Ashton Was Born to Do This

Collin Ashton went to USC as a walk-on, but when the linebacker makes his way down the Coliseum tunnel for the final time today he will do it as a starter.

Ashton, who will start in place of injured Keith Rivers, is among the USC seniors who will be introduced and saluted by family members and former players on the field before the top-ranked Trojans play 11th-ranked UCLA.

“It really doesn’t get much better than that for an entrance and hopefully it continues through the entire day,” said Ashton, who has attended or participated in every USC game at the Coliseum since birth.

Coach Pete Carroll said he appreciated the emotion the seniors are bound to feel, but hoped it wouldn’t affect their performance.

“I am not asking them to play better than they have ever played before,” Carroll said. “I want them to play like they are capable of playing. When it is over, we will sit down and feel what it feels like to be walking out of the Coliseum as a player for the last time.”

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With another sellout crowd expected at the Coliseum today, USC will smash the home attendance record it set last season. USC averaged 90,574 for its first five home games. Last year, the Trojans averaged 85,229, a Pacific 10 Conference record.

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USC leads in the series against UCLA, 40-27-7.... USC is 4-0 against UCLA when ranked No. 1. Top-ranked Trojan teams defeated the Bruins in 1962, 1968, 1972 and 2004.... Mike Garrett, USC’s athletic director, will be honored at halftime for the 40th anniversary of his winning the Heisman Trophy.... ESPN’s “College GameDay” show will originate from the Coliseum near the peristyle end.... All spaces in Coliseum parking lots have been pre-sold and are available only to pass-holders, according to a USC official. Parking will be available on the USC campus, in the USC Parking Center east of the Harbor Freeway on Jefferson, at Staples Center and the L.A. Convention Center. Free shuttles will run from the front of the Staples Center box office. Shuttles will stop running from the Coliseum an hour after the game. Tailgating is not allowed in the Staples Center or Convention Center parking lots.