A House Divided: I Confess, I Married A UCLA Bruin

Call it blasphemous, but I am married to a UCLA Bruin. So what, you ask? Well the problem is, I am a proud USC Trojan. Yes sir, a fiesty Trojan alum who happens to have married a man who actually played UCLA basketball. I know, so you can only imagine how much he bleeds blue and gold, much to my dismay. And trust me, that does not mesh well with my closet full of cardinal and gold gear.

And since it's rivalry week, I can only tell you that the bantering between us and our Trojan/Bruin friends and the never-ending Facebook tags of USC-UCLA jokes and photos has been a bit more fierce than usual. Yes, we're a house divided and tonight we'll both be watching the 81st football game between our schools, sitting side-by-side, secretly hoping our respective team whoops some serious tail.

I admit, the NCAA sanction jokes and Reggie Bush bashing hasn't been easy to take these past few years. But it's always good to know I can rub a little salt in that terrible 21-27 record with Rick Neuheisel in command. Although I will say my husband's instantaneous whispers of 13-9 from the 2006 game still tears deep into my gut. If only ... but I digress.

Tonight's stakes were reduced Friday when Colorado upset Utah, 17-14, propelling UCLA (6-5, 5-3) into the Pac-12 title game to represent the Conference's South Division.

But as much as he cheers for his Bruins, my husband knows the Bruins' Pac-12 Southern Division title is bittersweet given that USC (9-2, 6-2) is ineligible to compete in the conference championship because of sanctions. Nevertheless, a UCLA win tonight not only gives every Bruin in my life bragging rights, it also gives the team a winning record and assurance of being bowl eligible.

So like all years, tonight's match-up is more than just a matter of X's and O's. This ones for all the marbles, at least in this household. And like usual, I'm hoping tonight's game will end with my husband's usual depressed mumble, "Well there's always basketball season."

The USC-UCLA football game will be played at 7 p.m. tonight at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and it will be broadcast on Prime Ticket. 

WHO DO YOU THINK WILL WIN TONIGHT'S RIVALARY GAME? USC OR UCLA? 

So what's your take? Will Matt Barkley and the Trojans cap off a fairly impressive season with a win? Or will Rick Neuheisel prove he's worthy of at least one more year at the helm of the Bruins' football program?