THIS YEAR'S RIVALRY BRINGS HIGHER STAKES TITLE HOPES, BOWL FUTURES HINGE ON GAME.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

USC's goals are far loftier, but UCLA's are no less urgent. While the Trojans will have the national championship and the Heisman Trophy on their minds, the Bruins simply will be battling for respectability when the crosstown rivals meet Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

Every year during USC-UCLA week, the city is divided between red and blue, like a living version of that presidential electoral map. Perhaps not since the 1960s has the game meant so much to both teams. A victory for either would have implications that would last long beyond the weekend.

For USC, the motivations are quite clear. A victory for the Trojans almost certainly would put them in the Orange Bowl, the Bowl Championship Series title game, on Jan. 4 for a chance at a second consecutive national championship, something USC has not accomplished since 1931-32.

The Trojans maintained a healthy lead in both polls over Oklahoma and Auburn, neither of whom played over the week, and should maintain their lead when BCS standings are released today.

Nothing is certain, as the Trojans learned last year, but if the Trojans beat the rival Bruins by any margin, it's hard to imagine them being overtaken by Oklahoma, which faces a mediocre Colorado team in the Big 12 title game, or Auburn, which plays Tennessee in the SEC title game.

First, the Trojans must get past a UCLA team that will be motivated to end a six-game losing streak to USC and can play itself into a more lucrative bowl with a victory Saturday. The Pac-10 Conference has five bowl-eligible teams - USC (7-0 in conference), Cal (7-1), Arizona State (5-3), Oregon State (5-3) and UCLA (4-3) - and, regardless of what happens this weekend, all five teams will receive bowl bids.

USC is guaranteed a spot in the Orange Bowl or the Rose Bowl, but the situation is far murkier for UCLA, and much depends on Cal's game against Southern Mississippi and the whims of a few computers.

UCLA assured itself a bowl game with last week's victory over Oregon, but the Bruins' destination remains unknown. A UCLA win would put the Bruins in a three-way tie for third place with Arizona State and Oregon State, but it is likely that the Bruins would be chosen ahead of either of those teams.

The least likely assignment for the Bruins is the Sun Bowl (Dec. 31 in El Paso, Texas) against Purdue. That would require a victory over USC plus a loss (or a fall from the No. 4 spot in the BCS) by Cal.

If Cal makes a BCS bowl and UCLA wins, the Bruins likely would go to the Holiday Bowl (Dec. 30 in San Diego) and face a Big 12 team, with Texas A&M the probable pick at this point.

A UCLA loss doesn't necessarily clear things up. If the Bruins lose and Cal is selected to a BCS bowl, UCLA is certain to play in the Insight Bowl (Dec. 26 in Phoenix) against Notre Dame.

Confused yet? There's one more. If UCLA loses and Cal doesn't make a BCS bowl, Cal would drop to the Holiday Bowl, Arizona State to the Sun Bowl, Oregon State to the Insight Bowl and UCLA would play in the Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 23) against a Mountain West Conference team, likely New Mexico.

It's not all about bowls for the Bruins. This is coach Karl Dorrell's second season. By this point of his second year, Pete Carroll had the Trojans rolling toward the Orange Bowl, and his coaching staff had turned Carson Palmer from an underachieving quarterback into a Heisman Trophy winner.

A victory over the Trojans would be the sort of eye-opener that would boost Dorrell's stature and quiet the grumbling of fans and boosters who already are thinking about Dorrell's possible replacements, although he signed a six-year contract that will take him through 2008.

Things are much simpler at USC, and it's not much of an exaggeration to say that the two programs are operating in different universes these days.

Matt Leinart's 400-yard, five-touchdown effort Saturday against Notre Dame might have moved him ahead of Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson and Jason White into the role of Heisman Trophy favorite.

If Leinart can duplicate his numbers from last year against UCLA, when he completed 23 of 32 attempts for 289 yards and two touchdowns, all in little more than three quarters of work, he will boost his Heisman chances. But UCLA has been far better on pass defense than run defense this year.

Either way, Leinart almost certainly has earned a plane ticket to New York for the Heisman ceremony. On Saturday, UCLA will try to deny him the hardware and will finally find out their postseason destination.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 boxes

Box:

(1) USC vs. UCLA

(2) EXPERTS' CONSENSUS