play in the Bruins are in the beginning stages of a long rebuild.
Watch this Week 12 matchup live on Saturday, November 17, 2018, at 3:30 p.m. ET from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The game can be seen on FOX.
College Football Live Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
USC Trojans – (Check Back Later)
UCLA Bruins – (Check Back Later)
Over/Under (Check Back Later)
Live Betting Odds Analysis
USC will still be the favorite based on their name brand status as one of college football’s blue blood programs. Adding to that is the hopeless look of the UCLA Bruins. While there was excitement about Chip Kelly’s arrival as head coach, he inherited a mess of a program with an empty cupboard.
Myth of the Glory of Troy
USC has a record of 5-5 straight up and 3-7 against the spread with a 5-5 split on totals. The Men of Troy have lost three of their last four both straight up and against the spread after last week’s 15-14 Homecoming loss to California as 4.5-point chalks. Without question the loss to Cal made for the rock bottom moment of the Clay Helton era. Helton was never accepted by many Trojan fans as a legitimate head coach. In Helton’s defense he had had to start a freshman quarterback this year in JT Daniels. But to USC fans it shouldn’t matter. After all they are Almighty USC. At least in their minds.
Chip Missing from X Box Offense
UCLA is 2-8 straight up and 4-6 against the spread with an even 5-5 split on totals. The Bruins perked up for a moment with a two-game winning streak but have since fallen back into a slump with three consecutive straight up losses. Last week UCLA lost at Arizona State 31-28 as 11.5-point dogs. The arrival of Kelly was hailed as the greatest moment in UCLA football history but he will need to recruit his own type of players to actually implement his system. While known for terrifying offenses when he coached at Oregon it is also likely that defenses have caught up to Kelly’s tactics. All of which means his tenure is no guarantee for success at Westwood.
Team Metrics
UCLA ranks an astounding 117th in the nation for scoring offense and 102nd for total defense. Even without his type of players its mind boggling on how Kelly cannot generate more production on that side of the line.
USC ranks 97th in the nation for total offense and 99th for rushing. Defensively the Men of Troy rank 65th for points allowed. Long time USC observers find that lack of a reliable ground game an abomination for a school known as “Student Body Right.”
ATS Trends
UCLA has failed to cover five of their last six home games with just two of their last six games at the Rose Bowl going over the total. But USC has failed to cover eight of their last 10 on the road with three of their last five away games going over the total. UCLA has paid in five of their last seven home games with USC.
Free Live Betting ATS Pick
USC cannot rate a recommendation after their putrid loss to Cal. At least UCLA almost won at a decent Arizona State team last week.
College Football Live Betting Odds Pick: UCLA 34, USC 21
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