It's cliche to say, sure, but it doesn't make it any less true.

It doesn't matter that USC is 5-5 and UCLA is 4-6, that both teams are having disappointing seasons and hoping just for the opportunity to close the season in a lower-tiered bowl game if they can get to six wins.

It's still USC vs. UCLA -- the Battle of LA, the Victory Bell and stature in the crosstown rivalry at stake -- as the teams meet again at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Rose Bowl (on NBC).

"I think that's just what you grow up wanting to contribute to. Being a kid from Southern California, wanting to contribute to those games is what you dream of," said USC wide receiver Kyle Ford, who has a most unique perspective on the rivalry having played on both sides of it.

(In fact, Ford will be the only player on the field Saturday night in the Rose Bowl that has been on the winning side of each of the last two clashes -- in 2022 with USC and last season with UCLA, before transferring back to the Trojans this year.)

Even players who are new to the rivalry understand its significance (and that of the rivalry game with Notre Dame next weekend).

"These last two games we want to go out there and play our best. The last two games mean the most to LA and this school, so we've got to go out and play our best we've played throughout the whole year," said running back Woody Marks, who is in his first season at USC after four at Mississippi State. "These games matter to the people and they matter to us, and we're trying to do it for the people and us and this organization."

Trojans coach Lincoln Riley, meanwhile, was asked if the changing nature of college football with conference realignment and the annual roster makeovers that have resulted from the transfer portal has done anything to affect the meaning of rivalry games.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of rivalries across college football that have been affected or eliminated. So that’s the extreme version. Man, you still feel the juice of a rivalry game. I still think, there’s still a lot of the good that’s certainly a part of it," he said. "I mean, some of the unique things now of having – you weren’t used to like in the past -- one year a player was on this team and the next year a player was on the other team of a rivalry. Like, that just didn’t happen much. So that’s just a little bit new-age, and we all gotta get used to it. It’s part of it. It’s, at least right now, not going anywhere. ...

"I still think that there’s a lot of juice behind the games, a lot of excitement behind the games, for fanbases, for players. I mean, it’s still something that I know means a lot to the schools that are involved in them.”

RELATED: FEATURE: An inside look at Woody Marks' journey to USC and his milestone-making season | PODCAST: Setting the stage for USC-UCLA | D'Anton Lynn doing for USC what he did for UCLA | Kyle Ford, Kamari Ramsey look ahead to facing former UCLA team | Matchup Breakdown: Scouting the Bruins | The next step for QB Jayden Maiava

Indeed, there's no denying how much a win over the hated Bruins (and one next week against the Fighting Irish) could help boost morale in the fan base after this deflating season. (Or, in contrast, how much a loss to a mediocre UCLA team would further amplify fan frustrations).

Interestingly, the visiting team has won the last four meetings in this rivalry, including UCLA's 38-20 win in the Coliseum last year and the Trojans' dramatic 48-45 win in 2022 in their last trip across town.

"I mean, you look forward to these," Riley reiterated. "... 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."

Meanwhile, our TrojanSports.com staff came together to banter about the key storylines for Saturday night and make our predictions in the weekly roundtable.

What stands out about the matchup in this edition of the USC-UCLA rivalry?

Ryan Young: "Honestly, just how bad the UCLA offense is. I think the UCLA defense and USC's offense and defense are all at least close to the same level, but the Bruins are a moribund offensive team. They rank 122nd out of 134 FBS teams in total offense (320.6 YPG) and tied for 124th in scoring at 18.8 points per game. They can't run the ball (85.4 yards per game, 130th) and have a porous offensive line that could be in even worse shape and potentially down to its third-string left tackle Saturday night -- Yutaka Mahe, who gave up 8 pressures and 2 sacks in his first game action last week.

"If USC doesn't show some life in the pass rush and stifle this one-dimensional Bruins offense, then I'll be truly surprised. UCLA has scored less than 20 points in seven of its 10 games, losing six of those. The Trojans should be able to do enough offensively to clear that threshold easily -- if they don't succumb to the turnover bug."

Tajwar Khandaker: "This UCLA defense remains strong despite D’Anton Lynn’s move to the other sideline, and it’ll pose a real test for Jayden Maiava in his second start as a Trojan. I’m very curious to see how he handles this outing, and especially whether or not he can keep his decision-making process a bit more clean in the face of pressure and some real playmakers in the secondary. If Maiava can successfully take care of the ball and make solid reads in this one, it’ll say a lot about what he and this offense might be in the future."

Jeff McCulloch: "This is one of the more intriguing matchups in the last few years in this rivalry. In most recent seasons, USC was the heavy favorite and overall better team. Now, it seems to be more even -- on paper, at least. Ethan Garbers is playing better, but I just think USC still has much more talent than UCLA does. The real intriguing part of this rivalry is the overlap of players. USC has John Humphrey, Kamari Ramsey and Kyle Ford, who were with UCLA during this rivalry last year. Ford was clearly emotional talking about this matchup. To see how they handle the pressure will be interesting, especially Ford."

Which team/program needs the win more Saturday night?

Tajwar: "I think USC is in more desperate straits due to the fact that its expectations were much higher. One could argue that the Bruins have already earned some positive energy with their recent win streak (before losing to Washington last week), proving that they’ve found something to build on in their first year under DeShaun Foster. A loss for them would be tough but not a game-changing setback. Meanwhile for the Trojans, losing this game would put a nasty damper on the end of this season and almost certainly worsen the vibes surrounding this team heading into the offseason. A loss would also leave bowl eligibility hanging by a thread, dependent on a final win against a highly-ranked Notre Dame team."