For UCLA and USC, It’s Pride, Not Roses : Annual Battle Lacks Its Usual Pac-10 Importance but Is Still for City Title

Both USC and UCLA will get their final looks of the season at the Rose Bowl today.

When they come together at 3 p.m. to renew their annual football hostilities, the normal activities will be on the program--gang-tackling, piling on and cracking of heads. All will be permitted, as always, even on the field.

A sellout crowd of 98,000 will be on hand and, as if on cue, will instantly transform the Rose Bowl into a house divided. There, the usual collision of emotions will occur once again, just as it has each year since 1929.

This time, though, there is something different in the air. That’s because there soon will be someone different on the field.

Shortly after today’s game, the Pacific 10 Conference’s rights to the Rose Bowl game will be handed over to Arizona State for occupancy on New Year’s Day.

It’s not often that the USC-UCLA football game doesn’t have some kind of bearing on the Rose Bowl race, but that’s what we have this time. So since neither USC nor UCLA is going to play in the Rose Bowl game, that granddaddy of them all, then this matchup, sort of a feud between cousins, is just going to have to do.

The question is, what is at stake for USC and UCLA. Bowl appearances aren’t the issue. Win, lose or draw, the 7-2 Trojans are destined for the Florida Citrus Bowl at Orlando, Fla., regardless of what UCLA’s Ken Norton Jr. thinks. And the 6-3-1 Bruins are staying close to home, what with a scheduled appearance in the Freedom Bowl at Anaheim.

So what’s this USC-UCLA game all about, anyway?

“Either team could be 0-10 or 10-0 and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference,” UCLA strong safety Craig Rutledge said. “This game is like a season within a season.”

For UCLA, there isn’t a whole lot to play for, except maybe to salvage some pride out of what has been a disappointing season. Beating USC is certainly something special to the Bruins, who have dominated the series this decade, winning four of the six games. Overall, though, the Trojans hold a wide margin, 31-18-6.

Although it seems that USC would covet a victory over just about anybody to make its bowl record look even better, the opportunity to do it against the Bruins is enticing. Now, if it would just be easy--which it probably won’t be.

USC Coach Ted Tollner doesn’t see much difference between his team and UCLA. “The way I evaluate, the game (is) a tossup,” he said. “Defensively, they’re a lot like us. They aren’t a big, physical front seven. But their linebackers and down guys and secondary can run, and they swarm to the football.”

For this game, UCLA Coach Terry Donahue will be worried on only two occasions: when USC has the ball and when it doesn’t.

“The USC defense is very active and very physical,” Donahue said. “Probably more than any other team, with the possible exception of Arizona State, it’ll be the quickest, fastest defense we’ve seen.”

The Bruins are also wary of USC quarterback Rodney Peete, who is ranked No. 4 in the Pac-10 in both passing and total offense.

“He’s the man who makes them go,” Donahue said. “He affects the offensive scheme to a greater degree than any other quarterback in the conference.”

USC has its own problems, though. The Trojans have to move against the top-rated pass defense in the conference and are likely to be tested by UCLA’s passing game, according to what Donahue indicated this week. USC also needs to figure out a way to stop tailback Gaston Green, something no one has done in a while.

After a slow start, Green is up to 915 yards and has a string of five consecutive games of at least 100 yards rushing. He could join an exclusive club of only four players in UCLA history who have rushed for 1,000 yards in a season: Freeman McNeil, Theotis Brown, Wendell Tyler and Kermit Johnson.

“I personally think Green is the best back we’ve played against this year,” Tollner said. “I say that because he always can go the distance. He has broken games open against guys who were not blocked, but his ability made the play.”

As usual, a large part of the USC-UCLA game is played in the head. Many of the players were recruited by both schools, and they know each other well.

Said Tollner: “It’s the most important game on our schedule. It’s a great rivalry, and you live with it all year. It touches the whole city.”

Said Donahue: “Just because the Rose Bowl isn’t at stake, it doesn’t alter the flavor of the game. That fact won’t reduce the intensity or the color of the contest at all. I don’t think anyone is going to play for a tie.”

Bruin-Trojan Notes

USC has beaten four top 20 teams this season--Baylor, Washington, Stanford and Arizona. The only top 20 team UCLA defeated was Arizona. . . . Bruin Coach Terry Donahue’s record against USC is 4-6, but he is 2-1 against Trojan Coach Ted Tollner. . . . Four UCLA players will not play because of injuries--safety James Washington (virus), offensive guard Jim Alexander (broken hand), linebacker Chance Johnson (pinched nerve) and fullback Mel Farr (broken bones in his back). Tailback Eric Ball (pulled hamstring) and defensive right tackle Jim Wahler (pinched nerve) may play, although Doug Wassell will start in place of Wahler. Fullback Marcus Greenwood (bruised arm) is probable, but James Primus may start anyway. . . . The Trojans are in better shape. Tailback Steve Webster (sprained ankle) is out, but tailback Aaron Emanuel (sprained toe) is listed as probable. . . . In last year’s game, USC quarterback Rodney Peete scored a touchdown with 1 minute 13 seconds left for a 17-13 Trojan victory. UCLA committed five turnovers, including fumbles at the USC 20, 12 and 1. Gaston Green rushed for 145 yards, and Ryan Knight, who had 204 yards last week against Cal, gained 147 yards for USC. . . . USC believes that kickoff returner Lonnie White, averaging 25.2 yards a return, is close to going all the way.