UCLA Loses to USC but ‘Back-Petals’ In : Trojans Go for the Win, Get It, 17-13

USC Coach Ted Tollner said he made a gut decision before the UCLA game Saturday. And in a critical situation, Tollner didn’t waver.

As it turned out, it may have been the most important decision that Tollner has made since he became USC’s coach in 1983, for it was the key element in providing the Trojans with a 17-13 upset win that nearly knocked the Bruins out of the Rose Bowl before a crowd of 90,064 at the Coliseum.

Nearly, that is, but not quite. UCLA backed into the Rose Bowl when Arizona upset Arizona State, 16-13, Saturday night at Tempe, Ariz. Arizona State, which lost to UCLA during the season, as did Arizona, needed a win or a tie to reach the Rose Bowl.

USC was outplayed by UCLA for most of the game, but in the waning minutes the Trojans surged to the UCLA six-yard line and had a fourth-and-two situation. Tollner probably wouldn’t have been criticized had he elected to go for a tying field goal, considering the distance remaining for a first down.

But the Trojans disdained the field goal, and redshirt freshman quarterback Rodney Peete rolled out for three yards and a first down. Four plays later, with UCLA grudgingly giving ground, Peete sneaked the remaining few inches into the end zone for the winning touchdown. Only 1 minute 13 seconds remained in the game.

“I made the decision before the game,” Tollner said. “Our objective was not to take UCLA out of the Rose Bowl with a tie. Our objective was to win. I had hoped, though, that I wouldn’t have to make that decision.”

UCLA still had an outside chance to come back after Peete scored. But quarterback David Norrie’s second-down pass from his own 20-yard line, intended for split end Mike Sherrard, was intercepted by strong safety Tim McDonald, and the upset was secured.

So USC, a 6 1/2-point underdog, prevented UCLA from winning an unprecedented fourth straight game over the Trojans. Moreover, Tollner avoided the stigma of becoming the first USC coach to lose three straight games to both UCLA and Notre Dame.

And he quieted some grumbling alumni who have been vociferous in their feelings that he should be replaced as Trojan coach. The win evened USC’s record at 5-5 and dropped UCLA to 8-2-1 for the season, 6-2 in the Pac-10.

The Trojans dodged Bruin bullets the entire game, and Coach Terry Donahue could be second-guessed for some conservative calls in the first half.

UCLA was seemingly unstoppable for a while. Shortly after the second quarter began, it had a fourth down at the USC six-yard line with less than a foot left for a first down. But Donahue opted for a field goal from his reliable kicker, John Lee, who made the 22-yard chip shot.

That provided UCLA with a 10-7 lead, and Lee improved it to 13-7 with a 34-yard field goal later in the second quarter.

UCLA had an opportunity to widen its advantage just before halftime. But Gaston Green, an outstanding runner Saturday, fumbled to USC on a third-and-six situation at the USC 12 while trying to set up a field-goal try. The Bruins weren’t thinking touchdown at that point.

“I had absolutely no second thoughts,” Donahue said of his decision to forgo a first-down attempt with the score tied at 7-7. “We have the best field-goal kicker in America and we went in ahead at halftime.”

UCLA outgained USC, 377 yards to 273, and was particularly potent in the first half with a bulge of 253 yards to the Trojans’ 132.

The Bruins didn’t even punt in the first half, spending most of their time in Trojan territory.

UCLA missed another opportunity to put USC away while leading, 13-10, early in the fourth quarter.

The Bruins had reached the Trojan one-yard line, where, on second down, tailback Eric Ball tried to dive into the end zone. He lost the ball while he was airborne, and USC linebacker Marcus Cotton picked it out of the air to get the Trojans out of another jam as he fought his way to the 12-yard line. Cotton said he was thinking touchdown when he got the ball but had to settle for something less.

There’s an axiom in football that if you keep a team around long enough, it will get renewed life even if it is being outplayed to some extent.

That’s what happened Saturday as UCLA lost three fumbles and Norrie had two passes intercepted. Cotton’s midair fumble recovery was also ruled an interception.

By winning, USC may be back in the postseason bowl picture if it beats Oregon next Saturday in the regular-season Mirage Bowl at Tokyo. That would give USC a 6-5 record, and 6-5 teams are going to bowl games nowadays, especially a school of USC’s stature. The only problem is, most of the bowls have already been filled.

Peete, making only his second start, performed admirably, although he made a few mistakes.

He adds another dimension to USC’s offense, and he burned UCLA on some quarterback draw plays that were put in for the game to utilize his running ability.

Peete gained 67 yards but had a net of only 21, because sacks while attempting to pass are subtracted from the rushing total. He also completed 8 of 15 passes for 101 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown pass to tight end Joe Cormier in the first quarter.

He also kept USC’s final 56-yard drive alive with a quarterback draw covering 11 yards on third-and-11 from the UCLA 25.

“There wasn’t any doubt I’d lead the team to a touchdown on that last drive,” said the 19-year-old quarterback, who has replaced senior Sean Salisbury. “The last play was just a regular quarterback sneak, and when I got the play, my eyes lit up. For an encore, I want to end up with a winning season, and I plan on going to the Rose Bowl several times in my career.”

Tollner said he was impressed by Peete’s poise and the fact that the quarterback didn’t let mistakes bother him.

Tollner particularly referred to a fumble by Peete at the Trojan 42-yard line. Tollner said that Peete was hit in the head on a previous series and wasn’t focusing when he took the snap.

Green had a big game for the Bruins. The quick, accelerating tailback gained 145 yards in 28 carries for a 5.18 average. His USC counterpart, Ryan Knight, got stronger as the game progressed, gaining 147 yards in 32 carries for a 4.59 average and making some key runs on USC’s final touchdown drive.

Knight got the drive under way with a weaving, 21-yard run. He came back to get 10 more yards before Peete made his key, third-down run. Knight got eight more yards on three thrusts into the line, setting up Tollner’s crucial fourth-down call.

In 1982, USC spurned a tie with UCLA while trailing, 20-19, in the closing seconds. The Trojans went for a two-point conversion that would have knocked UCLA out of the Rose Bowl, but quarterback Scott Tinsley was sacked by nose guard Karl Morgan, and the Bruins held on to win. Tollner, who was John Robinson’s offensive coordinator at the time, sent in the two-point play.

He gambled again Saturday on an overcast afternoon, and it paid off.

It seemed that USC was fortunate to be trailing by only six points in the first half considering the way UCLA was moving the ball.

The Bruins took the opening kickoff and shredded USC’s defense on Norrie’s accurate passes and Green’s runs. Then, on second-and-four at the USC 20, fullback Mel Farr fumbled to the Trojans.

UCLA was on the move again on its next series, and this time the Bruins scored on a 63-yard drive in nine plays. Ball got the touchdown from one yard out.

It appeared that the Bruins would have to settle for a field goal on that advance when Green failed to make a first down on third-and-three at the USC 25. But the Trojans were penalized for having too many men on the field.

Tollner said it was just a coaching mistake in trying to substitute players to match UCLA’s personnel.

USC rebounded when Peete rolled out and found Cormier with a sideline pass. Cormier eluded the grasp of UCLA free safety James Washington and came ever so close to stepping out of bounds. But he tiptoed down the sideline for a 34-yard touchdown.

With Hank Norman, USC’s all-time leading receiver being double-covered most of the day, Cormier was Peete’s primary target. He caught all of Peete’s passes, 8 for 101 yards.

“They were trying to stop Hank, and that left me open,” the senior tight end said. “It feels so great to beat them. I was on the team in 1981 when we won, but I wasn’t playing at the time.”

After Cormier’s touchdown, Lee kicked his two field goals to become the NCAA’s all-time leader in that department with 79--and USC was hanging on at halftime.

The Trojans got closer (13-10) on Don Shafer’s 38-yard field goal in the third quarter and then won the game on Peete’s sneak behind center Tom Cox.

USC hasn’t been a comeback team this year, and the Trojans hadn’t previously overcome a halftime deficit of more than one point to win during Tollner’s tenure at the school.

“The most pleasing thing is that our guys showed what this game is all about,” Tollner said. “They’ve learned never to give up and to fight until the game is over. Every time it looked like we were going to crack, we came back, There is no better trait than that. And we made the play when we had to. It was a courageous effort.”

It has been a frustrating period for the Trojans, who had lost four of five to the Bruins and three straight.

Norman showed his relief as he entered the dressing room by shouting, “We own L.A. now.”