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Date: Thu, Nov 30, 2006, 08:00 AM

The 2006 edition of the UCLA-USC rivalry game features a couple of rebuilding programs with a shot at redemption. Both teams have a new complexion after the loss of core players left them with inexperienced offenses. And both coaches know that the way their young teams finish the season ? on Saturday and in their bowl games ? will say a lot about the future. USC will lose only four senior starters. UCLA only loses three. But that?s where the similarities end. UCLA (6-5, 4-4 Pac-10), has the chance to finish the regular season on a three-game winning streak and go on to face Florida State in the Emerald Bowl with a winning record, regardless of the outcome of the postseason matchup. Of course, the chance to beat the No. 2 Trojans for the first time during coach Karl Dorrell?s tenure ? and the first time in seven years ? would seem to be enough motivation, even if the Bruins weren?t going bowling. This is the fourth straight season in which USC (10-1, 7-1) will use its season-ending rivalry game as a springboard into the national championship. If the Trojans do beat the Bruins in Pasadena, they will have the chance to play No. 1 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl and avenge last year?s championship game loss against Texas in the Rose Bowl. Although both teams are at the end of rebuilding years, the Trojans appear to be a finished product while the Bruins remain a work in progress. Part of it could be attributed to luck: John David Booty quickly developed into an elite quarterback for USC, while a knee injury to Ben Olson left UCLA scrambling for an identity on offense under Pat Cowan. But UCLA players shy away from comparisons to their rivals, preferring to say that a win over USC would give them their own identity. ?I don?t think you can look at these teams and compare where they were last year,? junior cornerback Trey Brown said. ?The only thing we can do is think about what a win this week would do for our respect. It would be huge.? But this is what the rivalry game has become: the Trojans playing at the Rose Bowl with so much more at stake; the Bruins hoping to salvage a mediocre season by taking on the role of spoilers. UCLA players are well aware of their role, and they don?t find it exactly flattering to be thought of as a bridge between Notre Dame, whom USC beat 44-24, and Ohio State. ?Nobody is giving us a chance ? you know, it?s cute,? junior linebacker Christian Taylor said. ?At the start of this week (defensive tackle) Brigham (Harwell) told everyone to get your mind right. That?s it. With all this outside talk about how great ?SC is, we just have to get our mind right and work.? The Trojans, on the other hand, are trying to defy the tradition of rivalry upsets by not overlooking the Bruins on Saturday. So are the Trojans going to cruise into Saturday with their eyes on Ohio State? ?The history of sports says yes,? USC coach Pete Carroll said at a Tuesday press conference. ?But the history of this team says no. To stay focused ? that?s a task in itself for this team on a weekly basis anyway.? As for the cross-town rivalry, Carroll says it hasn?t been diminished by the Trojans? seven-year dominance. ?I love the fact that we get to play in the Rose Bowl. It?s such a great rivalry for us. Southern California has been jacked up by football,? Carroll said. ?This isn?t hard at all; it?s easy to get into this game.? The Trojans? winning streak has spanned coaching changes for each school, as well as several recruiting classes. ?This is my first time in the rivalry, but guys have made sure that I know how important it is,? UCLA freshman cornerback Alterraun Verner said. Verner has been at the heart of UCLA?s rebuilding efforts this year, and he figures to be a central figure in slowing down USC?s receiving corps ? the only veteran unit on the Trojan offense. Verner, nicknamed ?little old man? by Dorrell for his precocious play, quickly learned what this week meant to his veteran teammates. ?I would just like to send our seniors off with a win against ?SC,? Verner said. <a href='; target='_blank'>;