Bruins, Trojans both Open at HThe Bruins and Trojans both kick-off their 2018 football seasons Sept. 1 at home, when USC plays UNLV at 1 p.m. at the Coliseum and UCLA facing University of Cincinnati at the Rose Bowl at 4 p.m.

Both teams will have new quarterbacks and UCLA will have a new head coach, Chip Kelly.

The Bruins, who are coming off a disappointing 6-7 season, are facing another major hurdle. They recently suspended six players for the game against Cincinnati for “unspecified violations” of athletic department policies and three of them will be out for at least two games.

Bruin fans hope that the team has enough depth to overcome the loss of the suspended players.

Even before the suspensions, UCLA was a “mystery team.” Coach Kelly has kept everyone in the dark regarding his starting quarterback and at some of the other key positions.

Fans may have to wait another week, when the team travels to Oklahoma on Sept. 8, to see how good the 2018 Bruins are.

The Trojans appear to be more stable after compiling a solid 11-3 record last season. USC Head Coach Clay Helton recently named last year’s Gatorade National Player of the Year JT Daniels as the team’s starting quarterback.

The college freshman graduated from Mater Dei high school in Santa Ana only months ago.

The Trojans return seven starters on offense and they have one of the best running backs in the Pac-12, Stephen Carr.

Carr is big, fast and powerful. He and the other USC running backs should take some pressure off of rookie Daniels this year.

The Trojans also return six starters from last season. Leading that group is inside linebacker Cameron Smith, safety Marvell Tell III, cornerback Iman Marshall and nickel back Ajene Harris.