LOS ANGELES — It’s a rivalry game, so it’s my understanding that we get to throw the records out the window, and thank goodness for that. Because 5-5 vs. 4-6 is meh – unless it’s USC-UCLA.
Then it’s meaningful. And so Saturday night’s crosstown clash will be the game fans will most remember about their teams’ first unsteady foray in the Big Ten – and not because of how largely forgettable the rest of their respective seasons might prove. But because it’s USC at UCLA.
A bottle episode in the grander story, the 60 minutes that people will keep coming back to for years – just ask a former Bruins running back who still finds himself talking to strangers about his games against the Trojans a quarter of a century ago. “When you talk to people, this is the only game that they ask about,” said DeShaun Foster, who as a freshman in 1998 rushed for three touchdowns in a 34-17 victory over the Trojans . It’s something that still comes up “a lot,” said the man who is now, of course, UCLA’s football coach.
As true blue a Bruin as you’ll find, Foster has lived this rivalry from every angle – as a recruit, a player and alumnus, including for more than a decade, as an assistant coach. This week, he’s going through it for the first the first time as the Bruins’ head coach. The program’s foremost spokesperson now, Foster.
The fellow with whom the bucks stops; his team’s official tone-setter. So I had to wonder: Would he come into this week fibbing? .