The last time USC and UCLA met at the Rose Bowl two years ago, both teams were near the top of the Pac-12 standings and the Trojans' dramatic 48-45 win would vault them into the conference championship game.

A lot has changed since then.

Both teams are now in the Big Ten, of course, and near the bottom of the conference standings as the Trojans (5-5, 3-5) are trudging through a second straight underwhelming season while the Bruins (4-6, 3-5) are trying to find their footing under first-year head coach DeShaun Foster.

This week, both teams are fighting just to become bowl-eligible and maybe put a positive ending on an otherwise disappointing fall.

But regardless of records and postseason outlook, this rivalry always brings its own stakes and intrigue to the field.

"You look forward to these," USC coach Lincoln Riley said. "... This is a unique game, this is a unique rivalry game because of the proximity and the history behind it and played at two iconic venues. I mean, like, this is a really, really cool game. ...

"It’s a game we take a lot of pride in, a game we’re very excited to play, excited to prepare for. You’ve gotta be because these games – I don’t know why you play college football if you can’t get revved up to play in these."

USC and UCLA have alternated the last four meetings, with the road team winning each one -- including most recently a 38-20 Bruins win last year in the Coliseum.

Again, though, much has changed even from a year ago.

Let's dive deeper into the matchup and what USC is up against Saturday night ...

PODCAST: Setting the stage for USC-UCLA with perspective from both sides of the matchup

Who | USC (5-5, 3-5 Big Ten) at UCLA (4-6, 3-5)

Where | Rose Bowl, Pasadena

When | 7:30 p.m. PT Saturday

TV | NBC with Paul Burmeister, Colt McCoy and Lewis Johnson on the call.

Radio | ESPN LA 710AM with Pete Arbogast, Shaun Cody, Cody Kessler, Su’a Cravens, Jordan Moore and Jason Schwartz, starting with the pregame show at 5:30 p.m.

Betting line | USC -4.5 (over/under 52 points)

Series history | USC leads 50-34-7 (excluding vacated USC wins in 2004-05). UCLA has won just 7 over the last 25 meetings.

Rivalry notes | Both teams will wear their home uniforms, a tradition that resumed in 2008 (except for 2011 when the visiting Bruins chose to wear white jerseys). Per an NCAA rule (no longer in effect beginning in 2009), because the 2008 Trojans were not in their white road jerseys, they were charged with a timeout at the opening kickoff. UCLA responded by calling a timeout immediately after to even things up.

History of the Victory Bell | The winner of the annual USC-UCLA football game gets year-long possession of the Victory Bell, a 295-pound bell off a freight locomotive. • Originally given to UCLA in 1939 as a gift from the UCLA Alumni Association, several USC students took the bell in 1941 and hid it in a variety of locations for more than a year. A controversy ensued and school administrators had to intercede. In 1942, the bell resurfaced and, by agreement, became the trophy given to the game’s winner painted in the winning school's colors. However, tradition calls for the Victory Bell to spend most of the year in storage ... or, rather appropriately, in hiding.

Roster ties | USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn, wide receiver Kyle Ford, safety Kamari Ramsey and cornerback John Humphrey all spent last season at UCLA. Bruins defensive tackle Jay Toia initially signed with USC and went through spring practice with the Trojans in 2021 before transferring across town.

Chip Kelly resigned as UCLA's head coach on Feb. 9 to go become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, putting the program in a pickle timing-wise in terms of finding a replacement. The Bruins elected to hire DeShaun Foster, their former star running back and running backs coach since 2017.

Foster brought in longtime NFL offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to fill that role for the Bruins and elevated defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe to defensive coordinator.

UCLA started the season 1-5 with an opening win over Hawaii (16-13) followed by consecutive losses to Indiana (42-13), LSU (34-17), Oregon (34-13), Penn State (27-11) and Minnesota (21-17) before responding with three straight wins over Rutgers (35-32), Nebraska (27-20) and Iowa (20-17). The win streak was snapped with a 31-19 loss at Washington last week.

Quite simply, the Bruins have been one of the worst offensive teams in college football, ranking 122nd out of 134 FBS teams in total offense (320.6 YPG) while adjusting to OC Eric Bieniemy's complex NFL-style scheme and trying to overcome a struggling offensive line.

Each of UCLA five main starting offensive linemen this season has given up between 20-27 pressures this season (USC has two offensive linemen with 20 pressures allowed with the next-most being 13), while the Bruins rank tied for 79th nationally in giving up 1.8 sacks a game. Left tackle has been an especially tough spot, as initial starter Jaylan Jeffers is out for the season now and backup Niki Prongos is questionable for this game with injury, potentially leaving Yutaka Mahe, who gave up 8 pressures and 2 sacks in his first action last week, to start. Right guard Josh Carlin, who started the year at center, has also struggled mightily in giving up 27 pressures and a team-high 5 sacks.

If ever there was a game for the USC pass rush to come to life ...

Behind that porous offensive line, senior quarterback Ethan Garbers has passed for 2,173 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, though he's posted a 10-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio over the last four games, including 383 passing yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs vs. Rutgers and 267 passing yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs last week vs. Washington.

That said, the Bruins' most productive wide receiver has just 26 catches for 299 yards and 4 TDs -- that being Logan Loya. Their top pass-catchers have been tight end Moliki Matavao (31-371-1) and running back T.J. Harden (35-336-1).

Harden has not had as smooth of a season in the run game behind that struggling offensive line, leading the team with just 384 rushing yards and a touchdown on 3.6 yards per carry.

The star for the Bruins defense has been former walk-on linebacker Carson Schwesinger, who has a whopping 109 total tackles (third-most nationally) along with 7.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Fellow linebacker Kain Medrano has 58 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles.

Oluwafemi Oladejo, who moved from linebacker to edge rusher this season, leads the pass rush with 12 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and 26 total pressures.

In the secondary, Oregon transfer Bryan Addison has made an impact at safety with 40 tackles, 2 interceptions and 4 pass breakups, while cornerback K.J. Wallace has 41 tackles, 5.5 TFLs and a team-high 7 PBUs and fellow corner Devin Kirkwood has a pick and 3 PBUs. That said, Wallace has been targeted 56 times this season, giving up 42 receptions for 369 yards and a touchdown.

What the Bruins do best is defend the run, as they rank tied for 7th nationally in holding opponents to an average of 100.6 rushing yards per game. No team has run for more than 153 (Oregon) against them, while they held Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State and Hawaii well under 100 yards on the ground.

Cal transfer Mateen Bhaghani is 16 of 20 on field goals this season with a long make of 57 yards.

Punter Brody Richter averages 42.56 yards per punt but has landed just 12 of his 32 punts inside the 20-yard line.

The Bruins don't post much of a threat in the kick or punt return game with a long return of 24 yards.