Knight Leads Trojans Past Cougars, 31-13

Ryan Knight returned from the limbo of being a fourth-string tailback to provide USC with some help when it needed it most Saturday against Washington State at the Coliseum.

With Knight filling in for injured Fred Crutcher and Aaron Emanuel, the Trojans marched for a game-clinching touchdown early in the fourth quarter on their way to a 31-13 victory before a crowd of 46,954.

Don’t let the score deceive you. The Cougars, surprising the Trojans with an effective running attack, were very much in contention for three quarters.

But they self-destructed throughout the game, which has been their habit this season.

So USC, 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Pacific 10, is still alive in the Rose Bowl race. The Trojans had a third-quarter lull when they didn’t make a first down on their first three possessions, but were the stronger team at the end.

USC has been strongly criticized the past week in the aftermath of its embarrassing 37-3 loss to Notre Dame.

“We found a way to win,” USC Coach Ted Tollner said. “It has been a difficult week, and we had to have some courage and togetherness. And we showed it in a difficult situation. Some of you (reporters) may not believe it, but we have courage and togetherness.”

Tollner took a circle-the-wagons approach with the heat on him, his coaching staff and the team.

Washington State never led, but it closed to 21-13 in the third quarter, mainly on the running of Ed Blount, a second-string quarterback who operated the option flawlessly.

Then, USC began to drive from its own 20-yard line. Emanuel got things going with a 15-yard run, but he was out of the game on the next play with a sprained left ankle. Crutcher took over at tailback, but he reinjured his left shoulder, leaving USC with only one healthy tailback--Knight.

Steve Webster is sidelined with a sprained ankle, and Zeph Lee is being used as a backup H back, a tight end in motion.

Knight, the highly touted prep star from Rubidoux High in Riverside, kept the drive from stagnating with his tackle-slipping runs.

He gained seven yards on first down from the Cougar 36, then came back to go 11 yards on first down at the 23. Knight then took it in from there, getting the touchdown on a three-yard dive.

Later, he made a key 14-yard run on a drive culminated by Don Shafer’s 46-yard field goal.

Knight was the No. 2 tailback behind Crutcher at the outset of the season. He apparently fell out of favor against Baylor Sept. 21, when he couldn’t score on three rushing attempts inside the seven-yard line. Knight sprained his left ankle on that series as Baylor held on to win, 20-13.

The sophomore running back has been used only in a mop-up role against Oregon State (63-0) since the Baylor game.

“Tough times don’t last, but tough people do,” Knight said, quoting a bumper sticker. “I don’t believe that I’m a fourth-string tailback and I had to prove that to the coaching staff. It has been hard for me, but I’ve had support from my family and friends.”

Tollner said that Knight’s attitude was commendable considering that his ankle had healed in recent weeks and that he was working hard in practice--but with little prospect of getting into a game.

There was also some speculation that Knight might be redshirted. That can’t be done now, and he may play a prominent role again if Crutcher and Emanuel aren’t available for next Saturday’s game against California at Berkeley.

Crutcher had shoulder surgery last spring, and the injury is chronic. X-rays will be taken today of Emanuel’s ankle as a precautionary measure.

Washington State, with its prolific offense, best in the Pac-10, has only a 2-7 overall record and a 2-5 conference mark to show for it.

The Cougars have been competitive in almost every game, but mistakes have haunted them.

The most glaring miscue Saturday was a center snap by Tim Scoles that sailed over punter Glenn Harper’s head in the second quarter.

The high snap had plenty of hang time, the wrong way, as Harper frantically pursued the bouncing ball. He tried to pick it up but couldn’t and even kicked the ball toward his own end zone.

He was overwhelmed by Trojan pursuers, with outside linebacker Marcus Cotton recovering the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.

That gift, courtesy of the Cougars, provided USC with a 21-7 halftime lead.

Washington State had more errors to come:

--Running back Rueben Mayes’ apparent 24-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was nullified because of a clipping penalty.

--Quarterback Mark Rypien threw two of his three interceptions while the Cougars were threatening in the first half.

--Also, a 36-yard Rypien completion was nullified because the Cougars had an illegal receiver downfield.

Rypien, an all-conference quarterback, has thrown seven interceptions in the past two games against USC. Inside linebacker Sam Anno, free safety Tim McDonald and cornerback Lou Brock made the interceptions Saturday.

But Washington State moved effectively on the ground. Mayes, the school’s all-time leading ground-gainer, picked up 177 yards in 27 carries, a 6.56 average.

It was the most rushing yards USC has yielded since Notre Dame’s Vagas Ferguson gained 185 in 1979.

USC took control of the game in the first quarter, scoring on field goals of 20 and 40 yards by Shafer, and Crutcher’s six-yard run to climax an 80-yard drive.

The Cougars came back in the second quarter with a matching 80-yard surge as Junior Tautalatasi slipped outside the USC defense on a 10-yard scoring run.

Then, Scoles gained some some notoriety that he wasn’t seeking with his soaring center snap that resulted in a Trojan touchdown.

Blount, from Blair High in Pasadena, is Coach Jim Walden’s change-up quarterback. He cleverly concealed the ball, keeping it some of the time himself, as Washington State surged 69 yards to a touchdown in the third quarter. Blount got the score on a three-yard run.

But the fourth quarter belonged to Knight and the Trojans.

Knight gained 85 yards in 15 carries in his backup role, while Crutcher accounted for 93 yards, a 5.17 average, and Emanuel got 48 yards, a 6.0 average.

USC quarterback Sean Salisbury was more efficient than his Cougar counterpart. Salisbury completed 12 of 23 passes for 169 yards and was not intercepted. Rypien, who came into the game completing 59.7% of his passes, was only 5 of 15 for 37 yards.

Although the option bothered USC at times, the Trojans outgained the Cougars, 413 total yards to 296. Tollner said that Washington State ran more option plays than he had anticipated and that USC’s defense was spread out to stop Rypien’s quick-release passes.

“We had to play our responsibilities,” McDonald said. “If it called for us to stay in the deep half of the zone, we stayed there. We didn’t do that against Notre Dame and got hurt.”

The game, to use locker room vernacular, was a gut check for the Trojans following the one-sided loss to the Irish.

Offensive tackle James FitzPatrick was philosophical concerning the criticism directed at the team the past week.

“When you come here, a lot is expected of you, and that’s why I’m here,” he said. “You can’t go out and lose, 37-3, to Notre Dame. We deserved everything (criticism) we got. But we showed a lot of character today.”