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It’s frustrating. Sickening, really.

For the first time in nearly a decade, UCLA has a truly great football team. But it’s unfortunate that in the same year, that evil team across town has one of the best teams in college football history.

Just when the Bruins finally have a team more than worthy enough to end to the excruciatingly long six-game losing streak against the Trojans, USC decides to field a professional-caliber team.

It’s just not fair.

USC has won 33 games in a row overall, a sentence that makes Bruin fans everywhere want to throw up.

Most of the Trojans’ games this year haven’t even been close, with only two of them being decided by one score (eight points or less).

UCLA fans I’ve talked to this week fall into two categories – those who have blindly convinced themselves that an upset will happen, and the skeptics who have already written the Bruins off and just hope they don’t get blown out.

I’m somewhere in the middle. I’m not blind to the obvious. But I believe in UCLA.

This year’s Bruins are a great team. You can’t not be a great team and go 9-1 in a major conference.

The Trojans, meanwhile, could probably give the San Francisco 49ers a game.

But they can be beaten. Even with the winning streak and the 21-point spread, I give the Bruins a very realistic shot of beating USC on Saturday.

I’m convinced of this. I’ve watched USC all year, partly out of curiosity, partly for the history factor of watching one of the best teams ever, but mostly because I’m a masochist.

But if a team plays nearly flawlessly and is ready to do some nontraditional things on the field, it can beat USC.

And I fully trust that UCLA coach Karl Dorrell knows this. He has proven himself this year as a great in-game coach, with the play-calling clearly being a big part of all the Bruin comebacks this year. (Remember the fake punt?)

As fans, though, we’re going to see some things in this game we’re not used to seeing. For UCLA to beat that evil but dominant team, unusual plays, strategies and outlooks will have to be made.

The upset can happen.

Obviously, the defense (like the rest of the team) needs to play a great game. But against USC’s historically great offense, that means something different.

If UCLA wins and limits USC to 40 points or less, the UCLA defense should be given its own parade down Bruin Walk. Under 50, and the defense will have still played a great game.

And that’s not me knocking the defense in any way. USC’s offense is just that good.

The Trojans are averaging 49 points per game this year, and in many games have rested their starters after taking a commanding lead.

Then there’s the USC defense – not nearly as good as the offense, but the Trojans do create a lot of turnovers – on average, over three per game.

So with those two factors, there will be a point in the game where USC goes on a 21-0, 17-0, 14-0 run or something like that. But you fans (and the team) can’t let that get to you.

Fresno State didn’t.

In a span of three minutes in USC’s last game, the Trojans went from 21-13 down to leading 34-21.

Fresno had heart, and not only came back to take a 42-41 lead with 9:47 left in the game, but had the ball down by only a touchdown at USC’s 25-yard line with 1:37 left.

UCLA has shown it has heart too, in all of the comebacks this year. Unlike most of the teams that have played USC, the Bruins will have the heart to rebound from the inevitable USC run.

And I’ll take my chances needing a score late with Drew “I lead the nation in pass efficiency but somehow am not a Heisman candidate” Olson leading UCLA’s offense.

It can happen.

Fresno State also showed a defensive strategy that UCLA should and will likely adopt – focus on the pass, not the run. This may sound crazy, since Reggie Bush ran for 302 yards, but it worked. The Bulldogs limited Matt Leinart to 200 yards passing (he averages nearly 300), and most teams have not been able to ever stop Bush.

But most teams don’t have Mother Nature on their side. According to the Weather Channel, there’s a 70 percent chance of rain at the L.A. Coliseum, making for muddy conditions. Muddy conditions always slow down the running game. And the less teams can score, the more likely it is the underdog can win.

Sure, evil USC may be the best team in college football history.

But that doesn’t mean UCLA can’t win. The skeptics should realize that.

And for you dreamers – take solace in the fact that there is some logic out there to back it up.

UCLA is a great team. And great teams always have a chance to win, no matter how good the opponent is.