Bruins' Junior RB Seeking Repeat Performance Against USC

The UCLA Bruins won their rivalry matchup last season, upsetting the Trojans at the Coliseum. Junior running back T.J. Harden had a career-best game last season, dominating the run game. He will look to replicate the performance this Saturday.

Nov 8, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins running back T.J. Harden (25) carries for a gain in the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (4-6) are seeking their third win over their arch-rival USC in the past four years in the Crosstown Showdown this Saturday night at the Rose Bowl. The Bruins got the best of the rivlary last year with a 28-20 upset win with a stellar performance from running back T.J. Harden.

Harden ran for a career-high 142 yards with one rushing touchdown and another receiving in last year's win over the Trojans. It marked Harden's best game as a Bruin to this point in the biggest game of the season, taking down No. 1 NFL Draft pick, Caleb Williams.

In recent games, Harden has shown he has the ability to pop off for a triple-digit yard performance after he gained a season-high 125 yards on the ground in a 20-17 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Homecoming two weeks ago.

As a Los Angeles native, this rivalry is engrained in Harden's framework as a football player, and he is hungry to have another to take down the Trojans back-to-back years. He is 1-1 in his career against the Trojans and will play his second game at the Rose Bowl as part of this bitter matchup.

Through 10 games, Harden has 384 rushing yards, 336 receiving yards, and two touchdowns, one in each category. He is coming off a flat performance against the Washington Huskies where he posted just 33 yards on 13 carries. He will need a bounce-back week if the Bruins want to win on Saturday.

Good news for Harden and the rest of the run game: the Trojans are the sixth-worst run defense in the Big Ten, giving up 132 yards per game on the ground. The Bruins will need all the help they can get in that aspect, as they are the worst running offense in the conference by a 20-yard margin (85.4 yards per game).

If Harden is able to receive open holes between the tackles and use his speed to bounce outside, the Trojans may be in for a long day defending the junior back. In his season best against the Hawkeyes this year, Harden did much better running outside and making moves in the open field.

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