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The Battle For Los Angeles

There is a war being waged for the hearts and minds of the City of Los Angeles. To be fair, this war has been waged for a long time, but, now, UCLA finds itself at a turning point against its greatest rival.

Los Angeles has always been a fickle place, a city comprised of hundreds of different cultures and containing countless neighborhoods, as such, uniting the city behind a common entity, particularly a sports team has always been notably difficult. LA has long had its attentions split between teams, the Lakers and the Clippers, the Rams and the Chargers, and longest of all the Bruins and the Trojans.

The battle between the Bruins and Trojans is the longest fought of these and almost certainly the most contentious to this day despite it being disappointingly one sided for long stretches of time. Over the past five years UCLA has managed to come out on top with a 3-2 run in the rivalry, but the circumstances leading to that record are what make this a truly unique turning point for the rivalry as a whole.

When Coach Mora began at UCLA, USC found themselves in the midst of sanctions and clinging onto a coach that has become one of the most resilient running jokes in the entirety of College Football. The time was ripe for balance shift. In 2012, Mora and the Bruins marched into a 38-28 victory, and would continue this for two additional years before falling twice to the Trojans and Coach Clay Helton. Looking back over the past two years, it's hard to believe that UCLA seems to have an missed opportunity to make incredible strides towards football dominance of Los Angeles and, potentially, the Pac-12 as a whole.

Now, UCLA football finds itself at a crossroads in many respects, murmurs of the hotseat for Mora can be heard among the fanbase and the USC cult of personality has woken up from its slumber of poor management and sanctions. We could talk at length of the dominance UCLA achieves in multiple sports but for the average college fan, they see primarily football, and the hearts of Angelenos are won on the gridiron. The rapid collapse of a two-time Pac-12 south champion does not bode well for the support of the populous at large.

Yet UCLA has the tools to turn the tides. While Sam Darnold is gathering Heisman hype across town, Josh Rosen is returning to form in Westwood, no doubt unhappy with the outcome of last season and aiming to avenge the past two losses. Should UCLA be able to bolster its offensive line and shift the game plan away from last year's Muschamp-esqe train wreck, they may find themselves in contention for great things.

This is a turning point. The rivalry is ready to go off the rails should it not be handled carefully. A poor season could lead to a new coach and new questions, but one thing is certain, a poor season has the potential to shift the already swinging narrative regarding USC and the chaos within it walls. For a brief shining moment, UCLA was the beacon of the Pac-12 South, and the rulers of Los Angeles, the crown jewel of the West Coast. Slip-ups like last season will echo through years of recruiting, coaching changes, and national perception, but a strong showing this year could reaffirm the fandom and most importantly paint the city blue, before the Trojans can come to drench it in red.



This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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