Reporter Roundtable: Staff predictions and perspective for USC-UCLA

So here it is, USC's final regular-season game and soon thereafter the pivotal moment for the future of the program -- the decision new athletic director Mike Bohn must make on the status of head coach Clay Helton and where the Trojans go from here.

But first there is the game.

Credit Helton for keeping his players locked in and motivated through all the speculation swirling around him and this program. USC (7-4, 6-2 Pac-12) played perhaps its most thorough game of the season last week at Cal, and now the Trojans will try to keep it rolling Saturday in the Coliseum against rival UCLA (4-6, 4-3).

This is a different Trojans team than the one that lost to the Bruins last year. That team was in a free fall and lacking leadership and focus -- as players have acknowledged. This team is looking for its fifth win in the last six games and comes into it a 13.5-point favorite.

It's not hard to see why. The Trojans have been rolling offensively with freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis reeling off three 400-yard passing games in the last four weeks, while UCLA ranks 123rd nationally in pass defense (298.4 yards per game), 105th in total defense (442 YPG) and 111th in scoring defense (33.7 points per game).

The Bruins had a nice three-game winning streak -- beating Stanford, Arizona State and Colorado all by double-figures -- before a 49-3 loss at Utah last weekend, and overall it just hasn't been the kind of step-forward season UCLA fans envisioned.

The TrojanSports.com staff weighs in with its predictions and perspective on the matchup and more:

1. Kedon Slovis vs. the 123rd-ranked passing defense in the country? What are you expecting from the young QB Saturday?

Ryan Young: "You mean Mr. 400? I'm going to predict that Slovis comes up jussst shy of his fourth 400-yard passing game and finishes with 393 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions for another sublime performance nonetheless. Mainly because I think this game is lopsided and Matt Fink gets some run in the fourth quarter. Yeah, I think Slovis and the Trojans have their way Saturday against a Bruins defense that allowed 335 passing yards last week vs. Utah, 352 earlier this season to Arizona, a whopping 570 against the Washington State Air Raid and so on. Slovis is dialed in, and USC is going to want senior wide receiver Michael Pittman to finish strong in the Coliseum."

Tajwar Khandaker: "More of the same. He’s been on a tear recently, and last week’s performance against Cal may have been his most complete of the season. UCLA’s secondary is one of the worst in the country, and their pass rush should do little to shorten the eternity Slovis usually has to throw. He should have another stat-stuffer; I’m calling at least 350 yards and 3 touchdowns for the freshman in his first UCLA game. The only caveat here is that there’s no shortage of plus-athletes on the Bruins defense; if Slovis gets too confident I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of them take advantage and force a turnover. As good of a matchup as this is for Slovis, he can’t let himself get carried away."

2. Obviously USC lost to UCLA last year as Joshua Kelley ran wild. He's having a nice season and QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson is mobile. How concerned are you for the Trojans defense in this matchup?

Ryan: "I respect those playmakers, but I'm not overly concerned. I mean, I think UCLA is going to score its points -- I just don't think it's going to do enough defensively for it to matter. The Trojans took some lessons from that game last year. Defensive end Christian Rector was candid in saying the defense was misaligned so often in that loss while getting confused by everything UCLA does pre-snap. They have experience going against a Chip Kelly team now and that aspect of the matchup has been an emphasis all week in practice. I would expect a better defensive game plan. Any mobile QB scares me to a degree with this defense, but I don't think DTR can make up for the other disparities in this matchup."

Tajwar: "Although I don’t expect the Trojans to be overwhelmed by the UCLA offense, I do think the legs of both Kelley and DTR will be a problem for them. Little has changed in USC’s constant inability to contain mobile quarterbacks this season, besides the aberration of containing Khalil Tate against Arizona. DTR’s slipperiness is bound to give USC some trouble both as a scrambler and as a designated runner, especially on the edge where the Trojans have been vulnerable. Clancy Pendergast’s defense is better suited to counter Josh Kelley; it’s been solid against the interior run, where Kelley thrives, all year. They’re not the same defense that Kelley decimated last year. Even still, the veteran back is too good to be eliminated; he’ll still manage his fair share of big plays."

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3. What's your expectation for the rest of the Chip Kelly Era at UCLA?

Ryan: "I think it will run its course over the span of his contract with moderate improvement but never the heights that UCLA fans hoped for when he was hired. What made Kelly so successful during his run at Oregon was that he was an innovator and ahead of the curve with his offenses back then. The game has changed a lot the last decade and that's simply no longer the case. Offensive strategy in college football has caught up with him. That doesn't mean he doesn't know what he's doing, but I believe defenses are more prepared for what he does. And then it has to be acknowledged that Kelly has never been an ace recruiter. I don't see that changing at UCLA. So if there isn't a talent advantage and there isn't a distinct schematic advantage then the ceiling is simply a well-coached solid football team."

Tajwar: "I’m not the biggest fan of Chip Kelly, but I think that his program is in a good position to become regular Pac-12 South contenders. There’s already a lot of talent on the Bruins roster, and they have the chance to make a big splash with their upcoming freshman class. Kelly has done a good job of helping some of his key players turn things around, especially the man at quarterback. The sophomore’s growth will be one of the biggest factors defining UCLA’s success in the near future. I don’t know how sustainable that success will be and whether or not they’ll take the next step, but they’ll at least be good enough to be contenders for the division."