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Four more years?

UCLA looks to make history Saturday against USC as it seeks a series-record fifth consecutive victory.By Eric Branch

Daily Bruin Staff

Of course, there will always be arguments.Go to Ann Arbor and they'll

tell you it's Michigan-Ohio State. Head to Lincoln, and you'll be lectured

on Nebraska-Oklahoma. Travel to Tuscaloosa and you'll melt in the tradition

of Alabama-Auburn.

But come to Los Angeles and listen to the people who have played in any

of the 64 USC-UCLA games. Here, you'll get yet another argument about the

best rivalry in college football. The only difference? This time you'll be

convinced.

Just listen to UCLA head coach Terry Donahue, who should qualify as an

expert on the subject. Donahue played against 'SC twice as a Bruin

defensive tackle and has been on the UCLA sidelines for the past quarter of

a century of USC-UCLA games.

"Every kid that ever gets to play in this game is lucky as heck,"

Donahue said. "They're truly blessed."

Indeed, what other event could attract 100,000 people in Los Angeles?

The Raiders couldn't do it. The Pope couldn't do it. But USC-UCLA always

does.

"This city has some of the most fairweather fans in the country, but

everyone will always show up for the `SC-UCLA game - it's a spectacle,"

Bruin linebacker Abdul McCullough said.

Trojan head coach John Robinson swears that the game can make its

participants go blind with anxiety. At least, that's what he experienced as

an offensive coordinator during his first game in 1972.

"I'd never been in a big game and I remember going up to the press box

and looking at (UCLA's) defense and I couldn't see the numbers on their

jerseys," Robinson said. "I was so nervous I couldn't see anything. I said

`God, I must be going blind.' I think it was the most nervous moment of my

life."

Donahue will attest that the game can turn a hero into a goat, in a

matter of three hours.

"I've been 10-1 before and treated like a dog after losing," Donahue

said.

Bruin All-American offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden knows that the game

can turn a passive spectator into a passionate participant overnight.

Wide receiver J.J.Stokes (18) culminated UCLA's 38-37 victory with his third touchdown of the game, a 90-yarder which put the Bruins up 38-31."I came from Washington D.C., so I didn't know anything about the game,"

Ogden said. "When I was a freshman everyone was saying USC this and USC

that and I didn't understand what all the fuss was about. But after that

first game, I got it."

Finally, McCullough understands that even those who have played in

America's most famous sporting event would trade it in for the chance to

face USC.

"Coach Donahue said that a lot of the UCLA guys who played in the

Cowboy-Bills Super Bowl (in Pasadena) came back and told him that the

'SC-UCLA game was even larger than that," McCullough said. "I believe

it."

Any fan who witnessed O.J. Simpson and Gary Beban battle for a Heisman

Trophy and a national championship in 1967, or saw Todd Marinovich out-duel

Tommy Maddox 45-42 in 1990 would also believe it. The rivalry has hosted

some of the greatest games in college football history.

Of course, it depends on what side of town you're on.

"Everyone talks about the Maddox-Marinovich game being a great game,"

Donahue said. "I thought it sucked."

Fortunately for Donahue, the last four years have not, well, sucked. The

Bruins have not lost to USC since the 1990 shootout and their four-game

winning streak is UCLA's longest in the history of the series.

The past four years has also added to the list of classic USC-UCLA

battles.

In '91 UCLA's 24-21 victory was sealed when linebacker Arnold Ale

slammed into 'SC quarterback Reggie Perry on a fourth-and-five with less

than two minutes remaining. Perry's subsequent fumble was scooped up by

Mike Chalenski and the UCLA senior class was assured of its first victory

over the crosstown rivals.

"This is why you come to UCLA," senior Matt Darby said after the game.

"To beat USC."

Quarterback John Barnes just came to UCLA hoping for a little playing

time. But after a string of injuries, he ended up starting against USC in

1992.

Barnes, who snuck into the UCLA student section for the previous year's

'SC game, didn't merely start, he starred in his final collegiate

appearance. The transfer from UCSB threw touchdowns of 90, 57 and 29 yards

to a little known wideout named J.J Stokes. Barnes would finish with 353

yards, the seventh-best passing day in Bruin history.

"That was one of the real great success stories," Donahue said. "John

Barnes was magnificent that night. Absolutely magnificent. If you're a UCLA

fan and you want to make yourself feel good you watch a tape of that game.

Even the commentators were emotionally involved."

With the Rose Bowl in the balance in 1993, emotional involvement was at

an all-time high. Despite dominating the Trojans physically, outrushing

them 230 yards to seven, the Bruins clung to a tenuous 27-21 lead.

But after marching to the UCLA three-yard line in the closing minute,

'SC quarterback Rob Johnson tossed a third-and-goal pass in to the hands of

UCLA's Marvin Goodwin. Goodwin's pick sealed the Bruins first Pac-10 title

since 1986.

"The coaches told us that when USC gets down in a first-and-goal

situation they like to run on first and second down and pass on third

down," Goodwin said after the game. "We knew it was coming."

Holding a 12-3 halftime lead, could the Trojans have guessed what was

coming last year? It turned out to be a 28-7 second half blitz that handed

the Bruins a 31-19 victory. Stokes finished his UCLA career with a 121-yard

performance while Karim Abdul-Jabbar (then Sharmon Shah) ran through the

Trojans for 135 yards and a touchdown.

"It's a great way to finish," Stokes said. "It's a great feeling knowing

I never lost to USC."

This year, the UCLA seniors would like to make a similar announcement

following the game. Of course, playing the Rose Bowl bound Trojans on the

heels of a two-game losing streak with a questionable Abdul-Jabbar seems a

particularly daunting task.

Fifth-year senior Ricky Davis (31) ran for a career-high 153 yards, helping UCLA to a 27-21 victory and a Rose Bowl bid.

But everyone knows when USC plays UCLA the records can be thrown out the

window.

"We feel we were the better team last year and we know we're the better

team this year," USC linebacker Errick Herrin said. "But in a rivalry like

this it just doesn't matter."

While the statistics won't matter, the intangibles seemingly always

will. The history. The crowd. The emotion. And the feeling of taking part

in the greatest rivalry in college football.

"It's a great thrill in every young man's life to play in this game,"

Donahue said. "It's always a big game, no matter what the situation is. I

haven't been in one yet that I didn't think was big. It's an experience

that stays with you with the rest of your life."

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