The two major universities in the country’s second-largest city will meet to play a football game this weekend with nothing on the line—that is, other than pride, jobs and the paint coating on a carriage that holds a 300-pound brass bell.
As the professional franchises in Los Angeles have soared this season—the 9–1 Rams and 7–2 Chargers are among the best teams in the NFL—their collegiate neighbors have limped to disappointing campaigns, albeit ones that have taken place under different preseason expectations and, at present, exist in distinct contexts. There may be little with respect to national attention and postseason implications when the 2–8 UCLA Bruins host the 5–5 USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, but the effects of the outcome could be massive.