Bragging Rites

Welcome to the Collarbone Bowl.

Also known as the Battle of Lost Angeles--with either the extension or the extinction of the streak at stake.

USC and UCLA meet today at the Coliseum with identical 4-6 records--only the fourth time the rivals have come into the game with losing records, and the first time since 1941.

The quarterbacks who should be playing--UCLA’s Cory Paus and USC’s Carson Palmer--are sidelined by broken collarbones.

Two would-be heroes--USC’s John Fox and UCLA’s Ryan McCann--have risen from the depths of the depth charts to take their places.

And today, one of these shattered seasons will be made whole.

Another UCLA victory, a stunning ninth consecutive over USC in a season in which the streak once seemed destined to end, and the Bruins will go out by upsetting Washington and USC in their final two games.

“No team at UCLA wants to be the team to break the streak,” senior cornerback Ryan Roques said. “It’s a lot of motivation and it’s a lot of pressure.”

A USC victory, and the crushing weight of the longest losing streak by either team in the history of the series will be lifted.

“This is our last chance, basically. We could rewrite history and end the streak, and that would be something we’d be remembered for,” said Chad Morton, the USC tailback and captain so focused on the streak he guaranteed a victory--in August.

One thing is certain: A USC victory would do a lot to put to rest what has become a standard off-season topic.

“People say, ‘You guys going to beat UCLA this year?’ They say it in a very sarcastic way,” safety David Gibson said. “And you can’t say anything when they’ve beaten you eight in a row.”

The game may be an afterthought on the national scene--its only implication in the Pac-10 figures to be who finishes ninth--but losing records don’t mean anything when it’s UCLA and USC.

“When I look back, one of our most inspired games was in 1996, when we were 4-6 going into the game,” UCLA senior defensive tackle Pete Holland said.

USC was 5-5 and had a 17-point lead with less than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the Bruins won a double-overtime thriller, 48-41.

Back in 1992, walk-on UCLA quarterback John Barnes became a part of Bruin lore when he passed for 385 yards and brought UCLA from behind to win, 38-37, after USC failed on a two-point conversion in the final minutes.

The thought of those Bruin comebacks should make these Trojans a little uncomfortable--USC twice this season has given up 21-point leads and lost.

The most suspenseful moments of today’s game conceivably could come precisely when the Trojans take a big lead.

“We all know our mistakes. We all know what we’ve done before,” USC offensive lineman Travis Claridge said. “By this time, not one word needs to be said.”

Who will emerge as the leading man in today’s chapter of USC-UCLA lore?

Maybe McCann, a redshirt freshman who has completed a mere 16 passes in his career--12 of them last week against Washington after Paus was injured--will become another Barnes.

Or maybe it will be Fox, the fifth-year senior who began the season as a linebacker and emergency quarterback but has started three games in a row after replacing Mike Van Raaphorst, who took over after Palmer broke his collarbone in September.

Perhaps look to a longshot such as USC’s R. Jay Soward, who didn’t practice all week, hampered by a hamstring, but ran lightly and caught a few passes at Friday’s walk-through. Three years after a record-setting 260-yard receiving day against the Bruins as a freshman, can he come through with a few last big plays?

“This is it: There’s no sense in saving it,” USC Coach Paul Hackett said.

Maybe more likely is Danny Farmer, the 6-foot-4 UCLA receiver whose senior season also has been limited by injuries--and who today might be matched at times against 5-9 freshman cornerback Darrell Rideaux, filling in for starter Antuan Simmons, who underwent unscheduled back surgery Thursday.

Maybe it will be UCLA’s DeShaun Foster again, a year after he scored four touchdowns in UCLA’s 34-17 victory as a freshman.

Or USC freshman Kareem Kelly, who has surpassed Soward as the Trojans’ leading receiver.

Somebody’s turn is coming.

And one team will be delirious to be 5-6.

“It’s our bowl game,” Soward said. “If we win this game, a lot of people will forget about a lot of what’s happened this season.”

Same goes for UCLA, protecting its streak.

“I think that pressure’s been there since the streak hit three or four,” said Holland, who doesn’t know what it’s like to lose to USC.

“Hopefully I won’t have to find out.”

Here’s to the city championship.

“Let’s face it, this city is about this rivalry in football,” Hackett said. “For eight years we’ve come up on the short end. I don’t know if there’s anything more important than just breaking the streak, regardless of all the other things that are involved.”

Change breaking to extending, and for once Hackett and UCLA Coach Bob Toledo agree.

“You always want to win the rivalry game,” Toledo said. “It was sweet to win last week. But this is the one we want to win.”

Staff writer Scott Howard-Cooper contributed to this story.

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USC vs. UCLA: The 1990s

Year Winner, score

1990 USC, 45-42

1991 UCLA, 24-21

1992 UCLA, 38-37

1993 UCLA, 27-21

1994 UCLA, 31-19

1995 UCLA, 24-20

1996 UCLA, *48-41

1997 UCLA, 31-24

1998 UCLA, 34-17

* overtime