Legendary football coach Red Sanders once said that rivalries are more important than life or death.
Nearly 70 years later, nearly half of the Bruins roster needed a primer on what it meant to play for the Trojans.
“We have a lot of transfers and things like that, so I wanted everyone to know how important this game is,” he said.
That could make Ciaran Dooley, the team’s creative content producer, a rival hero on par with and . Mr. Dooley created a video that attempts to cram the essence of a nearly century-old rivalry into about five minutes.
Setting aside worries about what direction college sports are headed when something needs to be explained about their biggest rivals, the video had its intended effect, sparking cheers nearly a week before kickoff.
The video, which began with a minute-long hype narration by Barr, explained some of the basics of the rivalry, including both teams wearing their home uniforms and the winner taking home the 295-pound victory bell before painting it in their elementary school colors, preferably blue.
“A lot of it was like footage we’d already seen in Los Angeles and around the game,” freshman linebacker Scott Taylor said. “But a lot of players who haven’t been here don’t realize how big a deal this is for Los Angeles and how special this win can be.”
Rivalry terms such as “It’s Always 8:47 in Westwood” (referring to the Bruins’ 13-9 upset over No. 2 USC in 2006) and “8 more years!” It’s a chant that arose during the Bruins’ eighth straight victory over the Trojans in the 1998 Rose Bowl, but a roster that includes 57 rookies, 52 transfers and 42 out-of-state players may require some explanation.
“We made this video to show the true meaning of rivalry: history, passion and bragging rights,” Dooley told the Times. “I think everyone on the team already knows what it is, but if there’s anything I can do to get the players even more motivated leading up to the game, I’m going to do it every time.”
Linebacker Isaiah Chisom, a transfer from Oregon State University, said the coaching staff also brought in several former players to explain the importance of the rivalry before the Bruins (3-8 overall, 3-5 Big Ten) took on the 17th-ranked Trojans (8-3, 6-2) at the Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. Veteran offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio and defensive back Cole Martin also spoke about what the rivalry means to them.
“I think they did a pretty good job of bringing everyone together,” Chisom said. “So we all know how important this game is.”
Chisom didn’t need a refresher, as he grew up in Southern California and played at Bishop Alemany High School and Chaminade College Prep. He has already watched rivalry games and said he learned about the Bruins’ hatred of the Trojans from Chaminade assistant coach Reggie Carter, a former Bruins linebacker.
“He didn’t like people who wore red,” Chisom said of Carter. “That has been said for a long time.”
Skipper said he grew up watching the rivalry no matter where he lived. His father, Jim, moved around the city as a coach, and his older brother, Kelly, was Deshaun Foster’s running backs coach at UCLA.
“It’s great to finally be a part of this,” Tim Skipper said. “You watch the games a lot and I’ve never been to any of these games, but it would be great to work on it and coach.”
There was a hint of rivalry week in the air for anyone passing by the boarded-up John Wooden and bear statues on campus, but it was a little quieter than the Bruins had hoped. That’s because they failed to ring the victory bell across town at the Rose Bowl, 19-13.
“We want to get it back and we want to ring it up after the game,” DiGiorgio said. “The (USC) players planted the flag on our field last year. I don’t know if we’ll reciprocate that energy because you never know if it’ll start something. But we’re definitely looking forward to getting that bell back.”
The Bruins have won their past two trips to the Coliseum, giving DiGiorgio motivation to win his third straight and finish his collegiate career 3-2 against the Trojans. The consensus at Sunday’s team meeting was that a win against USC would make up for all the frustrations the team endured during a season in which Coach Foster was fired after just three games.
“A win against SC would undo all the mistakes that happened this season, and it would be a win for Penn State (over the then No. 7 Nittany Lions),” Chisom said. “I don’t think you could ask for anything more.”
Even those making their debut in the rivalry will know what they’re getting into, thanks to a content creator who produced a video that could create an upset.
“I think it enlightened us and lit a fire in our players,” DiGiorgio said. “It made us look forward to this week a little bit.”
