Booty says UCLA wasn’t in his head

Last year, UCLA threw USC off its game with a defensive scheme that flummoxed the Trojans and resulted in constant pressure on Booty, who was sacked twice and held without a touchdown pass for the only time in his two seasons as a starter.

After the game, UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said, “As far as I was concerned, it was me against Booty. If I could get into his head, we could win.”

Said cornerback Rodney Van: “Late in the game, Booty was shell-shocked, you could see it; when he was supposed to be looking for receivers, he was trying to figure out where the rush was coming from. A quarterback of his stature shouldn’t be so shaken, but he was shaken.”

The Bruins will have Booty on their mind at the Coliseum this Saturday with a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line.