When the game's first kickoff around 1:30 PST occurs in the Rose Bowl, the USC Trojans will immediately use one of their time-outs. No, they aren't going to huddle quickly on the sideline and talk about how they're going to stop the tremendous on-slaught of power running by the Bruins. In fact, they will continue on with play as if the magic scoreboard just deleted one of their time-outs all by itself- because that's exactly what it will have done.
Pete Carroll announced on Monday that his team will be wearing their cardinal home jerseys, despite the policy of mandating that the visitors - in this case, the Trojans at the Rose Bowl - have to wear their visiting team jerseys.
The penalty was swiftly handed down after Carroll's announcement- USC would lose one time-out per half, for a total of two time-outs. Carroll expected it, and still didn't flinch.
However, the NCAA revisited this policy and on Tuesday, determined that USC will only lose one timeout - in the first half - and that's somewhat of a bonus. "It's better than it was," Pete Carroll said. "It's twice as good as it was."
But why does USC want to not even play within the rules? After all, this team is one of the most penalized teams in the country, averaging over eight yellow hankies and seventy-five yards per game (No. 118) in penalty yardage.
USC and UCLA have had a long tradition of wearing their home jerseys to all of their games, and Carroll wants that tradition renewed. Rick Neuheisel, coach of the UCLA Bruins, apparently likes the idea as well, and in a show of great sportsmanship, will burn a time-out in return to make the timeouts lost to each team equal.
This, my friends, is what a healthy rivalry is all about.
Respecting tradition, trying to keep it alive, and taking a penalty to make a stand. The coach of a four-plus touchdown underdog is burning a timeout to even out the time-outs and stand side-by-side with his cross-town rival. This is as good as it gets.
The Trojans-Bruins rivalry is played every year in two of the most beautiful stadiums in America. One represents a fine tradition of grand bowls in a beautiful arroyo, while the other holds Olympic records and dreams deep within its walls.
Seeing the brilliant cardinal jerseys of the Trojans and the gorgeous blue jerseys of the Bruins on the same field within those old, history-rich walls of the Rose Bowl is reason enough to let this tradition begin its revival.
To be fair, some teams have similar home uniforms (Arizona State and Minnesota, USC and Iowa State, Michigan and Notre Dame) and this rule of visiting teams wearing their visiting jerseys (usually white) makes sense.
But USC and UCLA play each other every year, and their unis could never be mistaken for another. "The rule is really designed for someone to not mess up the competitive situation if the jerseys are too similar," Carroll said. "I don't think it applies here."
No, it doesn't, and the PAC-10 is actually looking into possibly modifying this rule.
In the meantime, we shall see if the loss of time-outs comes into play this Saturday. It probably won't, but if it did, would the stand still have been worth it? One team has a BCS berth at stake, and another has city-bragging rights for two out of the last three years, if they win.
The game could be a blow-out, or it could be a nail-biter, but one thing's for sure- it will be a magnificent feast for football nation's eyes.
* Carroll quotes courtesy of the Orange County Register
68 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment
Brad James 7 months ago
Lisa,
As a self-professed maverick, I love this unconventional move by Pete Carroll. From the moment he spoke out against the BCS this year he instantaneously became one of my favorite people and decisions like this make him all the more endearing. I wish this happened more in college football. When both teams aren't the same color, such as Tulsa and Texas-El Paso (they both wear blue at home) or Duke and North Carolina, I see no problem with both teams wearing their home uniforms. Keep fighting the BCS, Pete and I'll keep being an ardent supporter of yours. How audacious is this, USC thinks they can beat UCLA with just two timeouts a half. For the record, so do I. Nice article. Of course, with a compliment like that coming from a peon like me, it's like an ant saying an elephant's big.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Brad-
LOL...I'm a rebel too. We are two peas in a pod! :) And what do you mean peon????? We ALL are peons here! (rofl) None of us get paid to write here, but we do it because we love it. So, no more of the chaste system stuff. :p
Thanks for the props!
Hugs.
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Zeptogator 7 months ago
Ahh. Chivalry is not dead in college football (yet). While most teams are exploiting or breaking the rules to seek an advantage, disturb opponents, or exact revenge, the USC and UCLA coaches are choosing the honorable route.
They do something similar all the time in soccer. If there is an injured player, one team will kick the ball out of bounds to stop play so the injured player can be helped. Afterwards, the opposing team returns the favor kicking the ball out so that the team who originally had possession during the injury gets the ball back. This is an unwritten code in soccer.
Off-hand I can't think of anything similar in college football. Perhaps helping the guy you just tackled get up or handing the football to the official would be an example, but unfortunately that doesn't happen as often as it should, to the point that if a flag is thrown people think that that rule or code is wrong. What is wrong is the lack of these unwritten codes, these geneva conventions of college football. Instead, Georgia's excessive celebration, Florida's late timeouts, Spurrier's quips, and Jake Locker's jubilation is championed and reported as the norm.
Some would argue that this whole timeout thing is silly, that USC just wants to make a fashion statement and they should just follow the rules. Bravo to USC and UCLA for trying to hold on to their traditions. Should the rules be changed? I don't think so. This story is so much better when Neuheisel sacrifices a timeout for the sake of tradition and sportsmanship. One timeout is a small price to pay. Thanks for the article!
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Zep-
Well that unwritten soccer rule is very cool. I like that! I learned something new today. Thanks!
So you think the visitors should have to wear white, and both teams continue to make their stand despite getting penalized? Interesting. The current rules are the visiting team wears their visittors jersey, which is usually white...unless you're a Clemson or Oregon team, then who knows what they have as their visiting jersey.
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12 7 months ago
If I'm not mistaken, in the SEC the home team has its choice of colors. LSU many times prefers white at home, and I don't remember there ever being a problem or an objection. Now granted if they choose white, that might force the visiting team to wear their home colors, but I've never heard of a penalty for this choice.
I actually like the white jersey uniform that some teams wear better than their home color jerseys. USC is one of them. I think it's one of the sharpest in football. Penn State looks HUGE in all white. Nebrasks's red pants with white jerseys look awesome as well, and of course LSU. There are many.
I think Pac 10 the rule is silly. But I agree with Z-gator, it does make for an inspiring story. Cudos to Neuheisel for the jesture, and hats off to Pete Carroll for his committment to tradition.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
I think it's silly too, and I like the SEC's rule better. However, if the Pac-10 had that rule, the Trojans would still have to wear white if the Bruins chose their blue.
And yes, both coaches made the right moves.
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Mitch at sportschatplace.com 7 months ago
It will be interesting and something to note for next year which route the Bruins take, esecially since they will probably be more competitive than they are this year. I watched the UCLA game against ASU last week and even as a die hard of a CFB fan I am it was absolutely painful to watch, at least there is a reason to tune in for a few seconds this week, thanks for the read.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Hey Mitch- It was painful to watch, but it was the only thing on after Turkey day. They can only get better- remember, they lost 17 of their 25 starters, plus 2 veteran QBs. We knew it was going to be rough this year.
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robert von mehren 7 months ago
I think this is what makes Pete Carrol such a good coach he keeps things exciting and lets his players have fun. And what a great move by the UCLA coach who said at the begining of each half he'd waste a timeout just to even it up!!
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Robert=
Neuheisel is good for UCLA- he lives and breathes football and it's been a long time since they have had a coach who really gets it. By the way, USC only lost one TO, so Neuhesiel is only burning 1 TO. The plan is that Neiheisel will burn his right after SC's after the opening kickoff. What a grand gesture that is by him.
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Tristan Holmes 7 months ago
Personally I've always hated it when home teams wore white jerseys or away teams didn't, but then I am a traditionalist in a lot of ways (this coming from an Oregon fan? Believe me, I appreciate the irony). But if this is a tradition itself, and seeing as how the two teams have such drastically contrasting color schemes I don't see the harm in it.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Tristan-
You crack me up...a traditionalist Duck fan! (Lol) Agreed though, there can be no mistake about which team is which.
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Zeptogator 7 months ago
Lisa - I do like the all white uniforms. Being a Gator fan, there are about 9 different combinations of Blue, Orange, and White tops and pants. Back in the Spurrier days they would mix and match as it suited them and you never knew what to expect. I think Urban has toned it done a bit, mainly sticking to Blue at home and all white on the road and not making a big deal of it. Some teams try to white out or black out the opponents which if it backfires makes the effort look silly. However, I am a bit envious of Penn State and other schools the virtually never change their look. Old school is cool.
Lastly, I absolutely hate the blue field of Boise State. That should be illegal. Are they the only team in the nation that has a field other than green? That is just wrong. If Mississippi State was forced to put away their cowbells, Boise State should give up the smurf turf.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Z-
I do believe the smurf turf in Boise is one-of-a-kind, at least in FBS.
I'm not a big fan of white in severe weather states- PSU's unis look bad when it rains or snows. However, it is a classy look when you come off the bench. Nice, neat and pretty.
As far as Florida, give me those bright blue jerseys with orange trim- love 'em!
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Larry Burton 7 months ago
We didn't hear about this down south and I enjoyed this article a bunch! I love college traditions and this move makes me think fonder of both coaches. What class by Rick to burn one too... Thankee Lisa!
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Larry-
Agreed! It was a great reciprocation by UCLA. I know Rick gets a lot of heat, but I think he's perfect for UCLA. He's similar to Pete Carroll- enthusiastic, rah-rah, and a football man-he will turn that program around.
One interview with him, and I was sold. Having Chow is just the icing on the cake. Too bad they will lose DC Walker, I hear a few schools are interested in him, like San Diego State, and it bodes well for the NCAA since he will at least replace one of the minority firings this year.
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Jonny Solovy 7 months ago
Great article Lisa. I dunno if you saw but espn's poll the other day asked if people cared if usc was breaking the rules and wearing red for an away game. 64 percent said they didn't care and thought it was fine. The other 37 percent were against it...
Seriously how can 37 percent of people be so ignorant that they have an issue with this. BOTH COACHES wanted it. I read blogs and boards where people were criticizing Carroll as being a cocky a-hole for this and this is why they didn't like him.... i said are you kidding me??!! If I was a player this is exactly why i would want to play for both Carroll and Rick... these sort of decisions pump players up because it shows a coach has fun... so many people think Carroll is cocky because he laughs and has fun on the sideline... he always does that... he enjoys it, he loves it all.. it is not cockiness it is fun for him. Sorry not all coaches can be as serious as Bob Stoops where it pains him to smile lol... I have to laugh at the ignorance. Great stuff as always
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Jonny-
I have talked to Pete personally several times- granted, it was via work - but I can tell you, he really loves this coaching gig. He is a nice guy, and very warm and open. He's a sweetheart. So is Rick Neuheisel. They both are pretty genuine.
So is Dennis Erickson....easy to approach, and very warm. Actually, all of the PAC-10 coaches are pretty easy to talk to, except for Mike Stoops. He seems a little pre-disposed, and comes off as one who doesn't like the media. Granted, they have raked him over the coals, so I get that. But still....he doesn't seem happy.
Yeah, both coaches wanted this. I have a feeling the 37% who hated the idea on ESPN were just trolls.:)
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Kent Moore 7 months ago
What happens if USC loses by two points because they didn't have a timeout at the end of the game to stop the clock to kick a field goal?
Would the USC faithful forgive Pete Carroll because he brought back a little tradition? Me thinks not.
I will be laughing for days if this happens.
Personally, I think it is a stupid move. I could understand the decision if it didn't cause a penatly to be handed down from the NCAA. As we saw last year with Stanford, any team can win on any day. Giving up two of your time-outs because you want to wear your home jersey is borderline insane. Would he be doing this if UCLA was 9-2 or 10-1?
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
kent-
The one timeout penalty loss is in the first half, so USC has all 3 TO's for the second half; your premise of USC needing that extra TO at the end of the game doesn't apply here.
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Kent Moore 7 months ago
Okay...well then I'll switch my first sentence to say, "What happens if USC loses by two points because they didn't have a timeout at the end of the first have to stop the clock to kick a field goal?"
It still can happen.
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Kent Moore 7 months ago
half...not have.
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Scott Pusich 7 months ago
Lisa,
I'm a UCLA alum, and I didn't know about this until I read your article. ;-)
I actually am still working on my dissertation pretty hard during the week, and at quite a distance from the L.A. basin, so sometimes stories like this don't come to my attention.
Though you'd be surprised (maybe not) at the fits Kansas basketball fans had when the KU athletic department changed the "traditional" old-style "circus" font on the jerseys, which wasn't actually that "traditional", it had only been around since the 80s:
http://www.kansan.com/stories/2007/sep/26/Trajan/
There's a bit on there about the Mangino-demanded (I suspect) KU football jersey changes as well.
You'll notice on my profile that my "Most Memorable Game Attended" was the 1982 UCLA-USC game, the first one at the Rose Bowl (and the first one I attended in person). The Trojans wore their home jerseys to that game, and I don't recall if they were penalized by the NCAA at the time; of course, the two teams shared the L.A. Coliseum as a home field right up to the previous year, 1981.
The Bruins wore their road jerseys to the game at the Coliseum in 1983 (Wikipedia has it wrong... big surprise there), which I also attended... I think at that time Terry Donahue (or more likely the NCAA) wanted to establish that since the rivalry was going to alternate between the two stadia, that the visiting teams should wear their "road white" jerseys.
The 1984 game at the Rose Bowl was my freshman year at UCLA, and the Trojans wore their road jerseys in the rivalry game for the first time that year (to my knowlege, anyway... I'm not aware of the complete sartorial history, i.e. back in the 1920s-30s, etc...).
I'm not really sure what motivated Carroll to revert to the "1982 strategy", but it might have something to do with establishing USC as the "permanent" home team no matter where the teams play.
You see, when you put cardinal red and powder (more recently changed to "Bruin", haha) blue together, one color is clearly dominant. Yes, the colors contrast, but there was (and is) no question which color represents the "home" color, when the two are put together. ;-)
I realize that that fits the overall series record (USC has quite an edge, 42-28-7), and that tradition holds that USC is the "tog dog" in football and UCLA the "challenger" (to be fair, the situation is reversed in basketball).
I think according to the NCAA rules, as long as the two programs do not share a stadium, the visiting team has to wear white or suffer a sanction. The two home jerseys were permissible only when the game was played on a common home field.
Perhaps this will change when Los Angeles gets a state-of-the art stadium equidistant between the two schools (Inglewood?), but unless the Trojans move to the Rose Bowl (which was rumored to be in the works recently--any info on that?), but I doubt the NCAA will make the exception. Or we'll end up seeing Michigan and Ohio State both wearing home jerseys soon, since "Michigan Blue" and "Ohio State Scarlet" are quite different as well.
The only other case of a rivalry in which I think sharing a stadium (i.e. a cross-town rivalry) occurred would be Houston vs. Rice, and it's possible that they shared the Astrodome; but I'm not sure.
Of course, one time-out per game isn't so bad, and Neuheisel seems willing to go along with Carroll's "rebellion". More credit to him for his sportsmanship. But in the long run, I would expect Carroll & Co. to "man up" and ditch the Coliseum for the Rose Bowl (as I doubt that UCLA will return to playing home games at the Coliseum).
Some food for thought to go with that cardinal red and powder blue coloring this weekend...
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Scott-
I believe the jersey rule is a Pac-10 rule, not NCAA mandated, because several teams from seb=veral conferences wear white at home- ie, LSU and Penn State.
USC asked the NCAA to revisit the rule and see if it mandated two TO's, and I guess the NCAA decided it required a 1 TO penalty.
I don't think that red necessarily is the dominant color, and I don't think PC wanted to do this because he wanted to show he was the dominant team- he wanted to revive an old tradition that you actually got to witness in person.
USC is NOT moving to the Rose Bowl, they recently agreed to a new lease at the Coliseum, last I heard. When did this rumor start up? It was a rumor about 3 months ago, but it got addressed. At least, I thought it was.
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Scott Pusich 7 months ago
Lisa, I was too general in my interpretation; I should have said that the home team has right of first choice--so if the home team chooses white as its "home color", then the visiting team must choose a non-white color (most likely that team's home jersey). That would explain LSU...
Though Penn State seldom wears all white at home, I would think. I've almost always seen them wearing the navy blue jerseys at home. You may be thinking of Georgia Tech, they've been wearing white at home much more frequently.
I'm pretty sure the rule is NCAA-wide, as I haven't seen two teams wearing home jerseys since the last days of USC-UCLA sharing the Coliseum as a home field.
And speaking of that, when Georgia Tech, or Missouri, or Central Florida wear *gold*, or pale gold, or whatever it is, as the home team, the road team (i.e., Kansas, this past weekend) must wear white, even though the contrast is probably less for gold vs. white than it is for gold vs. blue (or GT gold vs. Georgia red, etc.). How's that for the letter being worse than the intent?
I'm not griping about both teams wearing home jerseys this weekend as much as I'm raising an eybrow at USC being the "instigating" party (as expected... they're the "top dog" after all... haha); they're the team to "break" the rule first, just as they were the team to do it last (in 1982).
I bet if you take a poll of 10 (though an n=30 is usually ideal) non-interested parties (non-alumni, outside the L.A. area), you'd have 7 or 8 of those ten picking cardinal red as the more dominant color over powder blue. It's a matter of psychology... I picked UCLA for reasons besides team colors, but it was always clear to me that the cardinal uniforms stood out more than the powder blue when they were on the same field!
The only way to change that is to go to a much darker blue, but then Cal would have a hissy fit. Not to mention Cal has an older program, so they have "dibs" on that blue... ;-)
About the USC Rose Bowl rumor, that was probably last season or before, I wasn't aware about the new lease. Did the Coliseum promise improvements?
Anyway, I look forward to the game each year, regardless of the records of the teams or the uniforms they wear. I'm sure you do the same!
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
* several conference teams
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CS 7 months ago
This is what makes college football so much fun! I know no NFL coach would ever do it, even against the hapless Lions. Is Rick Neuheisel really a class act or does he figure he has nothing to lose? And would Pete Carroll have gone ahead with this if the teams were more evenly matched? This move would make the game a lot more interesting if they were.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Well, that's a tough question, but I think this solely has to do with the fact that both coaches are trying to heat up this rivalry again.
USC has dominated this decade, while UCLA dominated the 90's.
Remember, Neuheisel was featured in a LA Times ad that said, "the football monopoly in Los Angeles is officially over" with Nueheisel pointing his finger.
It's all in good fun, of course. But it hasn't been forgotten- USC changed the ad and photoshopped the ad, adding the word "there" to the last line, insinuating that Neuheisel was pointing east, towards USC.
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CS 7 months ago
LOL! I didn't know USC did that! If it's good for the rivalry, I guess its not a bad idea after all.
As a fan, I'd be very concerned if Tressel were to pull off something like this against Michigan next year. Ah, who am I kidding? Jim believes the dangerous 2008 Michigan team plays till the whistle blows and the clock reads :00. Yeah, Jim, we totally bought it and we'll do it again next year for the W!
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Andrew Nuschler 7 months ago
Hadn't hear about this, it's fascinating that UCLA's burning a TO, too. I'm not sure other rivalries share this level of heat without all out bitterness. My buddy's family lives overlooking the Rose Bowl and I'm sure it's gonna be a show this weekend.
Great work as usual.
Andrew
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Andrew Nuschler 7 months ago
Ahem, heard.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Your buddy has a nice house...gorgeous homes there! Old, stately homes, just beautiful. The whole area is stunning....usually homes around a stadium are like those around an airport...yucky. The Rose Bowl is an exception....5 million dollar homes everywhere....big yards, and just a tranquil place to live, except on Saturdays in the fall, of course.
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Joel Barker 7 months ago
I guess I just dont get Left Coast football. I hate the idea. Leave it to the closed-minded, intolerant, traditionalist, southerner to object. In my opinion it's just not right. One team wears colors the other team wears white. It's worked for hundreds of years. Why change it to suit one rivalry? It should be an NCAA mandated deal. Man... I sound harsh and mean. I'm really not. And I'm really not a "traditionalist." Some things, however, shouldnt be messed with.
I do applaud the classy act of Neuheisal. It's hard to find class in any sport any more.
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Mark Gronlund 7 months ago
It wasnt that way for a hundred years, you're revising history. USC and UCLA each wore home uniforms until 1982. If anything theyre just going back to what they used to have.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Joel-
They're not changing anything into a new thing. They're trying to revive an old tradition. I like it. It's beautiful to all those colors on the field. And yes, Rick is one cool dude.
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rod wood 7 months ago
Hi Lisa,
Part of the reason Carroll is doing this is because there was an ambiguity in the NCAA rule. The rule does not state that a visiting team "must wear white." The rule states that an opposing team "must wear a jersey of a contrasting color from the opposing team." Thus, while most teams will wear white in order to comply with the rule, Carroll and USC believed that wearing their cardinal home jerseys would be in compliance with the "contrasting color" rule. I believe that this is an NCAA rule because the Pac-10 requested clarification from the NCAA on USC's behalf. I think this is why teams like LSU wear white jerseys at home and their visitors where non-white jerseys because it fits into the "contrasting color" rule.
Also, Carroll has been trying to do this for years. Carroll has been slowly bringing back USC football traditions from the heydey of the 1960's and 1970's and this was one of the pieces he has been working on. He brought back the grey facemasks and the black tape that the older teams used to wear and he had been trying to do this for this game since he arrived at Troy. He couldn't really reach an agreement with Karl Dorrell but it looks like he connected with Neuheisel on this. This was an old tradition from when both schools shared the LA Coliseum as their home field for 50+ years and it is nice to see that Carroll thought enough of it to bring the tradition back and some fun to LA's biggest game.
rodwood
FIGHT ON!
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Michael Oleszek 7 months ago
The NCAA rulebook contradicts itself. (Go figure)
It says: "Players of opposing teams shall wear jerseys of contrasting colors"
Ok, blue and red contrast. But then, it goes on to say: "and the visiting team shall wear white."
Now, about the home team wearing white: "White jerseys may be worn by the home team when the teams have agreed before the season."
When Spurrier was at Florida, he went back and forth with LSU about this, and LSU had to wear dark jerseys in both Baton Rouge and Gainesville.
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rod wood 7 months ago
Thanks for the info, Michael.
The NCAA needs to be flexible on things relating to traditions and other school customs. By being anal about stuff, they just incur the wrath of fans. I believe a petition had been circulated before on this topic but I think they rejected it (I'm not exactly clear why). I believe that's why Carroll finally said "Screw it" and decided to move forward with the loss of the timeout. (It was at first believed to be one TO each half, but it will only be the one timeout from the 1st half). At the least, the NCAA needs to clarify their rule.
I don't know why Spurrier made such a ruckus about it with the LSU game. Maybe a little ploy on his part to get the Tigers to think too much about their uniforms and get them away from focusing on the game. Seems like a little gamesmanship going on there.
rodwood
FIGHT ON!
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Michael Oleszek 7 months ago
It was nothing but gamesmanship from Spurrier. Since the 1995 switch from LSU wearing purple jerseys at home to white, Florida and LSU went back and forth about this until Spurrier left. In 1998, LSU wore gold jerseys in Gainesville, and in 2000 they wore purple ones. Now, thankfully, its gone back to normal, with Florida wearing blue at either stadium, and LSU wearing white.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
wow...great info. A big thanks. You're right about the contrasting color, I just assumed like everyone else that SC's visiting jerseys are white, which they are. I thought it was a Pac-10 rule, and since they couldn't interpret the rule's ambiguity, they asked the NCAA to intervene.
And yes, I'm on board with the black tape...it looks nastier!
FIGHT ON!
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Gray Ghost 7 months ago
Lise, I love this! It shows a classy co-operation between two intense rivals and a healthy respect for the tradition of this particular game. I think it's good for the game. Now if Georgia can only get Alabama to wear black jersey's next time we play them! :)
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Bama has black jerseys? Are u kidding me? I would like to see Bama's red jerseys and your blackshirts. Oh yeah..that would be kewl! :)
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Gray Ghost 7 months ago
The idea is that we give them our black-out jerseys, and then put a whuppin on them. I hope we never have the bright idea of having a blackout!!
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Kent Moore 7 months ago
I'm glad these guys are showing class.
I don't think you would get the same outcome if this were Ohio State/Michigan or Florida/Georgia.
If Bo Schembechler proposed this to Woody Hayes, I fully believe Woody would have said he'd burn a time-out at the start of the game but never follow through with it. And when ask why he didn't do it, he'd probably say,
"I'm not giving them a damn thing! They are the ones that wanted to wear their colors to our field. No one put a gun to their head."
If Neuheisal really wants to bring back this rivalry...he won't burn that timeout. That would almost certainly start a war for years to come.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Kent!
SHHHHHHHHHHH...don't give UCLA any ideas, but dang, YOU ARE SOOOOO RIGHT! But do you really want to anger a nasty D? (And yes, Woody wouldn't have reciprocated...gawd those two were characters!)
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Mike 7 months ago
Scott and Rod,
First of all it is not the choice of the home team to wear whatever jersey they want. LSU had to go to the NCAA to get it approved to be able to wear their white jersey's at home. The only way they can do this is to get the visiting team to agree. If the visiting team does not agree then LSU has to wear it's purple jersey's at home. Example, last season LSU opened up at Miss St. and had an agreement with them that they would wear their purple jersey's and Miss St. would wear their white jersey's.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
I think it's a conference rule, but who knows? It's very unclear. I always though each conference had a rule, and if there was controversy, like a non-conference game opponent or a game between two teams with similar colors, then the NCAA general rules supercede.
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RedRaider Red 7 months ago
I don't know Lise.... everyone thinks their rivalry is special.
If USC and UCLA does it, whats to stop others from doing it? We already have universities across the nation doing blackouts and other color-outs. There will be a time when people will say.. hey.. USC and UCLA are doing it.... why not us?
Lets maintain order and stick to the home team: color and visiting team: white rule. So we'll have no LSU/GaTech/PSU wearing white at home... we'll have no OU and Chattanooga wearing color at the same time in Norman.
Oh and about the USC/UCLA thing... it made sense when BOTH teams called the off-campus stadium their home. But now its different.. UCLA calls Pasadena their home now.
So if.. say, Tulane and the New Orleans Saints decide to have an exhibition game, it'd make sense if both teams wore their home jerseys.
If USC and UCLA want to commemorate their old days when they shared their home ground, they can do this once this year or something but not every year in my opinion.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Well, wait a minute. If anything, when they shared a home (Coliseum), the one team wearing the home jerseys while the "visitor" wearing white WOULD make sense. After all, if the Coliseum is both their homes, then once a year, one team should be deemed a visitor. It makes it special for one team.
And I don't understand your last sentence:"they can do this once this year or something but not every year in my opinion."
They only play each once a year, so if they did it once a year, that WOULD be every year. Did I misunderstand what you were saying?
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RedRaider Red 7 months ago
Well, about your first point... I disagree.
If its MY team's stadium... I'll be damned if someone asks me to wear my away jersey on my home turf ANY year.
However, I saw some of the highlights today and it looked extremely uncool seeing USC wear their home uniforms on a turf painted with "UCLA" and a stadium saying "National champions 1954" or something. I mean its THEIR home... you can't call it home just coz its the same city. The team is called USC Trojans... not LA Trojans.
And I said once THIS year.. not a year. Meaning they can do this only this year i.e. todays game to commemorate their tradition of once sharing their home turf and not every year.
Pasadena is THEIR turf and Coliseum is YOUR turf. Wear jerseys accordingly.
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Mike 7 months ago
Lisa,
All I know is that when LSU hired Gerry Dinardo from Vandy he came in saying he wanted to bring back the "magic". To do that he wanted to have it to where LSU was able to wear their white jersey's at home, so he applied to the NCAA and they said they could as long as the visiting team was in agreement. A few teams have come here like Steve Spurrier and his Gators a few times and wouldn't have no part of it making LSU wear purple jersey's. Vandy did the same thing, so LSU brought out gold jersey's one year for that game. Since then they have wore white jersey's at home, with the approval of the visiting teams. Some games they still wear purple, like non conference games.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
There ya go! Certain coaches like adding to the excitement of games. LSU looks kewl in either uni, but SC's visiting whites are kinda dull.
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Matthew Billard 7 months ago
i like you....
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
:)
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Brian Ginn 7 months ago
Hmm... Am I just being a grinch here, or does it Sound like Pete Carroll is trying to bring some attention to the fact they're playing this weekend? After all they would have to jump some teams to make the national championship game. I agree that it's a GOOD thing they're doing it, but was it made for the RIGHT reason? I'm pretty convinced he just did this for media brownie points and public attention for his one-loss Trojans. After all, why would after all the years you've been at USC you choose to do this on the one year UCLA is the worst they've been? Wouldn't a blow-out in this game turn viewer eyes AWAY from the game instead of toward it in the future?
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Carroll wants to do it every year, not just this year. This is Neusheisel's first year at UCLA, and according to some reports, former coach Karl Dorrell was broached with this idea and it didn't go over well. So it was brought up again with Rick and HE liked the idea. I believe when he was QB at UCLA, he got to wear the home jersey with they weren't the home team, or vice versa.
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Austin Schultz 7 months ago
USC should not be allowed to wear thier home uniforms. Period. They are not the designated home team for the game. And Pete Carrol isin't trying to make a stand. He is showing UCLA we can beat you without all of our timeouts.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Austin-
They had this tradition a long time ago. It's nothing new. Apparently, Neuheisel agreed to this idea earlier this year.
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Austin Schultz 7 months ago
Lisa,
If Neuheisel agreed to it then I have no problem with it. But, Carroll does strike me as a smug and arrogant coach.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Austin-
Really? I'm surprised by that. His nature doesn't warrant that profile. He's very easy-going and a fun guy to be around. Same with Rick- very fun to be around and loves life.
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Austin Schultz 7 months ago
Lisa,
I am an SEC guy. Around here the "playful" coaches come off as arrogant, due to the fact that SEC coaches are almost always in a serious state. It might just be my point of view that comes off that way.
In the SEC we like the guys that are serious 110% of the time.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Austin-
The reason why they are always in a serious state is that if they don't win a BCS berth, they get canned. :P The Pac-10 is serious, but PC is a different guy. Players love to play for him. 6/7 BCS Bowl wins is nothing to sneeze at.
PS- who exactly is your team? I find it hard to believe you root for a conference when every week, different teams play each other. What school did you go to that is affiliated with the SEC?
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Dracula's Buttocks has teeth 7 months ago
If they took away all of USC's time outs for the entire game it would hardly matter. What do they really need to stop the clock for? They can basically do WHATEVER they want WHENEVER they want to do it against this Bruins team.
This game will be a rout from start to finnish. It will resemble somewhat of an instant replay of the USC vs. Notre Dame game.
Hey, maybe the Bruins want our time outs too. Let's give them an extra six T.O.'s for the game and see if they can lose by less than 30 points.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
I'm sorry, I can't get past your screen name. :p
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Austin Schultz 7 months ago
Lisa,
I bleed crimson and white. But, whenever an SEC team is playing an out of conference game I root for the SEC team. In the SEC conference pride comes second only to your team winning the national championship.
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Fair enough. But you never told me which college you attended! Hey, so far your Tide looks good! :)
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Austin Schultz 7 months ago
Right now I attend Liberty County High School in Hinesville, GA!
It was a tough game. Bad play calling in the 4th quarter cost us. Congrats to the Gators!
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Lisa Horne 7 months ago
Not a Dawgs fan? You have courage, kid. I like that! :)
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