USC vs. UCLA football rivalry: CFP berth, Pac-12 title, millions of dollars on the line
The USC vs. UCLA college football rivalry dates back to 1929.
And very few of the matchups have had as much riding on it as the 2022 edition.
If USC wins, the Trojans will secure a spot in the Pac-12 football championship game and stay alive in the race for the final College Football Playoff berth. The Trojans are No. 7 in the CFP rankings and could potentially wind up at No. 4 with wins over UCLA, Notre Dame and their Pac-12 title game opponent.
How much is that CFP berth worth to the Pac-12? At least $6 million - and millions more in marketing and exposure.
Yes, both USC and UCLA will soon be off to the Big Ten. But until then, they will be significant revenue generators for the Pac-12.
If UCLA wins the possibility of a Pac-12 CFP berth vanishes into thin air. But the Bruins will have a shot to play for a Pac-12 championship and potentially earn a Rose Bowl berth, which would be worth $4 million for the conference.
USC is favored by two points, but the Trojans' defense has been gashed the second half of the season and they lost starting running back Travis Dye to a season-ending injury last week.
UCLA is coming off a brutal home loss to Arizona that dropped them to 5-2 in the Pac-12 and left their fate in the hands of myriad tiebreak scenarios.
Throw in the fact that the rest of the conference is rooting against both of these teams - and it should be a highly entertaining Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.
