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Maurice Jones-Drew and Matt Leinart Talk UCLA-USC Rivalry at Coors Light Beer Summit

By Jake Merrifield

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The UCLA-USC rivalry game goes Hollywood as Bruin and Trojan greats Maurice Jones-Drew and Matt Leinart sat down for some rivalry talk before the Crosstown Showdown as part of the Coors Light Beer Summit that culminated with a performance by Snoop Dogg.

The Wiltern Theater was playing a different tune Friday night as the historic venue welcomed two all-time great college football players, Maurice Jones-Drew and Matt Leinart for some rivalry talk before Saturdays UCLA-USC game at the Rose Bowl.

Both players sat down with Brandon Gaudin and spoke about their time at the schools and also the current state of both programs.

The game is not until Saturday night, so on Friday, it was nothing but a good time!

Related Story: The 30 Greatest UCLA Football Players of All-Time


Some interesting highlights include:

  • Both players reminisce about their high school match-ups when Leinart’s Mater Dei Monarchs took on MJD’s De La Salle during the Spartans 151-game wining streak.
  • Leinart named the National Championship winning 2005 Orange Bowl game against Oklahoma as his most memorable college game, and he talked about the “Bush-Push” play against Notre Dame.
  • MJD talked about his record breaking 322 yard, 5 touchdown performance against Washington in 2004 and humbly gave most of the credit to his linemen.
  • MJD knew it was time to retire from the NFL when he tried his bread and butter move in his final season with the Oakland Raiders and got smashed by a defender.
  • Both players talked about their transition to broadcasting, and Matt Leinart talked specifically about adjusting to being critical of coaches and players now that he’s joined the media.
  • Leinart talked about his upcoming guest appearance on the Simpsons.
  • When it came to predicting the game, MJD called for a 17-14 Bruin upset, and Leinart was confident in a 35-17 Trojan win.

A little later in the evening (or really early that morning), Snoop Dogg took the stage at the Wiltern to a packed crowd (electronic artist Robert Delong opened) as part of the Coors Light Beer Summit series.

The Summit Series celebrates some of the great rivalries in college football. The next event in the series will be November 25 for the Michigan at Ohio State game and will feature a performance by Big and Rich and Jerrod Niemann.

Next: UCLA vs. USC: Game Day Info - TV, Radio, Live Stream, Headlines, Odds and More

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The Coors Light Beer Summit concludes with a show on January 8 in Tampa, Fl before the National Championship game (details TBA). Go to CoorsLight.com/rivalry for a chance to win tickets to the upcoming events.