USC Finds a Star--Loses a Game, 20-17 : Peete Impressive at Quarterback, but Trojans Let Huskies Off Hook

USC discovered a quarterback of the future Saturday but lost a game that it seemed virtually assured of winning.

There are all types of defeats, but the 20-17 setback that USC suffered at the hands of Washington at Husky Stadium was, to say the least, most improbable.

The Huskies, to their credit, drove 98 yards to a touchdown in the final four minutes, quarterback Chris Chandler throwing a 13-yard scoring pass to split end Lonzell Hill with only 56 seconds remainig.

It was a stunning turnaround considering that USC had a first down on the Washington one-yard line while leading, 17-13. The Trojans were poised to get the game-clinching touchdown after thoroughly dominating the Huskies in the second half.

But tailback Ryan Knight fumbled a handoff from quarterback Rodney Peete, and Washington linebacker Ron Hadley came out of the pile with the ball.

Even then, what are the odds that a team that has been erratic offensively this season could move 98 yards to a touchdown against a defense geared to stop desperation passes?

Well, the Huskies did it, converting two key fourth-down plays as the USC defenders seemed to be frozen in their tracks.

USC has been routed this season by Notre Dame and Arizona State. It has also been upset by California. But Saturday’s loss was particularly frustrating.

“This one really hurts because we played so well,” said USC Coach Ted Tollner, whose face truly reflected the agony of defeat. “When you don’t play well and lose, it’s in another category.”

So USC is 4-5 overall, 3-3 in the Pacific 10, and mathematically eliminated from the Rose Bowl race. Washington, 6-4 and 5-2, is also eliminated.

Peete, a redshirt freshman, played with the poise of a veteran. He kept USC drives alive with his quick feet on option pass-run plays. He’s a different type of Trojan quarterback, one who disrupts defenses.

He brought USC back from a 13-10 halftime deficit by throwing a perfect 17-yard pass to flanker Al Washington in the end zone. And he was apparently directing USC to its clinching touchdown when Knight lost the ball.

“I got the handoff on my thigh pads and I tried to hang onto it by pressing it close to my body,” Knight said. “But it just slid down my legs.”

Tollner said that Knight jumped slightly, sort of a skip, just before he got the ball, causing the fumble.

“I didn’t have a chance to jump,” said Knight, who played the entire game in place of Fred Crutcher and had an ironman role reminiscent of USC tailbacks in the past.

Knight carried the ball 44 times for 135 yards as the Huskies gave ground grudgingly. USC lost only that one fumble on a cold, gray day before a crowd of 52,601, and it came at a most inopportune time.

Tollner installed a new backfield Saturday in an effort to revive a lethargic USC offense. Knight replaced Crutcher, and fullback Todd Steele started in place of veteran Kennedy Pola. Crutcher and Pola are banged up, but they were sidelined mainly for strategic reasons.

Sean Salisbury, a fifth-year senior, didn’t get off the bench as Peete, starting for the first time, seemed to gain more confidence as the game wore on.

Peete completed 12 of 17 passes for 175 yards while throwing only one interception. He also ran on designed plays or scrambles for 50 yards. His average would have been much higher if he hadn’t been sacked a few times.

The Huskies discovered a future quarterback of their own in Chandler, a sophomore with negligible experience. He replaced Hugh Millen, who was hampered by a sore shoulder.

Tollner said USC didn’t want to be burned by a long pass in the closing minutes. So Chandler just picked the Trojan defense apart with intermediate passes.

He was confronted with a fourth-and-two situation at his own 10-yard line following Knight’s fumble but got out of the fix with a 15-yard throw to Hill, who was clear in the middle of the USC defense.

Then, on fourth-and-eight from the Husky 27, he found Hill again with a 17-yard sideline pass as Elbert Watts, playing in USC’s nickel defensive scheme, tried for the interception and missed the ball.

Chandler kept penetrating USC’s defense with his passes, and the game was on the line with a first down at the USC 13-yard line with 56 seconds to play.

“We called an X corner to Hill,” Chandler said.”I was going throw it to him if he was open, or just throw it out of bounds. The USC players seemed confused about their defense. They kept saying, ‘What are we in, what are we in?’ ”

USC cornerback Matt Johnson leaped for the ball at the three-yard line but the pass went over his head and into the arms of Hill in the end zone.

Johnson suffered a mild concussion two plays earlier and spent Saturday night in a hospital here as a precautionary measure.

Tollner said USC mixed its coverages while Washington was advancing, using four, five and six defensive backs at times. Whatever the scheme, it was ineffective.

“You just have to give Washington credit,” Tollner said. “They made the plays, but we didn’t.”

USC safety Tim McDonald said that the defense was aligned in zone coverage on Chandler’s touchdown pass and that Johnson had the responsibility for the receiver (Hill) angling to the corner.

“We were in the right defenses,” said McDonald, talking about Washington’s long scoring drive. “But we seemed to be a step away every time. No one blew an assignment. We looked like we were too cautious. No, make that we weren’t aggressive enough.”

USC has not been a comeback team since Tollner became the coach in 1983. But the Trojans were in command of the game most of the second half.

Peete marched USC 80 yards at the outset of the third quarter, which the Trojans dominated by maintaining possession of the ball for 12 1/2 minutes.

Another drive of 71 yards was terminated early in the fourth quarter when Don Shafer missed his second field goal attempt, a 47-yard effort. He had kicked a 52-yard field goal in the first quarter, one-yard short of the school record set by Steve Jordan last year.

The Huskies had apparently blown the game when punter Roger Gilbert shanked a six-yard punt out of bounds at the Washington 41 with 8 1/2 minutes left.

Knight did most of the work as the Trojans slashed to the one-yard line, only to lose the ball and, as it turned out, the game.

It was deja vu for USC. A fumble by Crutcher inside the Arizona State five-yard line earlier in the season preceded a 95-yard scoring pass by the Sun Devils.

Washington Coach Don James didn’t anticipate that his team would drive 98 yards to a touchdown after Knight’s fumble.

“I was just thinking we wouldn’t get beat quite as bad,” James said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been associated with a 98-yard drive.”

USC led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter on Shafer’s 52-yard field goal and Knight’s 4-yard run that was set up by a 68-yard bomb from Peete to split end Hank Norman.

From the USC 28, Peete lofted a pass to Norman, who was closely covered by cornerback Ron Milus. But Norman, who became USC’s all-time leading receiver Saturday with 110 career catches, took the ball away from Milus at the Husky 28 and got to the four-yard line.

The Huskies took charge, 13-10, in the second quarter on two field goals by Jeff Jaeger and an eight-yard scoring pass from Chandler to tailback Vince Weathersby.

Peete, who appeared in four previous games in mop-up situations or lost causes, said he was nervous before the game.

“I had butterflies,” said the 19-year-old quarterback, who was a prep star in Tucson and Kansas City, Kan. before coming to USC. “But once the game was under way I became relaxed and confident.”

Said James: “We’re going to have to face him for three more years and I’m not looking forward to it.”