USC vs. UCLA: What can Bruins expect from Trojans?

The UCLA Bruins have their most important game of the year on Saturday, taking on the USC Trjoans in the latest edition of the rivalry. The Bruins have a chance at winning they haven't had in a long time: the Trojans have won the last five games between the two teams, and 12 of the last 13. SB Nation's UCLA blog Bruins Nation has a ton of content related to the game, including detailed previews of offense, defense and special teams.

On offense, the obvious thing for the Bruins to expect is a heavy passing attack from Matt Barkley, Marqise Lee and Robert Woods. The Bruins' best chance to counter this threat will either come on interceptions (Barkley already has six more than his 2011 total), or finding other ways to get USC to cough up the ball. The Trojans have 26 turnovers in total.

On defense, Bruins Nation highlights some of the performances other spread offenses have put in against the Trojans:

UCLA will be the fourth spread offense in a row that Southern Cal has faced. Arizona and Oregon combined for 1,318 yards of offense and 101 points, but Arizona St. was held to only 250 yards of offense and 17 points. The Trojans also tallied seven sacks against the Sun Devils after only totaling three against Arizona and Oregon. What changed? Southern Cal made Arizona St. one dimensional, holding the Sun Devils to only 71 rushing yards, while Arizona and Oregon had fairly balanced numbers.

Another threat raised by Bruins Nation is Lee on kick returns, where he's averaging nearly 30 yards per return. There's a lot more information in the full posts, so head over to Bruins Nation and check them out.