The UCLA Bruins are playing well at the right time and, thanks to the inaugural College Football Playoff (CFP); they can set their sights on playing for the National Title.

Standing in their way are the USC Trojans, the crosstown rivals they play once a year in one of the game's premier rivalries. With one more conference win, USC has a half-game lead in the Pac-12 South, but UCLA would take the division simply by winning their final two games.

Then, all they have to do is beat Oregon.

As Bill Plaschke opined for the Los Angeles Times, Saturday's So-Cal matchup is UCLA's to win.

"One team is trying to overcome its demons. One team is trying to fulfill its potential," he wrote. "One team is fighting to find its niche in the city. One team is trying to cement its place in history."

The latter, of course, is UCLA. The Bruins are 8-2, ranked ninth by the CFP committee and 11th by the AP's voters, but the Trojans are still on the mend after the NCAA sanctions from the Pete Carroll era.

A loss might drop UCLA's ranking too far for them to reach the CFP's coveted top four, so the blueprint for Jim More and co. is to beat USC, beat Stanford and beat Oregon for the Pac-12 title. UCLA also has to think about their junior quarterback Brett Hundley, who could decide to declare for the NFL Draft at season's end.

In fact, he is already talking like he has decided to go to the NFL.

"It would mean a lot to look back and say I've been undefeated versus Southern Cal," Hundley told reporters. "But at the same time, right now... the focus is on us and getting the victory."

UCLA has beaten the Trojans in each of their last two meetings and are favored at -3.5 Saturday night, according to Bleacher Report.