Milliner in 1994 match

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."

Top this, $C

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