Crosstown Traffic

Somewhere pigs are flying and the devil is rummaging through his closet for an overcoat. How else to explain the unlikely turn of events leading to this week’s big game?

A month ago, who could have imagined that struggling USC would be on a three-game winning streak with a shot at a bowl game? And who could have foreseen that UCLA, an unbeaten juggernaut, would be on a three-game slide with tailback DeShaun Foster mired in an NCAA investigation?

All of a sudden, a crosstown rivalry that looked like a mismatch has a different appearance.

“All of a sudden,” USC center Lenny Vandermade said, “it’s a dogfight.”

In fact, Vandermade’s team has risen to fifth in the Pacific 10 Conference, one rung above No. 20 UCLA, holding the last spot guaranteed a bowl berth. The stakes this Saturday are high.

If the Trojans win, they finish with a 6-5 record and assure themselves a postseason game, a remarkable turnaround considering their 1-4 start. A loss keeps them at home for the winter with a losing record.

If the 6-3 Bruins win, they climb back up the standings and stop the bleeding of what has been a nightmarish stretch. If they lose, the downward spiral continues to accelerate.

“It’s extremely tough to win six games in row, then lose three,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “I told our kids ... we just need to get ready to play USC.”

Taken one team at a time, the current state of affairs should not come as a complete surprise. There were portents along the way.

The Trojans began their season against a string of nationally ranked opponents and played each of those games close, falling to Oregon and Washington on last-second field goals. The second half promised to be easier with teams from the lower half of the conference standings.

The Bruins, meanwhile, raced to a 6-0 start but faced a difficult stretch of games against Stanford, Washington State and Oregon. Though Foster had established himself among the nation’s best rushers, quarterback Cory Paus faced questions that have grown louder by the week.

The surprising thing is that USC rebounded and UCLA stumbled badly. Only this combination could make the big game so critical. And the opposite directions the teams are headed could not have been more evident in their locker rooms Saturday evening.

Beneath the stands of Memorial Stadium at Berkeley, after a 55-14 victory over California, the USC players were raucous, laughing, talking about all they had been through. None of them really feared they would come into the season finale 1-9, but some of them said last season’s team would have folded after such a rocky start.

“The coaches kept believing in us and telling us that we were a good team,” safety DeShaun Hill said. “One week, two weeks, three weeks ... it just keeps adding up.”

Coach Pete Carroll was effusive.

“These guys were tough-minded ... they never faltered in responding to what we have asked them to do,” he said. “I hope it speaks volumes about where we’re going.”

So thoughts turned immediately to the crosstown rivalry, players talking about what it meant to them, Carroll looking forward to “a great week.”

To the south, after a 21-20 loss to Oregon at the Rose Bowl, the UCLA players were subdued, dressing quickly. They downplayed the big game.

“Any time the opponent is the Trojans, we want to get it done,” linebacker Ryan Nece said. “But it really shouldn’t matter who you are playing. We’re competitors, so it shouldn’t matter that we are playing our crosstown rival.”

Paus oddly excluded the players when talking about USC, saying, “it’s a big deal to a lot of people who go to each school and to the alumni.”

Perhaps there was a sense of shock. Maybe the Bruins don’t know what to make of their situation and have more to worry about than big game hoopla. They are struggling to regroup, trying not to wonder when their senior tailback might return.

Foster was declared ineligible for driving a car leased by actor and director Eric Laneuville. The NCAA and university want to know if Laneuville was acting on behalf of an agent.

“You never know with the NCAA what’s going to happen,” defensive back Matt Ware said. “We’ve got to go out like we’re not going to have him.”

For all that has gone badly at UCLA, there were bright spots Saturday. Receiver Brian Poli-Dixon returned from an injury to catch six passes for 149 yards. The defense slowed an Oregon team that had been scoring more than 37 points a game.

And for all their newfound success, the Trojans understand they have feasted on teams with poor records. The offense is still searching for a consistent running game and the defense will be without cornerback Chris Cash, who has a broken kneecap, and linebacker Matt Grootegoed, who broke his leg against Cal.

No matter what the teams’ records, this always is an emotional week. That much is inevitable with two major programs sharing one city, players growing up together, alumni working in the same offices. The atmosphere intensifies. But recent events have added something more--a do-or-die factor--to this year’s game.

“We’re on a three-game skid and they are on a hot streak,” UCLA receiver Craig Bragg said. “That’s what makes it different.”

Said USC’s Vandermade: “That just pushes it over the top.”

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Times staff writers Robyn Norwood and Steve Henson contributed to this article.

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Looking Four More

USC has had at least a three-game win streak heading into the UCLA game seven times since 1980. It is 2-4-1 in those games. The results:

1984: Six-game streak--UCLA 29, USC 10

1986: Three-game streak--UCLA 45, USC 25

1987: Three-game streak--USC 17, UCLA 13

1988: Nine-game streak--USC 31, UCLA 22

1989: Three-game streak--Tied, 10-10

1993: Three-game streak--UCLA 27, USC 21

1994: Five-game streak--UCLA 31, USC 19