The Most Anticipated College Football Games of 2009: #15, UCLA @ USC

Location:
The Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Kickoff: 10 PM EST

Slick Rick

Why to watch:
Rick Neuheisel took over the UCLA program last year, vowing that the reign of USC football in LA was over.  Well, that hasn't happened quite yet.  USC has dominated UCLA the last 2 years, but in 2006 UCLA ended USC's chance at the national title game.  USC also went 11-1 last year, and then outmuscled another Big Ten team in the Rose Bowl, 38-24.  Besides the fact that this is a bitter rivalry, this year marks a great opportunity for Mr. Neuheisel to make good on his statement, as he's been getting solid recruits for 2 years now, and SC loses a ton of players across the board.  Then again, they always reload and are in contention for the national title, so we'll see just how "down" SC really is.

History:
USC leads the battle for the Victory Bell, 42-28-7.  Last year, for the first time in many years, SC and LA both donned their home uni's, kickin' it old school.  Since the game was at UCLA's home stadium (the Rose Bowl), SC had to forfeit a timeout for wearing their home uni's.  UCLA called a time out to even things out, and the teams are looking to keep that tradition going for years to come.

The matchup:
My co-blogger at PRT, Bobby, highlighted SC in one of our earlier posts:

Year after year the Trojans lose most of their team to the NFL and everyone writes them off for dead.  Then all they do is roll through and win the Pac-10 and challenge for the national championship. Things should be no different this season as 11 USC players were taken in the NFL draft, but the cupboard remains stocked with blue-chip talent. The loss of underclassman Mark Sanchez hit especially hard to USC fans this off-season but the Trojans will look to rebuild around sophomore QB Aaron Corp who looks to have a hold on the starting job entering summer camps.  The USC offense works on all cylinders in big-time games (see: OSU, PSU last year) but tends to become stagnant in games that they should win easily (see:  Oregon State, Arizona, Cal last season).  Carroll needs to keep the pedal to the metal and not let this team fall into another loss to an inferior team that will end their title hopes.  USC brings back all of last year's offensive linemen and should survive on the defensive side of the ball with the recruits stepping in to fill the shoes of the departed starts.  The big question mark could be the kicker situation since last year's K David Buehrle was drafted in the 5th round by the Cowboys.  Junior Jordan Congdon and sophomore Joe Houston will battle for place-kicking duties next year.

Tweet Pete

Meanwhile, UCLA brought in Neuheisel, who brought in offensive guru Norm Chow, and the Bruins went... 4-8 in '08?  Yeah, not a typo.  Kevin Craft returns to start at QB; he amassed 2,341 yards last year.  Overall, the Bruins return 9 starters on offense and 7 on D, which should hopefully amount to better performances overall.  UCLA was dominated by a lot of teams last season, but again, they're trying to turn around the program.  I believe that they have a great chance to do so, and that they'll match up much better against SC than they did last year, or even in 06 (when they beat the vaunted Trojans).

Running back Derrick Colemen will have to step up and replace stud RB Kahlil Bell, and there are a few other losses from the '08 squad, but with younger, better (3-5*) players stepping in and pushing the older guys, and a full year under Rick's belt, he should have this team at 8-9 wins.  A trip to Tennessee looms large; a win there on September 12th, and you could be looking at a team w/ 8-9 wins heading into the SC game.

Fun Facts / Stats:
At UCLA, the week before the game is known as "Beat 'SC Week" (officially dubbed "Blue and Gold Week"). At SC, UCLA game week is known as "Troy Week" or "Conquest".
USC's ban plays their fight song over and over because the song girls continue to distract SC fans so much so that they don't even care what the band is playing.  I kid, I kid.  Kind of.

The victory bell will be painted UCLA blue once again in '09...

Prediction:
I believe in Rick.  This is the year UCLA turns it around.  They play at Tennessee, and then get Kansas State at home in their OOC.  The Pac-10 isn't the strongest conference of them all, but it is a solid conference.  I think UCLA will drop a home game against Oregon, a road game at Oregon State, and head to SC for the season finale at 9-2.  They'll come out fired up and shut down SC, in SC.  The SC dynasty will slow down just a bit this year, with a new QB and a ton of holes to fill.  This one will be a nail biter, and one of the best in series history.
UCLA 27, USC 24 (OT)

Past games:

16. 9/26 - Iowa @ Penn State

17. 12/5 - West Virginia @ Rutgers

18. 9/18- Boise State @ Fresno State

19. 11/21- Penn State @ Michigan State

20. 9/7 - Cincinnati @ Rutgers

21. 9/3 - Oregon @ Boise State

22. 9/19 - Cincy @ Oregon State

23. 11/21 - OSU @ Michigan

24. 10/17 - USC @ ND

25. 12/12 - Army vs Navy