L.A. Is More Than Trojan Town

UCLA Has 20 Starters Back, Win Over USC

So dominant was Southern California's reign over UCLA, one of the Trojans' own was required to take them down in Battle for Los Angeles. DeWayne Walker became the first assistant coach that Pete Carroll hired in 2001, his job to coach the secondary. He spent one year on the Trojans' staff and before last season became the Bruins' defensive coordinator.

On Dec. 2 last season, USC needed only to defeat its cross-city rival to clinch a spot in the BCS championship game. But using Walker's blitzing, aggressive defense, the Bruins battered the Trojans and won, 13-9, becoming only the fourth team in four seasons to defeat USC.

With the victory, UCLA staked its claim in the once one-sided rivalry and, with a national-best 20 starters returning for this season, became a chic preseason selection. The Bruins have had an eye on this season since Karl Dorrell arrived as head coach. The senior class comprises the first group of players Dorrell recruited.

The expectations are high for a team that went 7-6 a year ago and was shellacked, 44-27, by Florida State in the Emerald Bowl. But they are definitely there, outside UCLA's locker room and in it. Some preseason publications picked the Bruins to receive an at-large bid to a BCS bowl. UCLA players expect the same.

"You know, we're an experienced team, offense and defense," said safety Chris Horton, an all-American candidate. "We're going to demand a lot of ourselves. We want others to demand a lot of us, too. We come in with high expectations. We're not going to tolerate the small mistakes."

Much of the attitude stems from UCLA's victory over USC last season. The Trojans had defeated UCLA in seven straight seasons, including 66-19 the year before. UCLA's defense changed that, allowing nine points, the fewest USC had scored in more than five seasons. Walker's blitzing schemes pressured the Trojans' backfield all game.

Afterward, Dorrell, drenched from a water-cooler bath, pointed to the sky with his arms, celebrating his biggest win as a head coach. Players sprinted to the sidelines and high-fived fans where the Rose Bowl field met the stands.

"It was a great win," Horton said. "We went out, we showed people what UCLA football could be and what it is. No one gave us a chance, but we believed in ourselves. It let us know, this is what UCLA can be."

For years, the Bruins had been overshadowed by the team across town, the one with gobs of five-star recruits, countless cover boys and three recent Heisman Trophy winners. USC dominated media coverage and became a cultural phenomenon. Snoop Dogg wore scarlet-and-gold jerseys on the Trojans sideline. Will Ferrell came to practice for a screening of one of his movies, "Talladega Nights."

"When the whole country has erased you, that was a historic win for the UCLA," Walker said. "It's like the Redskins and Cowboys. It's been a good rivalry, actually. We're trying to bring it back.

"You have recruiting. It has a lot to do with who's going to have first dibs with the Southern California [high school] players. If you can be the king of the city, if you can win the Pac-10, you're going to get first dibs."

In between his one-year stint at USC and joining Dorrell, Walker coached defense in the NFL, including the 2004 and 2005 seasons with the Washington Redskins. His first task at UCLA was not to alter the team's schemes, but its approach.

"When he first got here, he didn't tolerate a lot of small things," Horton said. "He came in, he changed our defense. Everyone was saying we were soft. He changed that."

Walker preached technique and aggression relentlessly, his mission to disrupt backfields and pressure the offense.

"We're not the type that's going to sit back and catch," Walker said.

The strategy manifested itself memorably last December. Still, Horton said players spent more of the offseason thinking about the loss to Florida State than the magical upset of USC for motivation. Regardless, the USC victory will resonate far more in leveling the playing field.

"I just think you have to give them kudos," Walker said. "It's our responsibility to pull even with them."