LOS ANGELES (AP) -It’s not easy seeing green for Trey Brown this week.
The UCLA cornerback said he even pitched his wallet before getting ready to talk about the Bruins’ game against Notre Dame on Saturday, such is his distaste for the Fighting Irish colors.
Asked if he’s surprised by Notre Dame’s 0-5 start that’s the worst in school history, he replied, “I’m not a big Notre Dame fan. I don’t know their history.”
He grinned and added: “All I know, I don’t like the green. I don’t even like money this week, that color. Before I came in here, I threw my wallet in the trash.
“I don’t like those guys and they don’t like us, and that’s what it is.”
The Bruins (4-1, 3-0 Pac-10) are coming off a strong showing last weekend, when they rallied from a 14-0 deficit to beat Oregon State 40-14.
Brown, a senior who is the son of former UCLA and NFL running back Theotis Brown, was named the Pac-10 defensive player of the week for his performance against the Beavers. He had two interceptions and made eight tackles, seven of them solo.
“We’re coming off a great win in Corvallis,” UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said.
He gave both the defense and special teams high marks for the job against the Beavers, and said the offense also made some positive strides.
The Bruins, ranked No. 10 before they were shocked 44-6 by Utah in the third game of the season, seem to have rebuilt some momentum as they head into Saturday’s game at the Rose Bowl against Notre Dame.
“We are anxious and excited about the opportunity,” Dorrell said. “There’s a lot of work to be done. We’re 4-1 and we get a chance to improve on that start.”
He said the Irish are a dangerous team, but “we need to continue to focus on us, on getting better.”
UCLA is 0-3 against Notre Dame, but all three meetings were in South Bend.
Last October, the Bruins were up 17-13 with 62 seconds remaining before Brady Quinn moved the Irish quickly down the field and threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija with 27 seconds left to pull out a 20-17 victory.
Dorrell said he was sure that players on both teams would remember that finish, but added: “We can’t let that get in the way.”
Notre Dame will be making just its second trip to Pasadena. The Irish played in the 1925 Rose Bowl, when the Knute Rockne-coached Irish defeated Stanford to earn their first national title.
The other two Notre Dame-UCLA games were in 1963, when the Irish won 27-12, and 1964, when they won 24-0.
But those were quite different Notre Dame teams than the one that’s having historic struggles this fall.
“They’re desperate for a win,” Brown said. “And so are we. They’ve got the mind-set of trying to come into our place and get a `W’ and we have the mind-set to not let that happen.”
Dorrell said Chris Markey, who shares the tailback duty with Kahlil Bell, has turf toe and isn’t expected to practice until later in the week.
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