COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : UCLA : Bruin’s Bet Might Bring On a Song

Chris Andersen will have his mind on the USC-UCLA game Saturday, but he will be listening to the scores on the public address system at the Rose Bowl. Of particular interest: Alabama vs. Auburn.

Andersen called KLOS radio Tuesday and bet Mark Thompson of the “Mark and Brian Show” that Alabama, with former UCLA assistant Homer Smith as its offensive coordinator, would beat Auburn.

The stakes: If Alabama wins, Thompson will sing the Crimson Tide’s fight song to Andersen. If Auburn wins, Andersen, UCLA’s long snapper, has to sing USC’s fight song. Actually, the bet was $20, made over the air, but then Andersen got a call from the station. “Somebody told them it was against NCAA rules for me to bet on a college game,” he said.

Though Thompson might have to look up Alabama’s fight song, Andersen will have no trouble remembering USC’s “Fight On.” His father, Foster, played and coached at UCLA and was a USC assistant for 14 years, under John McKay and John Robinson.

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Anybody scouting the Bruins on Wednesday would have had trouble recognizing the players. For instance, J.J. Stokes wore the No. 85 of Jim McElroy. . . . Running back Sharmon Shah missed Wednesday’s practice because of flu.