Houses Divided, and Two Teams United

Big-game week couldn’t have arrived at a better time for USC.

Starting today, the Trojans will begin preparation for their annual showdown with UCLA, a cross-town rivalry that in recent seasons hasn’t counted for much more than bragging rights.

The stakes will be considerably higher for Saturday’s game at the Rose Bowl, and USC is looking forward to the challenge after posting five consecutive victories over a ho-hum group of opponents that have a combined Pacific 10 Conference record of 14-21.

You could almost feel the lethargy in the Coliseum on Saturday as the Trojans methodically dismantled Arizona State, 34-13.

Coach Pete Carroll alluded to his team’s efficiency after the game, saying, “We haven’t had to do anything extraordinary so far; we’ve been able to stay within our system and still get it done.”

USC safety Troy Polamalu fully expects UCLA to stretch the Trojans’ capabilities in a game that has bowl implications for both teams.

“It’s definitely the biggest game of our lives,” the senior said. “They’re winning, we’re winning.”

A victory would keep seventh-ranked USC in contention for a bowl championship series bowl and set up a grand finale to the regular season Nov. 30 against No. 8 Notre Dame at a sold-out Coliseum. A loss could knock the Trojans into the Sun Bowl, the third-tier bowl game awarded the Pac-10, if UCLA upsets first-place Washington State on Dec. 7.

Carroll said he doesn’t have anything special planned for the No. 25 Bruins.

“We need to remain focused,” he said. “I’ll address [the rivalry] for what it is, but we’ll do the same things we’ve done all year and keep to our routine.”

The most intriguing matchup will pit USC’s conference-leading defense, which hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher this season, against a UCLA offense that features a physical line and shifty tailback Tyler Ebell, a redshirt freshman who has rushed for more than 100 yards in six consecutive games.

Polamalu said he wasn’t aware of Ebell’s streak, but he welcomes the opportunity for USC to end it.

“It’s a huge challenge, and we love challenges,” Polamalu said. “Our defense prides itself on that.”

Though USC did a commendable job in limiting Arizona State to one touchdown, Polamalu said the Trojans would need a better effort against UCLA.

“We made a lot of pass-coverage mistakes -- I know I did -- and I’m sure the offense made a few mistakes too,” he said. “We need to be at our best Saturday.”

Polamalu was critical of a breakdown in the secondary that allowed Arizona State to score a touchdown on a 24-yard pass from Andrew Walter to Shaun McDonald with 31 seconds left in the first half. He said the Trojans were fortunate not to give up a touchdown in the third quarter, when the Sun Devils continually had the USC defense on its heels.

“But we kept coming back, we kept battling,” Polamalu said. “We were backed up in the second half for about three or four drives in a row. There’s a lot of mistakes we can learn from that we can’t make against UCLA.”

USC also causes mistakes, particularly against inexperienced quarterbacks.

The Trojans made life miserable for senior Robert Hodge, who was making his first start, in a 40-3 victory over Colorado. They battered sophomore Derek Anderson in a 22-0 shutout of Oregon State.

They contained redshirt freshman Kyle Matter in a 49-17 victory over Stanford. And they thoroughly frustrated Walter, a sophomore who set a Pac-10 record by passing for 536 yards against Oregon.

Walter was limited to 24-of-49 passing for 297 yards, with two interceptions and a lost fumble, by a Trojan defense that blitzed and switched pass coverages.

“They have a great coach,” Walter said of Carroll, the architect of the USC defense. “They played hard and put pressure on me at times and I was forced into some questionable throws.”

Look for the Trojans to employ a similar strategy against UCLA’s two freshman quarterbacks, Drew Olson and Matt Moore. The Bruins haven’t needed Olson and Moore to do anything spectacular since senior Cory Paus suffered a season-ending broken ankle Oct. 19, but their responsibilities probably will increase this week.

Though USC has won the last three meetings with UCLA, senior linebacker Mike Pollard says the Trojans still have something to prove this season.

“We’re trying to prove to people that we’re pretty good,” he said. “We haven’t convinced all the people yet, but with each game we hopefully get a few more people to hop on the bandwagon.”