You can have your Baton Rouges and your Happy Valleys and your Ann Arbors. I'll take a gorgeous Saturday in late November in Los Angeles and a USC-Notre Dame football game with National Championship implications any day.

The Coliseum is pretty much empty right now, save for the spattering of security personnel and some diligent Notre Dame and USC team managers setting up their respective sidelines.

Oh, and the definite sense of excitement hovering in the air.

It's everywhere you turn. From the drive to the stadium through downtown Los Angeles to the tailgate scene outside the Coliseum, there's no doubt a big game is looming between two college powerhouses.

I can't wait for kickoff.