BRUINS READY TO STALK ELEPHANT.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

Pete Carroll is not some thick-skinned pachyderm. He does not have oversized floppy ears, an elongated trunk or been known to have a thing for ivory.

Does not matter. His USC Trojans are the unmistakable, unavoidable king of college football, which as it turns out, is exactly the way newbie UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel -- at the moment -- prefers it.

The Trojans are not only where Neuheisel wants his Bruins, but where he absolutely pledges they'll be. He doesn't dodge USC's phenomenal success under Carroll or its formidable challenge. He wants to throw his arms around it and give it a big squeeze.

"You have to embrace it," Neuheisel said. "They're that elephant in the living room. And they have earned it."

This has something to do with six consecutive BCS bowls and Pac-10 titles, not to mention a couple of national championships. USC has not only pretty much owned L.A. for the past seven years, it has the country.

"You can't be the head football coach at UCLA and not find a way to compete successfully with USC," Neuheisel said at Thursday's Pac-10 Media Day. "It's part of the deal.

"The good news about that is when we catch 'em -- and I say when we catch 'em -- we're going to not only have passed the leader in the Pac but hopefully we'll be amongst those programs that can rightfully challenge for the big prize."

Now this sounds a lot like Neuheisel being optimistic, pragmatic, and complimentary of Carroll -- not that the Trojans' coach seemed interested in flattery.

"I could care less," Carroll said. "I don't care what the coaches say. I didn't care what (LSU's) Les Miles said. I don't care what anybody says.

"Guys say what they've got to say. They have their team to run. They've got their motivational approach, they have their philosophy. They have to do what they have to do. I'm certainly not going to ... I don't care."

Hey, the season doesn't start for over a month, and these two teams don't play each other until Dec. 6, and look how much fun we're already having.

Neuheisel could take a couple of approaches to his dilemma of playing in USC's formidable shadow. He's choosing the more practical, and at least seemingly, less confrontational approach.

It's not completely unlike the situation presented to Tim Floyd when he first took the USC basketball job. Only whenever Floyd was asked about playing in the shadow of UCLA, he would go on and on about Arizona. Barely recognized the Bruins' historic success.

Neuheisel looks at what USC has accomplished as extremely convenient. Practically a gift from the college football gods.

He doesn't have to point across the country to Florida or some foreign land as an example of the kind of elite program he wants UCLA to be. All he has to do is just point across town.

And then, when he beats USC, he not only will have beaten his crosstown rival, but the perennial conference champ and national title contender.

What a great opportunity!

"I think it's a blessing that they're right there," Neuheisel said of the Trojans. "It's a positive about the UCLA job that the team you have to beat is going to take you right where you want to be. You have to reel them in."

That doesn't figure to be this season. USC was one vote from being a unanimous pick to win its seventh consecutive Pac-10 title and will be ranked in everybody's preseason top five. UCLA is coming off a disappointing 6-7 season and will be operating for the first time under wayward son Neuheisel. And of course, new offensive coordinator Norm Chow. And holdover defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker.

The latter two used to ply their trade for Carroll over at USC, which if nothing else, makes it intriguing. All this has to be getting Carroll's attention, though he almost seems to downplay what's going on in Westwood.

"I'm always rooting for our guys," Carroll said. "I love what DeWayne's done over there. He's done a fantastic job. We always watch our guys.

"We have a big matchup coming up at the end of the year, so we'll keep on eye on that thing all the way through the end. Like we always do."

Carroll is playing from on high, Neuheisel from where has to. It's a large mountain for UCLA to climb, though Neuheisel looks and sees nothing but clear steps ahead.

He has to convince his team, his alumni and his recruits that supplanting USC is not only the goal, but an attainable one. Natural rivals ready to raise the ante.

"We're going to be fighting on every corner," Neuheisel said. "It's going to be exciting to take the field against them.

"As I told Pete when I called him when I first got the job, I hope one day we're not just playing for first place in Los Angeles, we're playing for first place in the country. It would be exciting to have that happen."

Maybe not so much for Carroll, but for now, he is the undisputed elephant in the room.

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