It’s rare to find a UCLA student, let alone a UCLA
athlete, who is rooting for USC to win anything. But senior wide
receiver, Tab Perry, has a different perspective for when the
Trojans take on Notre Dame on Nov. 27. “I actually want them
to win,” said Perry, whose Bruins play USC on Dec. 4.
“I want to go in there and play the No. 1 team in the nation
and hope for an upset.” While the Bruins have three weeks off
to prepare for No. 1 USC, their crosstown rivals have another
rivalry game against the Fighting Irish the week before playing
UCLA. For now, the 10-0 Trojans are the nation’s undisputed
No. 1 team and appear headed for the Orange Bowl. And while the
Bruins would probably like nothing better than to knock USC off its
perch, Notre Dame will still have the first crack. But not all the
Bruins are with Perry in their open hopes of taking down USC while
the Trojans are on top. “It doesn’t really matter to
me,” junior linebacker Justin London said. “We’re
going to line up and play these guys the same way. I’m not
even worried about how they do against everyone else.”
“I haven’t really thought of it that way; the game is
the game,” coach Karl Dorrell added. “What makes this
game a bigger game is that they are the No. 1 team in the country.
Whether they win or lose, it’s not going to change our
mind-set.” Still, for UCLA fans who would like nothing more
than the Trojans’ dreams to go down the drain at the Rose
Bowl, they may have to subdue their hate to root for the Trojans
for just one day.
WEEKEND OFF: After seven straight Saturdays of
games, the Bruins will enjoy a weekend of relaxation. Some players,
such as Perry, who is from Milpitas in the Bay Area, will go home
and spend time with their families. Others, such as London, will
hang around Los Angeles and just relax. “I’m looking
more forward to Thanksgiving to go back to Virginia for a couple of
days and spend time with my family,” he said. “This
weekend I’m just going to rest up and spend time
wisely.” Then there are other Bruins who can’t keep
football off their minds on the weekends. “I plan on looking
at a whole lot of film on ‘SC’,” senior
cornerback Matt Clark said.
INJURY UPDATE: Senior guard Paul Mociler
returned to practice on Wednesday. Mociler had come down with what
Dorrell called a “24-hour flu bug.”