With just one game remaining in the 2023 regular season, and the Pac-12 Championship out of the picture, USC (7-4 overall, 5-3 Pac-12) looks to conclude its season with a victory against UCLA (6-4, 3-4).
“Everybody’s been coming together, [and] everybody’s been focused on the point of, hey, we’re playing for our seniors, we’re playing for the pride of L.A.,” senior receiver Brenden Rice said. “Even though we couldn’t go on to conquer those dreams that we had, we have to go ahead and look at it as: this is still a great opportunity to go ahead and push forward for the next coming team, the next coming year.”
“I’m just proud of this group because our spirits are high, even though our record isn’t where it wants to be,” senior offensive lineman Justin Dedich said. “The guys are still willing to come out here and learn and get better every day and just work on trying to be the best versions of ourselves.”
Despite USC having a much higher-ranked total offense than UCLA at No. 9 in the country, UCLA’s total defense is significantly higher than USC’s at No. 10.
“They remind me a little bit of the Utah D-line,” redshirt junior running back MarShawn Lloyd said. “[They’re] big up front, really physical, and [they] move well, so I feel like it’s going to be super fun to see how their D-line goes against our O-line.”
UCLA has only won six of its last 24 games against the Trojans, but USC lost the last time the historic rivalry was played in the L.A. Coliseum in 2021.
“They’ve got a really good front seven — that’s probably the strength of their team — [and] they’ve got a bunch of guys that have length in the secondary,” junior quarterback Caleb Williams said. “They’ve got a bunch of key guys on their defense that are gonna make plays, and we’ve got a bunch of guys over here that are also gonna make plays, so I think it’ll be a good test for us and a good battle.”
The historic rivalry dates back to 1929, and USC leads the overall series against the Bruins 50-33-7.
“With rivalry games, you’re never gonna see the team that you watch on tape, you know they’re gonna show up,” senior wide receiver Tahj Washington said. “[In] huge rivalry games, the energy is high, stakes are high.”
This matchup will likely be Williams’ last regular-season game as a Trojan, as he has yet to confirm whether or not he will play for USC next season. He is currently projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“Caleb, he’s a great football player, one hell of a football player, I think everyone knows that, but he’s honestly one of the best dudes off the field — very humble, just a great leader from day one,” Dedich said. “When he came in here last year, he stepped in and started leading right away. What he said really meant something, and everyone respected him.”
When asked how he wants to be remembered, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner said he hasn’t put much thought into it.
“I’d say a player that went out there and gave his all every play, every chance he got,” Williams said. “I’d say a player that cares for his teammates, I’d say a player that wanted to go out there and win every single game that we had.… Obviously, as a player, you want to go down and try and be one of the best and greatest players ever.”
“He has that character, he has that attitude that you just have respect for, that you want to play for, and I think who he is off the field is something that I will remember for the rest of my life,” Dedich said.
Williams is currently ranked No. 1 in the country in total points responsible for and No. 2 in points responsible for per game, passing yards, and passing touchdowns. He is also on watch lists for the Maxwell Award, Manning Award, Davey O’Brien Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year, and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
“Every game, we leave it all out there for Caleb, especially with how much he does for this team, it’s super cool,” Lloyd said. “So we definitely want to leave him out with a bang.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s a disappointing year, yeah we may be disappointed as players, we may be disappointed in ourselves, or whatever the case may be because we had high hopes [and] we had high expectations for ourselves, but we’ve got a special opportunity to go out here and do something special to end the season,” Williams said. “To be 7-4 at this point in the season, we’ve got a special opportunity to go play one of our greatest rivalries, if not the greatest rivalry for USC, and we get to show the world who USC is gonna be next year.”
After three losses in their last four games, the Trojans will take on the Bruins on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at the L.A. Coliseum.