BRUINS REFUSE TO BACK DOWN.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

PASADENA - It was the ``West Side Story'' moment in a Westside glory game.

It was the moment the USC-UCLA rivalry got great again.

All of a sudden, there in the late-afternoon shadows at the Rose Bowl, in the final minutes of football's 76th battle for L.A., during what was supposed to be a timeout break in the tension, both teams were out on the field, every single man on both rosters, and they were this close to a rumble.

Across the hash marks, they shouted and pointed and pounded their chests, announcing to the crowd of 90,622 that this thing was on.

The Bruins were ahead 13-9 on Saturday and digging in for the season's biggest defensive stand, a little less than six minutes to go in the game. And the underdogs were about to convince themselves they had what it takes to beat the nation's second-ranked team.

``That was saying, `Hey, they think they're going to come in our home and take over?''' defensive end Bruce Davis said of the scene in which Trojans players came bouncing onto the field during a television timeout and Bruins players came bouncing out to meet them. ``It doesn't work like that, not in our house. You're not going to intimidate us. We'll do it right back at you.''

I've never seen a moment like it in this series. In any series, any sport.

The Bruins had punted and were trying to summon the courage to hold on.

The Trojans had forged one solid drive all day and were feeling for their own pulse.

The two sides were gathered around coaches near the sidelines during the timeout with 5:52 left on the clock.

Then they started bouncing in place, firing themselves up.

It was hard to tell what started what happened next, but in flash there were throbbing blue and white packs on the field. They edged almost to the center of the field, yards from colliding, before officials threw flags and everybody retreated.

Offsetting unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties left the ball where it had been, on the Trojans 29, pointing north. But the tone of the game had changed completely, the temperature turned way up.

``I was getting a drink of water,'' said Brian Cushing, the Trojans defensive end. ``When I turned around and looked, everybody was out there. That was Los Angeles. Pride of the city. Who wanted it more. Nobody backing down.''

The Bruins had given the bullies doubts early, stifling the Trojans' offense, which was averaging 32 points a game. Quarterback Patrick Cowan's scrambling had made it 7-0 Bruins, then it was 9-7 Trojans after a safety and a dive by C.J. Gable (Sylmar High), and then it was 13-9 Bruins after three quarters on Justin Medlock kicks.

UCLA never had beaten a USC team ranked this high, or won when its downtown rival had this much clearly at stake, since a victory would have put the Trojans in the Jan. 8 national championship game in Glendale, Ariz. UCLA hadn't beaten USC, period, since 1998, since Karl Dorrell took over from Bob Toledo and since Pete Carroll took over from Paul Hackett.

Still, with 5:52 on the board, it felt like the Trojans' game to lose.

Maybe it felt like that to the Trojans too.

``They were cocky,'' Davis said of the Trojans' look right then.

Wouldn't you be cocky if you'd won this game seven times in a row by 148 points?

Carroll, the USC head coach, described it as nothing more than a ``spontaneous moment.''

``It was just one of those moments when everybody got excited,'' Carroll said. ``It was kind of a burst of energy by both sides. I thought the officials handled it perfectly.''

But from the Bruins' perspective, it was the emotional defining moment of the afternoon. They came out with the edge.

``You could see the adrenaline take over,'' said Dan Guerrero, UCLA's athletic director. ``You could see it was winning time for us.''

Not that it was easy for them. A John David Booty sneak on fourth down, one of the Trojans' few successes on short yardage, ignited their desperate drive.

Needing a touchdown, the Trojans got within 18 yards. They had third- and-4 and a bit of momentum, and maybe if the drive had gone on, they'd be the ones talking about the staredown as ``winning time for us.''

Booty threw a pass, and linebacker Eric McNeal tipped it and completed a tumbling interception. The Bruins had the game of their young lives.

Final: 13-9. USC to the Rose Bowl, UCLA to the Emerald Bowl (in San Francisco) against Florida State.

``These kids wanted this so bad,'' said DeWayne Walker, the man getting the tactical credit late Saturday, the Bruins' defensive coordinator, a one-time Carroll assistant across town. ``We kind of got fired up. I love that stuff. I love emotion.''

First football season to peak during a timeout.

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