Bruins Already on the Mind

It feels like UCLA week already on the USC campus, with the Tommy Trojan statue wrapped in plastic to guard against Bruin vandalism and left-handed quarterback Jason Thomas already wearing No. 18 as he imitates Cade McNown in practice.

USC has an extra week to prepare for the Bruins, and intuition says it would help. The statistics, however, are inconclusive.

What effect has an open date before the game had?

When USC has had an extra week to prepare for the Bruins, the Trojans have gone 10-8-2 against UCLA.

With no bye, USC is 24-18-5 against the Bruins.

But only once during UCLA’s seven-game winning streak has USC had two weeks to prepare, and that game was a doozy--the 48-41 double-overtime game when the Bruins came from 17 points behind in the final 6:12 of the fourth quarter.

*

Defensive tackle Marc Matock has begun practicing very lightly this week, his hopes pinned on playing against UCLA only seven weeks after breaking his ankle against Arizona State.

“That’s just me. The doctors say Notre Dame,” said Matock, who won’t participate in contact drills until next week.

The original prognosis was that Matock, a senior, wouldn’t return until a bowl game. Now that’s wrapped up, and he’s trying to come back sooner.

*

The three finalists for the Butkus Award honoring the nation’s best college linebacker will be announced today by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Fla.

USC’s Chris Claiborne is among the contenders for the award, won by Ohio State’s Andy Katzenmoyer last season as a sophomore.