UCLA football team wants to finally pull rank over rival 'Southern Cal'

This is UCLA's biggest game of the season.

It doesn't matter how much the team denies it, how tightly they bind themselves to football clich s. Jim Mora's coaching, as transformative as it has been, cannot erase history. And when the No. 17 Bruins step into the Rose Bowl at noon today, they face not only the Trojans, but their own recent stumbles.

UCLA (8-2, 5-2 Pacific-12 Conference) is leading the Pac-12 South right now, bearing the sort of positional strength it has not held in the conference for years. It is ranked above No. 21 USC (7-3, 5-3) heading into the Los Angeles rivalry game, something that hasn't occurred in a decade.

The Bruins will seek their first victory against their rivals since a 13-9 upset in 2006, and just their second since a win in 1998.

These are the scores from the past five years, all in the Trojans' favor: 24-7, 28-7, 28-7, 28-14 and, of course, 50-0 - a blowout so complete that USC safety T.J. McDonald no longer bothers rubbing it in the face of his brother, UCLA safety Tevin.

With a win, all that goes away.

"It means everything," Bruins senior tailback Johnathan Franklin said. "It's my last shot at it. I haven't beaten them since I've been here. It's a big rivalry. One of the biggest in college football."

There have been small changes in the week leading up to the actual game.

The USC drum major will no longer stab the midfield UCLA logo before the band's pregame show - an

image that was also scratched from a Pac-12 promotional clip a year ago.

Head coach Jim Mora has convinced the entire team to say "Southern Cal" exclusively, a minor tweak at their crosstown rivals Franklin - who grew up down the road from USC - forgot to employ earlier this week. He caught himself a second later, of course.

The Bruins even hired a team of security guards to patrol their practice fields, lest the spies who braved morning rush hour glimpse any secrets.

But the major changes don't come until UCLA proves itself on the field. The Bruins have been a different team under Mora, with an up-tempo offense keyed by redshirt freshman Brett Hundley - on his way to becoming one of the country's most exciting quarterbacks.

Nevertheless, Los Angeles belongs to USC until the Bruins wrest it back, until their fans can tweet pictures of the scoreboard as they bask and gloat.

Not an easy task, even if the Trojans aren't the indomitable powerhouse they were expected to be. A preseason No. 1 in the AP poll, USC's three blemishes include a three-point loss to Arizona - a team the Bruins rolled over 66-10.

The talent is still there, even if the results haven't been. Matt Barkley leads the conference with 13 interceptions, but is arguably still the top quarterback prospect in next spring's NFL draft. He also has two dangerous weapons at his disposal, receiving talents that Mora has come close to calling all-world.

Marqise Lee, a Heisman candidate who Mora compares to the Houston Texans' All-Pro Andre Johnson. With Robert Woods, Mora picks Chicago Bears' wideout Brandon Marshall.

Last year, the duo combined for 337 yards and four touchdowns against UCLA.

"What happened last year happened last year," Hundley said. "We're in the present. We're in the now."

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_22016043/ucla-football-team-wants-finally-pull-rank-over?source=rss_emailed

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