London Can Hardly Wait

Although UCLA’s Justin London wore a red jersey in practice on Monday -- which told teammates that he’s not ready for full contact -- it was clear that the senior linebacker was excited to be back on the field after sitting out the last two games because of an ankle injury.

“The part that bothered me the most is that I missed the one game that we lost,” said London, who did not play in UCLA’s defeat at Arizona. “It was tough on me to watch.”

London said that he could not have a bigger game to return for than Saturday’s showdown against No. 1 USC at the Coliseum. The Trojans have won six in a row over the Bruins.

“They are going to have to pull me [off the field],” London said. “This game means everything to me. Obviously, I haven’t beaten these guys yet and I’m a senior. This is a chance for me to help us get a W and end their streak and their long win streak against us.”

Coach Karl Dorrell said London looked fresh after sitting out or being limited in practice for the last five weeks. “He was in a red jersey, but he was still flying around hitting people,” Dorrell said. “You could tell that he had some time off. He’s excited about playing. He looked pretty good today with us limiting his reps, but we’ll increase that as the week unfolds.”

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Quarterback Drew Olson passed for 278 yards and one touchdown against USC last year but had two interceptions.

“You can’t turn the ball over. ... You have to play a complete game, because if you don’t, one little mistake and it’s over,” he said of the Trojans. “They’ve shown that this year in games that they’ve been down, but they’ve found a way to win.”