Pete Carroll vs. UCLA

With one glaring exception, USC Coach Pete Carroll has known overwhelming success against UCLA. Carroll has faced the Bruins nine times -- once as an Ohio State assistant and eight times with the Trojans. A look at how he has fared:

1979: Carroll was a secondary coach for Earle Bruce when 14th-ranked Ohio State defeated the No. 17 Bruins, 17-13, at the Coliseum. Carroll’s defensive backs were largely untested by Bruins coach Terry Donahue’s conservative game plan. UCLA’s Rick Bashore completed six of 12 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Ohio State improved to 4-0 with the late-September victory and eventually rose to No. 1, losing in the 1980 Rose Bowl -- to USC.

2001: Carroll’s first USC team struggled to a 1-4 start but a 27-0 victory over the No. 20 Bruins at the Coliseum completed a 6-5 regular season. It was the first shutout in the series since 1947. “I love it,” USC quarterback Carson Palmer said. “We’re going in a good direction. They’re not.”

2002: The seventh-ranked Trojans scored in the first 16 seconds, Palmer’s Heisman Trophy push gaining steam as he passed for four touchdowns in a 52-21 victory over the No. 25 Bruins at the Rose Bowl. “I’m jealous of our freshmen,” Palmer said. “Before they leave here, they’re going to play in a BCS championship game.” Palmer, who clinched the Heisman the next week against Notre Dame before leading the Trojans to an Orange Bowl win over Iowa, proved prophetic.

2003: The enduring image from No. 2 USC’s 47-22 victory at the Coliseum was that of 6-foot-5 Trojans receiver Mike Williams towering over 5-9 Bruins cornerback Matt Clark. Williams caught 11 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Asked if the difference was that great between the programs, Carroll said, “Draw your own conclusions. . . . Looks like there’s a difference to me.”

2004: After being left out of the BCS title game a year earlier, the top-ranked Trojans earned their first berth by beating UCLA, 29-24, at the Rose Bowl. Reggie Bush rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns in 15 carries as USC completed its first unbeaten regular season since 1972. In Miami, the Trojans routed Oklahoma to win their only BCS title.

2005: Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner, was overcome by emotion before his final home game, but top-ranked USC routed the No. 11 Bruins, 66-19, to extend its winning streak to 34 games. Bush completed his own Heisman campaign by rushing for 260 yards and two touchdowns in the Trojans’ seventh consecutive win over UCLA, the victory putting USC in the BCS title game against Texas. Said Carroll: “This game was an exclamation point for this 12-game run.”

2006: USC came in ranked No. 2 with the possibility of a third consecutive BCS title-game appearance. But Bruins linebacker Eric McNeal intercepted a fourth-quarter pass by John David Booty and UCLA held on for a 13-9 victory at the Rose Bowl.

2007: The eighth-ranked Trojans’ 24-7 victory at the Coliseum gave USC a share of its sixth consecutive conference title and ended the Karl Dorrell era in Westwood. USC held the Bruins to a season-low 168 yards and sacked quarterback Patrick Cowan four times. UCLA failed to convert any of its 11 third-down situations.

2008: The fifth-ranked Trojans were visitors at the Rose Bowl, but they wore their cardinal home jerseys in the rivalry game for the first time since 1982. USC players took that as permission to impose their will on the Bruins in a 28-7 victory that assured the Trojans a fourth consecutive Rose Bowl appearance.

-- Gary Klein