USC has to deal with Oregon, Washington, Penn State, Ohio State, and Indiana before it gets to the regular-season finale versus UCLA. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to avoid a discussion of the Battle for Los Angeles in the offseason. Interest in the game will rise this year due to the arrival of Bob Chesney at UCLA. We talked to UCLA Wire about the 2026 USC-UCLA football game:
“So when might Chesney and the Bruins be able to compete consistently against USC? Maybe pretty soon. Trojans Wire writer Matt Zemek voiced his belief that things can change quickly in the world of college football.
“When UCLA kicked USC up and down the field in 2023, we all saw why that happened. D’Anton Lynn’s UCLA defense swarmed USC’s tissue-soft offensive line and blew up the Trojans’ backfield again and again. UCLA was the far more physical team that day. The Bruins were physical with USC last season and were therefore able to push the Trojans even though they had far less talent,” Zemek said. “UCLA under Bob Chesney should be able to play with the physicality needed to beat USC. Given that Chesney has recruited well and shows promise as someone who can develop his players, that’s all UCLA really needs to match and then exceed USC. It all goes back to Chesney being half as good for UCLA as Curt Cignetti has been for Indiana. If Chesney is even remotely close to the Cignetti standard, UCLA will run LA barring a Lincoln Riley renaissance in which his offenses start putting up 55 points a game the way he did at Oklahoma.”
We all hope UCLA and Bob Chesney flop, but if the Bruins are as physical as they were when D’Anton Lynn coached their defense, the Trojans will be in for a battle this year. USC has to be ready to meet the challenge if the Bruins are better.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC season preview: Trojans must be ready for physical test vs UCLA
Reporting by Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire | USA TODAY Network
