USC had nothing to lose.
At the L.A. Memorial Coliseum two years ago, in their last game officially under the lockdown of a two-year bowl ban, the Trojans treated their final home game against the Bruins as an all-in-one national championship and Pac-12 title game.
In a 50-0 shellacking, USC outclassed UCLA, a team that still made it into the Pac-12 title game thanks to a Colorado upset over Utah.
USC wide receiver Marqise Lee caught 13 passes for 224 yards – most on the same swing pass out in the flat.
Then-coach Rick Neuheisel had several opportunities to chip in a short field goal to prevent the goose egg, but pridefully declined to do so. His firing was announced just two days later.
USC quarterback Matt Barkley passed for more than 400 yards in a game many speculated would be his last in crimson and gold. It wasn’t, and the beating was so bad that sportswriters across the country took notice, giving the Trojans the AP preseason No. 1 ranking in 2012.
Two years later, the Bruins are aching, but in a different way. A loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils leaves the Bruins feeling the pain of coming so close, certainly a step up from the pain of utter ineptitude. Still, UCLA will try to combat both this Saturday in a return to the Coliseum.
“I don’t think I need to say we’re looking to do better,” said sophomore cornerback Ishmael Adams. “We’re looking to compete still. This (ASU) game was a bump in the road, a huge bump that we didn’t want, but we want to show that we’re ready to go, we’re not going to hold our heads down because of this.”
For the first time in the three-year history of the Pac-12, the Bruins find themselves like those 2011 Trojans – out of Pac-12 title game contention. In fact, both teams head to the Coliseum with little more on the horizon than a nondescript bowl game and winter conditioning.
But to this UCLA team, the changed circumstances don’t equate to a lack of motivation, that the name “USC” alone should incite anger and passion. If not, senior linebacker and captain Anthony Barr is more than willing to show them the door.
“It’s Southern Cal. I think if you can’t get up for this one, you don’t belong in the locker room,” he said. “You’d best go home, nobody wants you. You need all your emotions, all your energy, and we’ve got to get this win.”
After Saturday’s loss to the Sun Devils, the Bruins talked about their opponent coming out of the gate with more fire and more of a hunger to win. In the second quarter of its five-point win, ASU scored three touchdowns and seemingly out-hustled UCLA on a 42-second scoring drive to close the half.
“It just seemed like they were coming out and playing at a level that we weren’t,” said senior defensive end Cassius Marsh. “That’s not a shot to anybody (in particular), but that’s a shot to our whole team, I think.”
One way to rectify the team’s sluggish first half and 2011’s sluggish four quarters, he said, will be to bounce back under the lights at the Coliseum.
“I don’t think it’ll be hard at all. It’s the ‘SC game,” Marsh said. “We take pride in being the best team in L.A. We’re the reigning champs right now, and it’s extremely important to us and our fan base that we go out there and win that game.”
Months of complicated bowl, Pac-12 championship and even Heisman voting scenarios have surrounded this UCLA football team. Against USC, the motive now boils down to just one thing.
When asked about the team’s mentality heading into Saturday night’s game, Barr said, “Win.”