Pete Carroll knows what UCLA is going through.
Two years ago, in his first year coaching at USC, his team
struggled to a 6-5 regular season, needing a win against his
cross-town rival to guarantee a bowl bid.
Sound familiar?
“Yeah, there’s some similarities there,”
Carroll said. “Both of us were led by our defenses. Having a
good defense and a spotless offense is a good way to win football
games.”
After a season to get accustomed to a new program, Carroll has
watched USC blossom into a national power. Since his first year in
2001, the Trojans have gone 20-3. They ended the 2002 season at No.
3 in the polls and are ranked No. 2 this season.
UCLA coach Karl Dorrell is in his first year as Bruin head
coach; his team has struggled to a 6-5 record, and he needs a win
against his cross-town rival to guarantee a bowl bid. But Dorrell
swears he’s not trying to model the UCLA program after its
L.A. neighbors.
“I’m not drawing any conclusions from what they did
two years ago,” Dorrell said. “We’re just trying
to get ourselves into position to win the game.”
Not all the Bruins fall in line with their coach.
Freshman running back Maurice Drew hopes to emulate USC’s
success.
“We’re doing a good job of building to be a
contender,” Drew said. “We just have to keep working
hard one day at a time. You can’t become a championship team
overnight.”
Both programs saw instant defensive success upon hiring a new
head coach.
In Carroll’s first year, USC’s defense allowed 30
points in a game only once, despite allowing 30 or more points
eight times the previous year. UCLA’s defense, led by
defensive end Dave Ball ““ who leads the country in sacks
““ has been dominant this year, leading the conference in many
defensive categories.
“This is a really good defense,” Carroll said.
“I really respect the job that (UCLA defensive coordinator)
Larry Kerr has done. Statistically, they are at the top of the
Pac-10 for good reason.”
It was the offense that made both Carroll and Dorrell struggle
in their first year. Both tried to instill new offensive systems
into their programs; Carroll brought in highly touted offensive
coordinator Norm Chow, and Dorrell has tried to implement the West
Coast offense.
Chow’s offense flourished in his second year, as
quarterback Carson Palmer became a Heisman Trophy winner and USC
scored at least 34 points in each of its last seven games in
2002.
Will the UCLA offense improve in the future?
“We’ve done pretty well this year and have gotten
better,” Drew said. “It’s just a lot of things
aren’t going our way and don’t always show. It would be
great for us to win this game. We have to get better one game at a
time.”
The 2001 Trojans and 2003 Bruins did take vastly different
routes to the rivalry game, however. USC started 2001 2-5 before
winning four straight games, including a win over UCLA. UCLA
started this season 6-2 and has lost its last three straight
heading into Saturday’s big game.
While Dorrell has been insisting all week that Saturday’s
game is important, he says it’s only because of the rivalry
and not because of any external factors.
“We didn’t win enough games regardless of what
happens this week,” Dorrell said. “Am I satisfied with
this season? I’m not. I’m disappointed. It
doesn’t concern us that USC is fighting for a national
championship. It would only concern us if we were in the hunt for
one.”
Still, both coaches insist they have a lot of work to do.
“Our focus is on our preparation and getting ready to win
a football game,” Carroll said. “We have a lot of
regard for them and have to play very well.”
“We’re going to need to play our best game and that
is what it is going to come down to,” Dorrell said.
“There’s a lot of work to be done and lots of things
that we need to correct.”