Bruins in a tough spot

Talk that USC might leave the Coliseum might not be such distressing news to UCLA players, even if the Trojans start calling the Rose Bowl home.

UCLA has lost four consecutive games to USC at the Coliseum, putting up little fight in the last three. USC won, 66-19, in 2005, 47-22 in 2003, and 27-0 in 2001.

“When they have one of the best teams in college football history, for one, and arguably one of the best coaches, it is going to be tough to play those guys,” UCLA defensive end Bruce Davis said of the losses. “I mean, they have the all-world college team, that’s tough.”

The Trojans are ranked eighth heading into today’s game against UCLA at the Coliseum. But beyond the difficult competition, Davis said the environment at the stadium is harsh.

“Their fans are nasty, they know their history, they know everything about you and they’ll say whatever,” Davis said.

UCLA and USC shared the Coliseum as a home field until the Bruins left for the Rose Bowl after the 1981 season. Since then, UCLA is 5-7-1 against the Trojans in its former stadium -- the last one being the toughest to take.

USC’s 66-19 victory left a stain on the Bruins’ 10-2 record in 2005. UCLA has been outscored, 157-58, in its last four games at the Coliseum.

“We got to go get one at their place because it has been ugly every time we have been over there,” cornerback Trey Brown said. “You got to go in with the right mind-set. You can’t get caught slipping. It’s a hostile environment, but to be championship team you have to win big games on the road.”

UCLA has lost seven consecutive road games to teams ranked in the Associated Press top 10. The Bruins’ last victory was at No. 10 Arizona, 52-28, in 1998. UCLA was ranked third at the time. The last time an unranked UCLA team beat a top-10 team on the road was when the Bruins upset No. 2 Washington in 1990.

“It’s a rough place to play, but I told the guys it’s just another football field,” UCLA strong safety Chris Horton said. “It’s just another place to play the same game.”

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As for other places to play the game, Horton was stunned to hear that USC was considering moving its home games to the Rose Bowl.

“Oh no,” Horton said, “oh no.”

Horton said he thought there was something wrong with the Trojans playing on UCLA’s home field, then added, “I’m not really concerned about it, but for the five years I’ve been here the Rose Bowl has been the home of the Bruins.”

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A year ago, the Bruins were able to frustrate USC quarterback John David Booty, forcing him into mistakes. Davis was a particular problem for the Trojans, spending much of the day in the backfield and finishing with two sacks.

But the normally blustery Davis was relatively quiet this week. Having singled out quarterbacks in previous games, he was cautious about the Bruins’ intentions for Booty.

“We’re going to definitely get after him; he’s the key to their offense,” Davis said. “But they have a lot of young players that are very, very effective. So we definitely have to stop him, but we’ve got to stop these guys at the skill positions too.”

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UCLA senior center Chris Joseph was chosen as an academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Joseph, a geography major, has a 3.95 grade-point average. Joseph said he would probably apply to be a Rhodes scholar next year.

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chris.foster@latimes.com

*--* UCLA CATEGORY USC 24.4 Scoring 31.9 22.6 Points Allowed 16.7 187.6 Passing Offense 235.9 162.6 Rushing Offense 180.8 350.3 Total Offense 416.7 236.9 Passing Defense 181.8 104.9 Rushing Defense 85.3 341.8 Total Defense 267.1 *--*