Pay Attention, Pete Carroll. Rick Neuheisel has arrived.

Last week there was an advertisement for UCLA football that featured newly minted head coach Rick Neuheisel pointing his finger with a stern look on his face that essentially translates into, "I mean business." Below the picture of Neuheisel were nine words that threatened to awake sleeping giant and UCLA rival USC: "The Football Monopoly in Los Angeles is Officially Over."

The universal response to this risky move by the Bruins was an overwhelming, Have they lost their minds?!?! Why would UCLA want to further motivate Pete Carroll and the Trojans? Southern Cal is one of the most spectacular dynasties in the history of college football, and with their dominant performance in Charlottsville against Virginia this past weekend, they showed absolutely zero signs of slowing down anytime soon. USC has been so good that they basically serve as Los Angeles' pro team. Yet UCLA, a football program that is considered the ugly stepsister of Tinseltown, still found it appropriate to call out their rivals. Crazy, right?

Not so fast. Believe it or not, this was actually a brilliant move by UCLA. Are they close to surpassing USC? No way, Jose. SC remains the premier program in all of college football. But UCLA has been reinvigorated by the arrival of Rick Neuheisel, and Neuheisel wants to make sure his players know that he's there to win. If this means angering USC, so be it. Karl Dorrell was a decent coach, but he was severely lacking in one regard: he never seemed to be able to energize and motivate his team. Neuheisel, a UCLA alum and former coach at Colorado and Washington, is quite the opposite. By stating that the football monopoly in Los Angeles is officially over, even if it really is not, Neuheisel sent a jolt of fire and energy to his team. And, judging by last night's thrilling overtime victory against eighteenth-ranked Tennessee, a game in which third-string QB Kevin Craft followed a hideous first half with a magnificent second, his players have responded to his message.

Should Pete Carroll be worried right now? No. His focus, as it is every year, is to lead the Trojans to a national championship. But Carroll should be aware of the fact that Rick Neuheisel has come to town, and that he means business.