UCLA has obtained the appropriate clearances from USC and the Pac-10 and will be wearing its powder blue home jerseys during the rivalry matchup at the Coliseum next weekend, continuing a tradition that was restarted at the Rose Bowl last year.
One thing will be different this year -- other than the late-night start of the game, which won't create the same pop with the jerseys as last season's mid-afternoon matchup under the sun. The NCAA amended the rulebook during the offseason to allow visiting teams to wear colored jerseys without penalty (USC, as you remember, incurred a loss of a timeout at the start of the UCLA game last year). All that has to happen to avoid the penalty is that the home team has to agree in writing prior to the game and the conference has to certify that the jersey of the visiting team is of a contrasting color, both of which have occurred.
USC fullback Lynn Cain runs up the middle in the 1977 UCLA game at the Coliseum, where both teams wore their colored jerseys to follow along with a rivalry tradition that had died out until last season. [Photo courtesy of USC sports information]
