LASH Roundtable: Pac-12 Edition

UCLA has won the last two Victory Bell games in convincing fashion. With Steve Sarkisian at the helm, USC will look to end the Bruins’ streak. Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Jason: It’s too early to tell, but UCLA is clearly, in my mind, the superior team. However, one injury to Hundley or Jack could change all of that. USC is going to be very good this season, as are the Bruins. I anticipate this being one of the best crosstown games in quite awhile. Throw in the fact that Sarkisian would LOVE to pick up a signature win against the Bruins and you truly have something special. But I’ll give the nod to UCLA keeping the Victory Bell right now, mostly because they have Brett Hundley and the game is at the Rose Bowl. This game could very well be for the Pac-12 South title. In fact, I expect it to be. 

Anthony: This is pretty predictable, on my part. But of course, expect the Bruins to paste the Trojans again this year. As much as Bruins fans wanted to believe that UCLA had a chance to beat the Carroll-led Trojans in the 2000s, we went into almost every season expecting them to lose. I think USC fans should start to feel the same way about UCLA right now. It’s just a matter of one team being noticeably better than the other. These things tend to balance themselves out over time, which is why UCLA is now taking control of the rivalry again. Sorry, Trojan fans.

Micky: Both teams look to be so good this year that I see this as a trap game for whoever enters as the favorite. If both teams enter with an equal record, UCLA has to be the favorite. In that scenario, the Trojans will be looking for revenge on the last two years. If USC ends up overachieving compared to the Bruins, they’ll have to get through a bitter UCLA team and a Notre Dame team embroiled in academic scandal to get to the promised land and I see them tripping up.