Truth Is in Here in Ex-USC Files

It has been 12 years since I played in my last USC-UCLA football game and I still get fired up whenever the teams play each other.

Although I grew up on the East Coast, where USC and UCLA are commonly linked as the Los Angeles schools, it didn’t take long for me to realize the magnitude of the rivalry.

It was 1982 and I had been in Los Angeles for nearly four months. USC went into the game with a 7-2 record but was ineligible for postseason play because of probation. UCLA was 8-2 and needed a victory and a Washington loss to win the Pacific 10 Conference title.

My brother, Tim White, was a fifth-year senior on the USC team and he tipped me off about USC-UCLA week and all of the off-field activities involving other students.

He pointed out the excitement generated by student groups and how seriously they approached the game. But he also told me that nothing compares to playing in the game itself. He was so right.

Hits are harder, plays happen faster and, sometimes, guys who play like all-stars against teams like Oregon State suddenly disappear in the USC-UCLA game.

There are obviously other great college rivalries around the country, but none of those involve schools from the same city playing at such a high level. That’s what makes the USC-UCLA game so special.

Many of the players have known, or known of, one another for years. It’s like an elevated high school rivalry played in front of thousands. Some of the best trash-talking happens on the field of a USC-UCLA game.

I played wide receiver for the Trojans and I remember having a run-in with then-UCLA linebacker Ken Norton Jr. in my last game of the rivalry. We went back and forth for several plays. The teams may respect each other, but on the field, respect turns into a strong dislike.

Because I was redshirted my freshman season, I was not in uniform for the ’82 USC-UCLA game, the first at the Rose Bowl.

I’m grateful, though, that I got a chance to see such great USC players as Don Mosebar, Bruce Matthews, George Achica, Byron Darby and Joey Browner play. Their approach to the game was enthusiastic and professional at the same time. You couldn’t help but feel the pride of USC’s tradition and history when you walked onto the field.

John Robinson had lost only once to UCLA up to that point in his coaching career. He was 5-1 against the Bruins and this game turned out to be his last in the rivalry during his first stint as Trojan coach.

The game came down to one play. USC had scored on the final play of regulation and could have kicked an extra point for a tie, depriving UCLA of the Pac-10 title. But Robinson decided to go for the victory and there was no debate on the sideline.

USC quarterback Scott Tinsley never had a chance to throw the ball before he was sacked by Karl Morgan and UCLA won, 20-19. It was the first of four losses USC suffered against the Bruins in the five rivalry games I was involved in.

After Robinson stepped down in 1982, Ted Tollner coached the next four games for USC. In the three the Trojans lost, many USC players thought UCLA seemed better prepared.

UCLA Coach Terry Donahue’s Bruins might not have been in too many national title hunts, but they were always primed to beat USC, with plays and schemes we hadn’t scouted before.

In 1983, UCLA wore white jerseys for the first time against USC and won, 27-17. UCLA went to the Rose Bowl that season and I’ll always remember how the Bruins and their fans celebrated in the Coliseum, as if they had won a national title.

In 1984, USC bounced back with a solid season and clinched a Rose Bowl berth a week earlier with an emotional victory over then-No. 1 Washington. The UCLA game had no bearing on the Pac-10 race and we played that way as the Bruins won going away at the Rose Bowl, 29-10.

In 1985, we finally defeated UCLA, 17-13, at the Coliseum when Rodney Peete scored on a quarterback sneak in the final minutes, helping USC nail down an Aloha Bowl berth.

It was one of the best victories in my USC career because UCLA had been heavily favored and we had to come from behind. It also was a memorable game because I returned two kickoffs--the first times I touched the ball in the rivalry.

My last game in the rivalry did not end as I wanted, UCLA winning, 45-25. Gaston Green had a field day, rushing for four touchdowns and more than 200 yards for UCLA. I can close my eyes and still see USC defensive back Lou Brock chasing Green with no luck.

Even though UCLA led 31-0 at halftime and 38-0 early in the third quarter, the game was not a total disappointment. We made a minor comeback in the second half after throwing away our game plan. I ended up leading the team in receiving--four catches for 59 yards--and to this day, I wish we could play that game again.

It hasn’t been good being a Trojan alum the last seven years. But with the Bruins still in the hunt to win the national championship, a Trojan victory today would go a long way toward getting things back to the natural order.

Because just as UCLA, with its rich history, will always be regarded with a little more respect than USC in basketball, USC will always hold an advantage in football because of its eight national titles to the Bruins’ one.

Now it’s up to USC to make sure things stay that way.

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Lonnie White has been a Times sportswriter for 11 years. A wide receiver and kick returner at USC from 1982-86, he holds USC single-season records for kickoffs and return yardage, 29 for 716 yards, set in 1986.