Nice to see a little tongue in cheek humor from you. I was beginning to wonder.
In all seriousness, there are two games going here that I am able to comment on... one is for the conference/south championship race, the other which is AT LEAST as big from an LA point of view is the City of Los Angeles (unofficial) Title. It may not appear to count for much if anything at all but it truly is for most of the marbles in a football sense to those involved. It can have a huge impact from a recruiting standpoint as well as the local press and in the hearts and minds of LA folk. UCLA is far hungrier than anyone is willing to mention in the press and this translates to motivation on the field.
Currently the Bruins have just about all of the momentum thanks to the surprising effect that their new HC has had on the team. In Hollywood, and this is more true than many elsewhere can see, the personality of the head coach is the equivalent of having one's star on Hollywood Blvd. Think of it "like" sex appeal on the screen equals the quality of the HC's persona and with it comes love of the fans. That amounts to a team's identity and it sells. In other words, it works (in conjunction with the usual football qualities that are necessary ingredients of course.) There is no better support to be had in the game.
In LA/Hollywood, the HC's persona is a mandatory ingredient or forget about it. (By the way, that's where I was going with Ed Orgeron back when, who definitely had it in his own unique way.) Pete Carroll was kind of a Surfer Joe persona and in Southern California, that works out nicely. He made football fun and a must see weekly affair in the city of Los Angeles. (Keep in mind that there is no NFL in LA.) In Hollywood that's no small task but the man that can pull it off owns the town and with it, potentially the nation. Is Mora that good? Maybe not just yet, but he has said with no reservations about it that he wants to end his football career right where he is at UCLA. There's only one way that can happen and that is to continue on the course he's been on for what little time he's been UCLA's HC.
None of these things are judgment calls on my part. I'm just the messenger here, but so far everything I've written is accurate to the best of my ability to tell it like it is.
The point is that how a HC in LA endears himself to the locals means a lot, especially in the recruiting game. Today, Jim Mora owns that distinction and he's football smart. Sarkisian ranks a distant second place in both ways. I don't think that he will be able to sustain any momentum that he may garner in the mean time but Mora can and will. There is a chance that USC might find enough tradition to gain a few points in the prestige column over the Bruins, but I think Sarkisian lacks the "aura" to make the most of it.
Now as far as Bret Hundley is concerned, he's an unexpected ace in the hole. (So is Mora for that matter.) Much in the way Mariota is capable of taking over the Duck offense himself (it's worth watching how he personally dismantled Texas's defense in the most recent Alamo bowl) Bret Hundley can and I believe will do the same for the Bruins, but it could be that he needs another year of cooking to turn out just right.
They will be tested early at Jerry's world on Sept. 13 (a well known neutral location) in a Thursday night game vs the Longwhorns with ASU on deck for their Pac-12 opener. Then it's off to play the Utes on the road in the trap game of the year with Oregon on deck for their conference home opener. Should the Bruins remain unscathed at that point, Mora may indeed get his star on the walk of fame and then it begins.
If they lose one of the 3 big games I mentioned above, their season could still be salvaged provided that they hold service vs USC and IF Hundley can prove his worth vs Stanford to close the season at the end of November. 9-3 looks very doable but then 10-2 isn't far out of reach. 11-1 with a conference championship -- (vs Oregon after dropping their Sept. 25 game to the Ducks at the Rose Bowl?) As they say in Hollywood.... Th... Th... That's Entertainment.
USC??? Oh yeah, those guys. The best thing about the Trojans are everyone's expectations of them, especially with a depleted bench down the stretch come November. (I've basically kissed off the Devils due to lack of defense practically speaking with only 2 starters returning...) That must smart pretty bad early on when they play UCLA, USC, then Stanford and Washington it seems all in the same week with one merciful mid-span bye to prepare for an ass kicking by Stanford (hello) to close out the first half of their season.
