Who Needs the NFL in LA

Obviously the NFL would benefit by putting a team in the #2 media market but the hottest market in college football is not Gainesville or Austin but Los Angeles. In one of the most painful losses in the history of Ohio State football the USC Trojans came into Columbus weathered the storm for 58 minutes plus before walking off the field in the middle of a sea of scarlett with a hard fought 18-15 victory. This was probably the biggest road victory in recent years for the Trojans. Despite a lot of anti-Buckeye sentiment around the country with the Buckeyes recent 0-6 streak against top 5 teams at least the Buckeyes have been playing top five teams and it's been since 2004 that the Buckeyes have lost to a non-BCS bowl team and since 2004 of their nine losses in the last five seasons three of their opponents went on to win the national championship and eight have been top 10 teams. The Buckeyes record though has been a weak 3-8 against top ten teams. So the Buckeyes are still one of the premiere programs in college football.

The talent cupboard is more than full in downtown LA but across town there is a buzz in the air with Rick Neuheisel making good on his promise to have the Bruins of Westwood back on top of the college football world. As empty as The Ohio State Buckeyes might feel one of the elite teams of the SEC the Tennessee Volunteers has an equally empty feeling having lost a home and home against UCLA. The Bruins played in front of their own 110,000 plus hostile crowd and came out one better than the Trojans with a 19-15 victory where they didn't have to make an exciting last minute comeback. The world might not know it yet about the Bruins but at the very least in Westwood and many parts of Los Angeles people are believing in the Bruins and that has not happened since the Bob Toledo days when Cade McNown was calling plays for the Bruins.

The success of these Bruins under offensive gurus Norm Chow and Neuheisel has been the result of defense. A defense that held the Volunteers under former USC defensive coordinator Lane Kiffin to a menial 186 total yards of offense. In southern California where Pete Carrol has created a dynasty with great athletes the Bruins have tapped into the talent pipeline. When a team is trying to re-build like the Bruins bringing in good athletes you can build a defense with great speed. The Bruins are young and they will have bumps in the road but this Bruin team in their former quarterback's leadership should continue to improve and gain both experience and momentum throughout the year that when the time November 28th rolls around at the Los Angeles Colleseum they could be ready to start taking some of the glitter town glamour that can entice more blue chip recruits! If nothing else we could have one of the best crosstown rival games in LA since Aikman vs. Peete in the late 80's!