Backup QBs have history of strong efforts vs. USC

Mike Fafaul hasn’t met or spoken with Patrick Cowan. He probably wouldn’t mind if they were forever linked after Saturday.

Cowan was the most recent in a string of UCLA backup quarterbacks who improbably helped nudge the Bruins to victory over USC.

The tradition goes back to at least 1966, when Norm Dow, who had barely played in his first three seasons, started in place of injured quarterback Gary Beban and guided UCLA to a 14-7 triumph. Beban won the Heisman Trophy the next season and Dow went on to slightly less glamorous endeavors as a longtime high school football coach.

Anonymity is a required part of life as a backup. John Barnes, who once attended a UCLA-USC game only after his girlfriend slipped a student I.D. through the fence at the Coliseum, led the Bruins back from 14 points down to a 38-37 victory over the Trojans in 1992 after passing for 385 yards and three touchdowns.

Cowan wasn’t supposed to play against USC, either, much less beat the Trojans. He was behind Ben Olson on the depth chart until Olson went down with a torn knee ligament in early October. Cowan stepped in and helped the Bruins grit their way to a 13-9 victory in 2006 that denied USC a chance to play for a national championship.

Cowan’s season was similar to Fafaul’s in a few notable ways. They both took over in midseason. They both endured four-game losing streaks. They both snapped the skid with a victory over Oregon State.

Fafaul, who has completed 54.5% of his passes for 1,245 yards and nine touchdowns with 10 interceptions since replacing the injured Josh Rosen last month, said he’s “somewhat” aware of UCLA’s history of step-up performances from fill-in quarterbacks in the rivalry game.

The fifth-year senior also acknowledged he’s thought of what it might be like to start against USC, something he’ll finally get to do Saturday at the Rose Bowl when the Bruins (4-6 overall, 2-5 Pac-12 Conference) face the No. 13 Trojans (7-3, 5-2) as heavy underdogs.

“I can’t say that I didn’t,” Fafaul said. “I’ve always had that dream.”

Who won again?

One aspect of the UCLA-USC rivalry that may be overrated when it comes to recruiting: the result of the games.

“I don’t think they’re as significant as most people believe,” said Bruins Coach Jim Mora, who has won three of four games against the Trojans.

Mora said something that’s proved more daunting than beating USC has been overcoming its lineage of Heisman Trophy winners, national champions and retired jerseys.

“You’re dealing with a monster over there, quite frankly,” Mora said. “You’re dealing with amazing tradition. We’re fighting that all the time, we’re fighting it hard. We’ll win our share and they’ll win their share.”

Mora was reminded of the pull of allegiances in the rivalry during a phone conversation with a recruit whose parents had grown up USC fans.

“They’re Trojans and they’re not going to let him go somewhere else whether he wants to or not,” Mora said. “I’m not saying he doesn’t want to, but there are some kids you just can’t pull away and then there are some kids that grew up and they love UCLA and they’re going to come here, so I don’t think the score of the game matters as much as just maybe the colors they flew at their house when they were young, whether they were the USC colors or the UCLA Bruin colors.”

Injury update

Mora said the availability of tight end Nate Iese, who suffered a knee injury last week against Oregon State, would be a game-time decision against the Trojans. Iese was off to the side with injured players Wednesday during the portion of practice reporters were allowed to observe.

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch