This past weekend marked the 2026 NFL Draft. It was a quieter weekend than expected for USC, who could have potentially seen as many as six or seven players drafted, but wound up having just three.

Despite the weekend being a little bit of a disappointment for USC, however, it was still an infinitely better one for the Trojans than it was for crosstown rival UCLA. That is because, for the first time in 14 years, the Bruins did not have a single player selected in the draft.

“It’s a big reflection of where the Bruins football program was in 2025, going just 3-9 with several beatdowns and embarrassing showings throughout the season,” Dylan McNeill of UCLA Wire wrote. “Heading into this year’s draft, it was clear that UCLA wasn’t going to see many players get selected but a seventh round pick seemed quite possible.”

In a way, this year’s draft was a fitting metaphor for the state of college football in Los Angeles last season. As McNeill noted, UCLA was historically bad in 2025. The Trojans, meanwhile, had a mildly disappointing season, but were still head and shoulders above their rivals across town. When the two teams faced off at the Coliseum back in November, USC was able to win despite not playing all that well simply because of how horrible UCLA was.

Heading into 2026, the two programs have very different goals. UCLA, who hired new head coach Bob Chesney, is simply looking to become a competent football program again after several years as a national laughingstock. USC, meanwhile, hopes to take the next step and go from a solid team to a great one.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: NFL Draft was a fitting metaphor for USC, UCLA football in 2025