USC to wear red on road against UCLA

Dec 2, 2008 - 10:45 PM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Southern California coach Pete Carroll is so intent on restoring a tradition that he is willing to give up timeouts to do it.

Carroll said Monday that the fifth-ranked Trojans will wear cardinal jerseys for Saturday's contest against cross-town rival UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

This is a violation of an NCAA rule that requires visiting teams to wear white jerseys. The penalty is giving up one of three timeouts per half.

"I just thought it was a really cool tradition - the spectacle of it," Carroll said.

The last time USC and UCLA each wore white jerseys was in 1982, when they shared the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Since the Trojans are nearly a five-touchdown favorite, they may not miss the extra timeouts.

"I don't care about it right now," Carroll said. "I think it's the fun thing to do, and I think the fans will appreciate it over time."

According to the Los Angeles Times, the NCAA may consider changing the rule about forfeiting the timeouts before the game.