It’s that time again.
It’s UCLA v. USC, one of the biggest rivalries in sports,
and that means it’s time to start talking.
But what do you say when you’ve lost five straight
years?
What do you say when the other team is currently No. 1 in the
country, having out-scored its opponents 412-126?
What can you possibly say when the last three meetings of the
series have been absolute drubbings?
Well, you can talk about respect.
“I don’t think they respect our team, but
we’re going to have to change that on Saturday,” safety
Jarrad Page said.
Or you can talk about confidence.
“It’s a rested feeling,” quarterback Drew
Olson said. “It’s a confident feeling. We’re
confident that we can play with anybody.”
Or you can quite simply explain that things are different this
year, and then hope that they really, truly are.
“This team is a different team than last year,”
coach Karl Dorrell said. “This team has been down before and
has responded. Last year’s team didn’t really have that
type of resolve to them.
“I know that this team will fight to the very
end.”
Despite the fact that they are huge underdogs and the only
roadblock remaining between USC (11-0, 7-0 Pac-10) and a spot in
the national championship game, the Bruins (6-4, 4-3) remain
upbeat. They remain convinced that they can play with the
ultra-talented Trojans, that they can contain the gifted Matt
Leinart and electrifying Reggie Bush, and that they can make the
plays necessary to spring the huge upset.
“Not many people think that we have a chance to win it,
but the people that are on this field right now, we’re
confident that we’re going to make it a very good football
game with a chance to be the victor in the end,” Dorrell
said.
Perhaps the team’s confidence starts with Dorrell, who
appears much more comfortable in his second season in Westwood.
Whereas the Bruins lost their final five games last season, this
year’s team showed tremendous resiliency in defeating Oregon
three weeks ago ““ the last time UCLA played a game.
“Coach Dorrell just feels something, and not just him, but
everybody as an individual is feeling something inside,”
cornerback Matt Clark said. “We’ve got a good team this
year, our whole mentality is good, and we’ve got a good
chance to win this game.”
Talking to Bruin after Bruin, they’ll tell you that
something is different with this group.
“The biggest difference is that everybody is together, and
that’s why we won that last game, because everybody sticks
together,” tight end Marcedes Lewis said. “We’re
going to be ready. It’s totally different from last
year.”
It had better be different if the Bruins want to win, because
things haven’t changed much for USC. Sure, the Trojans lost
some players, but they haven’t really been missed. Instead,
USC coach Pete Carroll simply reloaded with new talent.
Riding a 20-game winning streak dating back to a loss at Cal
last season, the Trojans have that recognizable swagger.
They’re a great team, and they know it. And everyone in
Westwood seems to know it, too.
“Well, they started the season ranked No. 1, and
nobody’s beaten them, so I still think they’re No.
1,” Dorrell said. “I believe that.
“Think of it from their perspective. They’ve been
No. 1 from the very beginning. Every team has been out to get them,
they’re going to play their best game against them, and still
they’ve won every game.”
And they’ve won almost every game convincingly, only
really being challenged in their victory over Cal. Virginia Tech,
Stanford, and Oregon State also hung with the Trojans for a time,
but in the end, everyone has fallen by the wayside.
“I see them make plays and other teams start to say,
“˜Oh, here they go,'” Page said. “It’s
more like they’re waiting for them to make a play, and I
think you’ve got to go in there and make plays. You
can’t wait for them.”
That may be easier said than done because the Trojans have so
many playmakers. At quarterback, Heisman Trophy candidate Leinart
has been spectacular, throwing for 2,748 yards and 28
touchdowns.
Bush, a tailback, is probably the most dangerous game breaker in
college football. The sophomore has four rushing touchdowns, seven
receiving touchdowns and two touchdowns on punt returns. The
Trojans boast countless other weapons, including tailback LenDale
White (931 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns) and freshman receiver
Dwayne Jarrett (690 receiving yards, 12 touchdowns). Their defense
is also among the nation’s finest.
“This is the best team in the country,” Dorrell
said. “We’re going to have to raise the bar and raise
our level of play better than we did against Oregon.”
To win, the Bruins are going to have to play their best game of
the season, and they know that. But UCLA is a talented team in its
own right.
“UCLA is a good football team,” Carroll said.
“Ask Oregon, ask Stanford and ask the other teams they
knocked off and really handled. They have put together an
extraordinarily good offense. There is no doubt about their ability
to move the football with 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing
each game.”
The Bruins are only a few plays away from being 8-2, and
that’s something they think about.
“It’s frustrating to think that sometimes,”
Olson said. “When we beat Oregon, I realized that we could be
8-2 pretty easily.”
“We could have been at least two or three notches better,
given some opportunities that we really didn’t take advantage
of,” Dorrell added. “It’s unfortunate, but
we’ve learned from that.”
Had they made a play or two against Arizona State and Washington
State, this season could have turned out markedly different. But
nothing could ever diminish the importance of this game.
“We came in here, we haven’t beat ‘SC, and to
beat ‘SC as we leave, that would be something special,”
senior receiver Tab Perry said.
It would truly be special for Dorrell, who beat USC four times
during his UCLA playing career but didn’t fare so well in his
first opportunity as a coach. The opportunity will present itself
again Saturday.
“I think just like the players, he’s gotten better
at being a head coach,” defensive coordinator Larry Kerr
said. “He’s got a better sense of what UCLA demands on
and off the field, he’s got a better sense of the players,
they know him better now. Just like a lot of us have grown in a lot
of ways, Karl has too.”
Whether the program has grown enough in just one year to
challenge the best, only time will tell.
“You’ve got to start somewhere,” Dorrell said.
“You’ve got to prove some doubters wrong at some
point.”
Now that’s something to talk about.