2012 BCS rankings: Bruins stay put, Trojans fall out

It was a good weekend to be a UCLA Bruins fan. Not only did your football dominate your bitter rival USC Trojans 38-28, you knocked the Trojans out of the BCS' top-25 altogether. The Bruins didn't move anywhere in the latest BCS rankings, staying at No. 17 but they did clinch a berth in the Pac-12 title game against the Stanford Cardinal or Oregon Ducks. Ironically, UCLA controls who they play. When they travel to Stanford this weekend to take on the Cardinal, a win means they'll face Oregon again while a loss means they'll head right back to Stanford the next week and play the Cardinal again.

The guys at Bruins Nation actually give former coach Rick Neuheisel a little credit for the win on Saturday as well.

You still have to thank Neuheisel for recruiting some great players and Bruins: you look at the playmakers on Saturday and nearly all of them were his boys. Perhaps he didn't coach them right but he sure picked them right. So, thank you Rick.

Meanwhile, it was the exact opposite reaction to the loss, as you'd expect, at Conquest Chronicles. What was the problem for USC? A mix of bad coaching and lack of preparation.

You can't expect to spot 24 points to your crosstown rival and expect to climb a mountain on the road. It just wasn't going to happen.

USC finishes the season against No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish this Saturday in Los Angeles.