When Mike Garrett made the decision to hire Lane Kiffin from Tennessee, you could almost hear the laughter coming from Westwood just a few miles away.

For many in the Bruins camp, this was a desperate move, and a surprisingly shaky one for what has been the dominant program in the city, the conference, and the country for nearly a decade.

But with one move, the Trojans have betrayed cracks in their seemingly impenetrable edifice. And that could be all Rick Neuheisel was looking for.

Take last weekend's halftime speech at the UCLA-USC basketball game as an example. If the coach's words are any indication, the Bruins are more than ready for the dawn of a new era.

"If you've paid attention to anything that's gone on in college football this week, you can see the landscape has slightly shifted...we are not going to rest until we bring back the Pac-10 Championship, the Rose Bowl championship, and the national championship," Neuheisel exclaimed.

Strong words for the leading man at a program that hasn't won consecutive games over its primary rival since 1997-1998.

But perhaps these words aren't as rash as they may seem. The simple fact is, with Carroll now departed for greener grass and rainier skies, nothing is certain about USC football.

In Kiffin, Garrett has chosen a rule-bending bad boy for a program already under scrutiny with the NCAA. The fast-talking Kiffin has the character to match the man across town and the recruiting cache to haul in the big recruits.

It has yet to be seen, however, if he can pull the success together as a head coach. The initial returns aren't promising. After all, Kiffin went just 7-6 in his first (and only) year on Rocky Top, while at least Neuheisel has a Rose Bowl appearance (admittedly in a previous incarnation as head coach at Washington) to boast about.

Thus, it seems strange that a program so accustomed to winning—and winning big—would hire a relatively unproven head man.

There can be no doubt that Garrett is hoping for another diamond-in-the-rough hire, much like his lucky break in appointing Carroll. But there are certainly reservations to be had for anyone looking at USC football right now.

Of course, the main topic of concern is possible impending sanctions, something that few in the powder blue would shed tears about. Then there are the departing players, like Joe McKnight and Damien Williams.

And then Kiffin himself, who has shown a remarkable knack for getting himself into trouble with the NCAA, something USC surely can't afford more of at this time.

Let's set the record straight: UCLA has a long way to go to reach its desired place as the superior municipal football team, a status it last knew in the 1990']s. However, recent developments have shown that the shift Neuheisel is referring to is indeed underway, and may not be so far away from completion, after all.

Signing day will be a key date for both programs, with Kiffin looking to retain the perennial blue-chip recruits Carroll hauled in and Neuheisel hoping to pull of another 11th-hour coup, much like he did in 2008.

Regardless, the Bruins have a lot to look forward to with the retention of Chow and— for the first time in years— a relatively stable quarterback situation.

Kevin Prince has suffered through injuries, but when he was healthy, he showed flashes of considerable ability. Now with another year of experience and an improved offensive line, the weapons could be in place for an offensive resurgence.

Combine that with the chaos downtown, and Los Angeles football fans could be in for an exciting, if tumultuous 2010.

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