USC is running out of runway, and the contrast with UCLA is getting hard to ignore.
After Saturday night’s disappointing road loss to Wisconsin in Madison, the Trojans are still searching for traction in year five under Lincoln Riley. Across town, UCLA is moving the other direction in year one under Bob Chesney, unbeaten and lined up to keep rolling over the next month of the season before the two teams meet to finish the regular season on Nov. 28.
That gap is what stings most for USC. Chesney has the Bruins in position to chase a Big Ten championship and a College Football Playoff berth, and he helped prove it with the Oct. 10 upset at Oregon.
Riley, meanwhile, has done neither. He’s been touting the win over a Penn State team that has lost four straight and is winless in the Big Ten, but UCLA is the program producing results that actually travel.
The Trojans have been handed plenty to work with, including a new $225 million facility that opened in early August and was supposed to mark a fresh start. Instead, the same old questions keep hanging over the program. USC has too often looked unpredictable from week to week, and that uncertainty starts with Riley.
“This is the same team that played a way different brand of football at Penn State two weeks ago, and we're very capable of doing that again here in the in the coming weeks,” Riley said after Saturday's loss. “But we got to do it, and it's going to take all of us together, coaches and players, and that's what we'll do.”
UCLA, by contrast, has built something that looks steady and repeatable. The Bruins have been disciplined, well-prepared and difficult to knock off course, even when the opponent is supposed to be better. That kind of consistency is paying off, both on the field and in how the program is viewed.
The recruiting angle is part of it, too. In Westwood, Chesney has put a vision in place that comes with proof. At USC, the pitch is still more promise than product, and that makes the selling point a lot harder to explain.
The schedule ahead only sharpens the pressure on the Trojans. Ohio State comes to town on Oct. 31, though the Buckeyes will be without starting quarterback Julian Sayin and still bring a loaded roster led by receiver Jeremiah Smith, who is described here as the best player in college football.
USC then has to go to Bloomington on Nov. 14 to face Indiana, a place where the Trojans’ road issues could become a real problem. After that comes the short trip to the Rose Bowl for the regular-season finale against UCLA.
That stretch leaves USC staring at three games against teams ranked inside the top 10 to close the year. For a team that just dropped another road game and still hasn’t found a stable identity, it’s a brutal finish.
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UCLAs Unbeaten Start Has Put These Bruins In The Spotlight
UCLAs unbeaten start has turned the Bruins into one of the biggest stories in college football, and the 7-0 opening has them sitting at No. 7 nationally for the first time in a long while. The run has also widened the circle of contributors around the roster, with players like Anthony Woods, Semaj Morgan and Ty Dieffenbach helping carry the load as the season has gone along.
Woods has already shown how quickly a game can swing for this team after shaking off an early miscue and finishing with a big night on the ground against Michigan State, while Morgan has become a reliable target in the passing game with Dieffenbach taking over at quarterback after Nico Iamaleavas injury. For a Bruins team suddenly playing under a brighter spotlight, the next question is how much more offensive growth it can find if that new-look combination keeps building. [Read more 🡒]
UCLAs Undefeated Start Is Highlighting An Unexpected Bruins Strength
UCLAs undefeated start has been built on more than just a hot beginning. Even as injuries have tested the roster, Bob Chesney has kept the Bruins moving by getting meaningful production from players further down the depth chart, and that next-man-up response has become a defining part of the early season. TaShawn James, Semaj Morgan and Ty Dieffenbach have all helped keep the team competitive when the lineup has shifted around them.
For a program trying to protect a perfect record, that kind of readiness matters just as much as star power. The Bruins have already shown they can absorb setbacks without letting the season slip off course, which is exactly the kind of trait that can keep a team alive deep into the fall. The bigger question now is whether that depth can keep holding up as the schedule gets tougher and the injuries keep forcing new players into bigger roles. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA's Undefeated Run Added A Sideline Moment Fans Couldn't Ignore
UCLA kept its undefeated start rolling with a 28-10 win over Michigan State at the Rose Bowl, moving to 7-0 and keeping its College Football Playoff hopes squarely in view. The Bruins did not make it easy on themselves early, but they settled in after halftime and did enough to control the game, a welcome sign for a team trying to protect a special season.
Bob Chesney pointed to the rough opening stretch as the kind of mistake-filled start that can swing a game if it lingers, but UCLA steadied itself and finished stronger than it began. Beyond the box score, the afternoon also drew an unexpected wave of attention on social media, where one sideline moment quickly became part of the broader conversation around the Bruins' latest win. [Read more 🡒]