UCLA-USC outcome still means something, even in a down year

If this were a different sort of football season, Rick Neuheisel might not resort to threats.

The UCLA coach might not stand before hundreds of students at a pep rally and nag them about showing up for the crosstown rivalry game against USC.

“This is one of your classes,” he said over loudspeakers earlier this week. “You’ve got to be at this ballgame. You fail if you don’t come.”

Neither the Bruins nor the Trojans is ranked and neither is headed to a bowl game. Their annual confrontation Saturday has not exactly captivated a nation.

“It gets down to won-loss records,” said Tony Barnhart, a college football analyst for CBS. “I’m afraid this game doesn’t show up on the radar.”

But in a city divided, the rivalry can still generate some heat.

The final score might sway recruits and determine the job security of top assistants on both sidelines. In an otherwise disappointing season, one last victory might make all the difference.

“It’s like the house is split in half,” USC cornerback Shareece Wright said. “And we’re trying to fight for the food, for the last meal.”

The Trojans are coming off a disheartening loss to Notre Dame — their first loss in the intersectional rivalry in nine years — and, at 7-5, are precluded from the postseason by NCAA sanctions.

The Bruins have lost five of their last six games, slipping out of bowl contention at 4-7, which explains the less-than-exuberant rhetoric at UCLA’s bonfire Wednesday night.

“It has not been our best season,” Neuheisel told the crowd. “It has been difficult at times and frustrating.”

There are still tickets available at the Rose Bowl and kickoff isn’t until 7:30, which means television viewers in the East must stay awake well past midnight to see the end.

“You wouldn’t say there’s a lot of excitement past the West Coast,” said Gerry DiNardo, the former Louisiana State coach and current Big Ten Network analyst.

Still, the Trojans and Bruins have some experience with making the best of a bad situation. Three times in the past 35 years they have met with neither team bowl-eligible.

In 1980, a tipped pass led to a late, long touchdown by UCLA’s Freeman McNeil, giving his team a 20-17 upset victory. It took two overtimes to settle the 1996 game, the Bruins prevailing again, 48-41.

That 1980 victory might have saved then-coach Terry Donahue. While neither coach appears to be on the hot seat this time around, the same cannot be said for their staffs.

At USC, assistant head coach Monte Kiffin — father of Lane, the head coach — has been criticized for installing a defense thought to be more complex than college players can handle.

That defense has faltered in the waning moments against Washington, Stanford and Notre Dame.

Across town, UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow has weathered criticism for a squad that ranks 101st in the nation in total offense.

Neuheisel has said he will reassess his staff after the season. Chow knows he could be the fall guy.

“If there’s going to be a guy,” he told The Times this week, “I would think I would be the logical guy.”

Looking ahead to spring, the team that comes away with a victory might boost its standing with recruits, said Allen Wallace, the national recruiting editor for Scout.com, who normally places little importance on final scores.

“High school kids choose their colleges for personal reasons that don’t always have a lot to do with won-loss records,” Wallace said. “Many times it’s because of how they feel around the players already on the team, the relationships they develop with coaches and the program.”

But with USC-UCLA, there could be an exception.

“If there is a blowout, if one team gets beat by three or four touchdowns, that could affect a kid who is on the fence,” he said. “Especially if either team quits.”

This is a big recruiting weekend for the Bruins, with a number of top prospects invited to the Rose Bowl.

The Trojans might also need to impress Crenshaw star De’Anthony Thomas, who has committed to them but, according to Wallace, is still being courted by UCLA.

“That would be the major thing that could happen, recruiting-wise, between the schools,” Wallace said.

The struggle for high school talent, the future employment of top assistants, it all comes down to one thing — a happy ending.

“That’s what you kind of dwell on, the last thing you did,” USC quarterback Matt Barkley said. “So to end with a win is going to be huge for us, not only to have a good feeling but to say we finished strong.”

In Westwood, senior offensive guard Eddie Williams — playing his final college game — figures that a victory might soothe a lot of this season’s pain.

The Bruins have won only once in their last 11 rivalry games. Two of those USC victories were vacated by the NCAA sanctions, but that doesn’t mean much to UCLA players who walked off the field on the wrong end of the score.

“You play for pride,” Williams said. “I’d remember a win the rest of my life.”

david.wharton@latimes.com

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Times staff writer Gary Klein contributed to this story.