TEMPE, Ariz. — What is a rivalry anyhow?
For UCLA, that word often conjures up images of red and yellow.
The UCLA-USC rivalry is a big one, without a doubt. It’s perhaps the only rivalry in the nation featuring two nationally prominent programs from the same city.
But those games have been relatively meaningless in the Jim Mora era, with USC’s sanctions and drop-off in success. Instead, a different shade of red and yellow has worked its way into the role of UCLA’s biggest Pac-12 South competition recently – Arizona State.
Rivalries should be defined by a history of exciting, close and important games – games that both teams circle on the schedule before each season.
For the fourth consecutive year for UCLA, that game hasn’t been against USC. Instead, UCLA-ASU has become the more meaningful rivalry of late.
In 2011, the Bruins clung to a 29-28 win, as the Sun Devils missed a last-second field goal. The win resurrected UCLA’s season and gave UCLA the one game lead over ASU it needed to claim the Pac-12 South title, as USC’s sanctions kept the Trojans from winning the South.
In 2012, it was UCLA kicking the last-second field goal, as then-freshman Ka’imi Fairbairn hit a 33-yarder to give the Bruins a 45-43 win. Again, UCLA won the Pac-12 South with a one-game advantage over ASU.
In 2013, ASU claimed a close victory of its own, winning 38-33 at the Rose Bowl and clinching the Pac-12 South title in the process.
So after three years of games decided by a total of eight points – and those eight points ultimately deciding three Pac-12 South champions – several Bruins admitted before Thursday’s game to a feeling of growing rivalry with the Sun Devils.
“I feel like both teams are really anxious to play each other and I feel like both teams, when we see each other on the schedule, that’s the game that we have to win,” said sophomore nose tackle Kenny Clark. “That’s the game that we feel like everyone wants to see.”
Thursday night’s 62-27 win for UCLA may have lacked the same narrow margin after the first half, but was missing nothing in intensity, excitement and importance. Nor in the tension between the two teams.
That was clear long before kickoff, when a “UCLA” was scribbled in white on the black pitchfork at midfield at Sun Devil Stadium. Several UCLA players claimed not to know where it came from or who was responsible, but redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley admitted that “there was a lot of talking” between the two teams before the game.
“We knew coming into this game, with ASU saying what they did about the blackout and all this hyping up the game and that they were gonna win, I mean it just motivated us a little bit more,” said sophomore Y receiver Thomas Duarte.
UCLA’s pregame retaliation at midfield seemed small, but Duarte said he thought it impacted the Sun Devils’ psyche.
“I was laughing because of how frantic they ran to the middle of the field to cover it up,” Duarte said. “It was funny to us and kinda amusing just to see how serious they were gonna take it. And games like that you have the edge … because any little thing will get under their skin.”
UCLA made it clear before, during and after the game that the wounds of last year’s defeat were still fresh. And for the Bruins to play the mind games they did, it’s clear that the ASU matchup isn’t just another week.
And after UCLA’s shellacking of ASU, another thing was clear: Don’t get on the Bruins’ bad side.