Red-Hot UCLA Is No. 7 in the Nation and Trying to Go to the Rose Bowl, but This Game Isn’t About That. What’s Needed Is an... : EMOTION DETECTOR

With UCLA’s Rose Bowl hopes on the line--and the line on today’s game decidedly in the Bruins’ favor--USC can only hope that the longer the odds are in this rivalry, the odder it gets.

“In the course of the rivalry, there have been some crazy, crazy games,” UCLA Coach Bob Toledo said. “We all know that in games like this, you throw out all the records.”

UCLA quarterback Cade McNown is clear enough on that.

“It’s about one thing when you play SC,” he said. “It’s about emotion. That’s what it all comes down to.”

Seventh-ranked UCLA and its high-octane offense can reach the Rose Bowl by beating USC today at the Coliseum, but only if Washington State loses to Washington in Seattle this afternoon.

“We’ve got to take care of our business first, and then we’ll worry about what’s going on up there,” Toledo said.

This is a game that has more angles than a hexagon--not the least of which is John Robinson’s future as USC’s coach, five seasons after coming back to USC talking about a return to glory.

Robinson has been teetering on the precipice for most of two seasons, but he took matters into his own hands in October by saying he would resign after the season if the Trojans didn’t turn things around.

Decision time is arriving, and an ugly loss would erase much of the momentum the Trojans have built in winning four of five since Robinson’s speech the week after a 35-7 loss to Arizona State.

But with a victory, the Trojans would be 7-4, with victories over Notre Dame and UCLA for the first time since 1981.

“This game right here could really turn things around for us, even though it’s the last game of the regular season,” said USC fullback Rodney Sermons, one of the Trojan seniors on the verge of ending his career without beating UCLA, the winner six years in a row. “It’s our last chance, that’s what it is. The final frontier.

“Right now, we just want to go into the game calm and collected. We don’t want to talk too much or say anything about them. That’s what we want them to do.”

As in so many great college rivalries, the improbable often becomes very probable when USC and UCLA meet.

Since 1984, there have been nine times when only one of the teams was ranked when they met.

And six times, the unranked team has won--UCLA in 1984, ‘92, ’94 and ’95 and USC in 1985 and ’87.

As the song says, “Don’t count stars or you might stumble.” It could happen to UCLA.

Upsets are hardly rare, but then again, rarely has there been such a contrast between the Bruin and Trojan offenses.

UCLA, with McNown at the throttle, averages almost 42 points a game. USC’s offense is quarterbacked by default by John Fox and averaging only 21 points a game.

Rest assured, Robinson doesn’t want to get into a shootout.

“If we’ve got some bullets, I don’t mind,” he said. “I don’t want to get into a shootout with an empty gun.

“Probably the best for us, the most practical scenario, would be 17-14, that kind of game.”

USC’s defense is its strength, and one of the keys to the game is whether a rushing defense that ranks sixth nationally, giving up only 84 yards a game, can slow Bruin tailback Skip Hicks, who averages 103 yards a game and has scored 24 touchdowns this season--only two fewer than USC’s entire team.

McNown, the nation’s passing efficiency leader, will be looking for receivers Jim McElroy and Danny Farmer against a USC secondary that has been victimized, despite the presence of talented cornerbacks Brian Kelly and Daylon McCutcheon.

“UCLA is obviously rolling,” Robinson said. “They haven’t been behind very much. They’ve been able to outdistance opponents by quite a bit. They are playing great at quarterback and tailback. The quarterback is having a phenomenal year.”

USC put its best defensive effort on its resume 2 1/2 months ago, in a season-opening 14-7 loss to Florida State, which has since climbed to No. 2 in the polls.

“You see Florida State putting up 60 points, and we held them to 14,” McCutcheon said. “This game is a challenge for us because they have the ability to put a lot of points on the board.”

The Trojans’ leading tackler, sophomore linebacker Chris Claiborne, knows the responsibility for keeping the game close rests with the defense.

“We have to hold them under a certain amount of points and give our offense a chance to score points,” Claiborne said. “They’re real explosive. We know we’ve got to stop the big play. They score a lot of points in a minute. We have to make them work for points and not let them get them easily.”

USC’s offense has been herky-jerky, receiver R. Jay Soward having been the only constant threat. He has scored 10 of the Trojans’ 26 touchdowns a year after setting an NCAA freshman record with 260 yards receiving against the Bruins.

“Soward concerns me,” Toledo said. “When he gets his hands on the ball, he makes things happen. He’s a big-play receiver and he’s also a big-play kick returner. We can’t keep the ball out of his hands. It’s their job to get it in his hands and ours to go get him if they do.”

Other than Soward, USC’s big-play potential comes mostly from tailback Chad Morton, a converted safety, and two-way standout McCutcheon, who occasionally lines up on offense.

“They’ve got some good players,” Toledo said. “The last three years, they’ve had outstanding recruiting classes. I look at video and see some outstanding talent. They’ve won four of their last five, six of their last eight. They lost to a No. 2 Florida State. Lost to Washington State, which we did too.

“I know what this rivalry does to a lot of people. It brings out the best in them. You see some guys step to the forefront in this game and be players that they weren’t all year.”

UCLA has won the last six meetings, but by an average of only 5 1/2 points--and needed two overtimes last season to win, 48-41.

In the history of the series, the margin has been less than 14 points in 49 of 66 games.

“I haven’t slept much this week,” Toledo said. “It’s a big game. It’s a huge game. It’s an intracity rivalry. A lot of people say it’s just another game. Well, it’s not just another game. It’s a game against our rivals, and it has championship implications.”

The implications for USC don’t have anything to do with championships, but they’re awfully big, just the same.

“For us to win this game, we have to play a great game,” Robinson said. “We have to get the game evened out in some manner. Washington did early, scored a few touchdowns and kept it even until UCLA pulled away and Washington couldn’t match them.

“Our defense is a good defense and we can do a good job. Whether we can keep their big plays down, we have to find that out.”

Staff writer Jim Hodges contributed to this story.