UCLA Remembers 2005 Game Against USC

UCLA football coach Karl Dorrell celebrates as his defense stops Rice from scoring a touchdown at the goal line during the second quarter Sept. 9, 2006, at a college football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. USC has beaten UCLA seven straight times, not just the last couple of years. When the teams meet Saturday at the Rose Bowl, the Bruins will be shooting for their first win over their crosstown rivals since 1998. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File) (Kevork Djansezian - AP)

LOS ANGELES -- The UCLA Bruins trudged off the Coliseum field following a 66-19 loss to Southern California last year with a feeling they'll always remember. And Bruins center Robert Chai believes that's a good thing.

"I remember thinking as I stood in the tunnel, `I don't ever want to feel this again,'" Chai said. "I don't want anyone on this team to forget what that felt like."

The outcome might have been expected, but the margin of victory wasn't. USC entered with an 11-0 record and UCLA was 9-1.

"All year long, you talk about this game," Chai said. "You talk about it at the beginning of the season, talk about it during the season, talk about it during summer training. You talk about USC, that you want to beat them. And unfortunately the past couple of years, we haven't done the job."

Chai has a short memory _ USC has beaten UCLA seven straight times, not just the last couple of years. When the teams meet Saturday at the Rose Bowl, the Bruins will be shooting for their first win over their crosstown rivals since 1998.

"Very frustrating. It makes you sick," Bruins cornerback Trey Brown said. "This is our opportunity to shut people up and earn some respect. It's been way too long. It's got to stop sometime."

While the Bruins may have been thinking about the Trojans for some time, as Chai said, that apparently hasn't been the case at USC. Coach Pete Carroll believes every game is a championship game, and his players have embraced that philosophy.

Now that it's UCLA week, though, Carroll and his players are free to speak on the significance of playing the Bruins.

"We love this matchup and we love playing it, whether it's at the Coliseum or at the Rose Bowl," Carroll said. "We don't get to play another game for a long time _ this is the last game we get to play this year.

"Next year, we get to play another game, so we will deal with that when the time comes."

No. 2 USC (10-1, 7-1 Pac-10) can clinch a berth in the BCS title game with a victory _ just like it did last year. If the Trojans lose, they'll play in the Rose Bowl game.

They swear they won't be caught looking ahead.