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The USC Trojans are opening as three-point favorites in the battle for the Pac-12 South next Saturday against the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl.
If the Trojans are victorious, they'll tie UCLA in the conference standings and own the tiebreaker with no Pac-12 games left to play.
The Bruins still have another conference game against Stanford after this USC matchup, but a win here would give them a three-game lead, effectively punching their ticket to the Pac-12 Championship for the second straight year. UCLA lost to the Oregon Ducks 49-31 in the inaugural championship game last year.
The Bruins have won four straight games after their embarrassing 43-17 loss to Cal back in October. The Trojans have faced some unfamiliar speed bumps lately but they were able to get back on track against Arizona State Saturday with a 38-17 victory.
If recent history is a determining factor in this one though, the Bruins could be in for a long day. UCLA was shut out 50-0 by the Trojans in the last game of the 2011 season and the Bruins haven't won in this series since 2006.