Top-10 Reasons to Root

In an effort to drum up a crowd that would provide a home-field advantage in a stadium that generally doesn’t provide one, Bob Toledo asked the question Monday:

“When is the last time two top-10 teams played each other in Los Angeles? That’s something I’d like to know.”

The answer, of course, is the most recent Rose Bowl, Ohio State against Arizona State, but that has nothing to do with regular-season football and it isn’t what Toledo was talking about.

No. 1 Notre Dame beat No. 2 USC on Nov. 26, 1988.

No 5 UCLA beat No. 2 Nebraska, 41-28, earlier that year.

Not since, have two top-10 teams met in Southern California, and that’s something in the offing on Nov. 15 when No. 10 UCLA entertains No. 6 Washington, assuming the rankings hold out for a week.

“I hope we stay in the top 10 and I hope they do too,” said Toledo.

“You go to Seattle and they definitely have a home-field advantage,” he said. “You can’t hear your audibles and you jump offside.”

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The Bruins have cut practice times during this week and will work out only through Thursday, giving players the weekend off.

And how will they spend it?

“Watching football on TV, of course,” safety Shaun Williams said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

NEXT FOR UCLA

WHO: Washington

WHERE: Rose Bowl

WHEN: Nov. 15, 12:30 p.m.

TV: Channel 7

RADIO: XTRA (1150)