As we’re embarking on Victory Bell week, aka rivalry week, aka hate week, there seems to be an interesting juxtaposition of tone between the 5-5 USC Trojans and the 4-6 UCLA Bruins.
Conventional wisdom would suggest significantly more passionate conversation, anticipation, and analysis of the game’s key matchups, as highlighted by LAFB’s Victory Bell Podcast.
We surprisingly haven’t heard quite as much from each team in that regard. Such as Jayden Maiava’s poise and precision against the UCLA Bruins “fearsome foursome” defensive front of Jay Toia, Femi Oladejo, Kain Medrano, and Carson Schwesinger, or a feisty Trojan secondary against a vastly underrated Bruin receiver room, or the anemic USC pass rush against the equally inept UCLA offensive line, or even how two tightly wound, volatile, undisciplined teams will self-regulate their emotions.
Rather, it has been a tale of two vastly diverging narratives between these feisty siblings 12 miles apart. The Bruins have certainly been yapping the trash talk all week as evidenced by head coach DeShaun Foster’s comments about family dynamics in the rivalry and how the “smart child” will go to Westwood while the “other child” will go across town.
Also Read: DeShaun Foster Has Cheeky Comment About UCLA-USC Rivalry
Furthermore, during UCLA’s “Beat SC” rally, Foster also coined a new rhyme: “Fours up, two’s down, we all know who runs this town.” It’s evident Foster wants to fully embrace the incendiary nature of this rivalry as a head coach after immersing in it for the previous 25 years as a recruit, player, alumni, and then position coach.
With reportedly over 700 recruits planning to be in attendance on Saturday night, including prized five-star recruits from the class of 2026 and 2027, Foster is trying to infuse Bruin Nation with a swagger, style, and confidence usually emblematic of the Men of Troy.
While downtown Los Angeles has been surprisingly stoic. Head coach Lincoln Riley hasn’t taken any of the bait from Foster’s words traveling down Interstate 10 and has been more focused on managing the flu outbreak that has seemingly engulfed the team all week.
With the exception of Kyle Ford, who spoke about how frustrating his time at UCLA was last year and how he dreamed of returning to the Trojans for a successful final collegiate year epitomized by a moment like this game, along with defensive analyst and former Trojan safety great, Taylor Mays, who talked about the importance and magnitude of this game against UCLA for him and his teammates during the Pete Carroll era, the Trojans have been remarkably mute and devoid of spirit. In fact, during the USC Trojans annual Conquest rally for the UCLA game, only Maiava made a notable appearance.
So, will the UCLA Bruins chatter be the requisite energy required to pull off the upset, or is this hubris that will lead to a karmic humbling? Furthermore, is the USC Trojans perceived lack of energy, an apathy that spells doom for the game, or simply a laser-like focus for maximum performance?
The dust will settle on all these existential questions as the clock strikes midnight on Saturday crowing Los Angeles’ 2024 college football champion. Can kickoff get here already?