It’s been a banner week for UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel.

In the span of a few days, the former Colorado coach has seen rival USC (that’s the University of Suspected Cheaters) lose Pete Carroll, hire Lane Kiffin and fail to attract Norm Chow back to the fold.

That’s as good as it could get for Neuheisel, who all of a sudden has the upper hand in the USC-UCLA rivalry.

For starters, I’m saying Neuheisel is a better coach than Kiffin. He proved it last fall, when he took his Bruins to Knoxville and won on Kiffin’s home turf.

And, Neuheisel is a better recruiter (and he knows the NCAA rules much, much better). When it comes to sealing the deal in the home, Neuheisel will have the edge, particularly when prospective USC recruits start getting a sniff of what the nation is saying about USC’s new coach.