USC Is Stunned, 34-14, While UCLA Wins on a Stunner : After 29 Years of Frustration, Some Vengeful Cougars Take Trojans for a Ride in Pullman

If Washington State has been smoldering with frustration for 29 years for not having beaten USC, the Cougars repaid some of the debt with a vengeance Saturday afternoon at Martin Stadium.

They not only beat the Trojans, but they did it convincingly, 34-14, with Ed Blount, the clever WSU option quarterback, particularly tormenting the nation’s ninth-ranked team.

There are all types of upsets, but it’s doubtful anyone expected Washington State to blow out the Trojans.

The Cougars led, 17-0, at halftime as the Trojans missed scoring opportunities with penalties, a fumble and a dropped pass on what appeared to be a touchdown.

Then, Washington State put USC away with a 75-yard scoring drive at the outset of the third quarter. Washington State hadn’t beaten USC since 1957, a 13-12 victory over a 1-9 team that was the worst in Trojan history.

USC, previously undefeated in four games, came into Saturday’s game with considerably better credentials. The Trojans had beaten two highly ranked teams, Baylor and Washington, and were off to their best start since 1981.

But USC is just another team in the Rose Bowl race with a 2-1 Pacific 10 Conference record. The Cougars are the giant killers of the league. They previously tied a top-20 team, Arizona State, 21-21.

Arizona State (2-0-1), the only undefeated Pac-10 team, will face the Trojans next Saturday at the Coliseum.

Jim Walden, who since becoming WSU coach had beaten every school in the conference except USC, took care of that detail before a crowd of 26,000 on a clear, cool day in the Palouse Country. The Cougars are 3-2-1 overall and 2-1-l in the Pac-10.

“We were whipped in all phases of the game by a very fine football team,” USC Coach Ted Tollner said. “We didn’t overlook Washington State . . . they just whipped us. We worked hard the past week, and I thought we were prepared.

“We are at the crossroads now, and the first test is how we will respond.”

Blount, a fifth-year senior from Pasadena and a first-year starter, dazzled the Trojans with clever execution and play-action passes.

The former Blair High School star completed 13 of 20 passes for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also scored two touchdowns on short runs.

But Blount wasn’t the only Cougar to torment the Trojans. Fullback Kerry Porter, hampered by injuries the past two seasons, gained 164 yards on 27 carries for a 6.1-yard average.

The other Washington State running backs found room through the middle of the USC defense as Walden’s team had 309 yards rushing compared to only 75 for the Trojans.

USC, falling behind early, relied more on its passing game and finished with 415 total yards, 95 fewer than Washington State.

From a strategic standpoint, USC couldn’t stop WSU’s dive plays and that opened things on the outside for Blount.

An option offense is supposedly a high-risk attack, but the Cougars didn’t have a turnover. USC had five turnovers, three on fumbles along with two pass interceptions thrown by quarterback Rodney Peete.

“You have to give credit where credit is due,” Tollner said. “We turned the ball over and took ourselves out of the game, but Washington State had something to do with creating those turnovers.

“They didn’t surprise us. They showed physical attributes against Arizona State.”

Walden, who had been intimating recently that he might be receptive to another coaching offer, said his team wasn’t in awe of USC.

“The biggest thing we talked about all week was no turnovers,” he said. “Let’s make those people beat us at the very best we can muster. Today I think that’s what happened.

“Our game plan was not to repeat a successful play and not to run what most people’s computer would think would work. The game plan in reality was to deceive them.”

This was only Washington State’s fifth victory over USC in a series that began in 1921 and by far the most lopsided Cougar win. The Trojans have dominated the Cougars by winning 39 games, with four ties.

Some Washington State rooters, ecstatic about their team beating a 10 1/2-point favorite, followed USC strong safety Tim McDonald to the locker room, taunting him all the way.

They halted at the dressing room door, shouting “Nice game, come back anytime.”

McDonald didn’t seemed fazed, saying, “I just told them they had too much to drink.”

As for the game, “I thought they played a lot better than they were capable of playing,” he said. “Blount hadn’t been throwing many out pattern passes in the films we had seen. But he was throwing the out pass effectively today.”

Part of the Cougars’ deception plan was to run straight at the Trojans and Tollner said USC was beaten up front.

“They just dominated us,” said Deryl Henderson, USC’s sophomore defensive tackle. “We came off the ball sporadically. We didn’t take them lightly, but maybe we started to think that we were OK and that’s when you get beat.”

Washington State set the tone of the game on its first possession, moving 73 yards to a touchdown. Blount finished off the advance from the USC 18-yard line, throwing over the middle to flanker Michael James, who cut back and scored.

The Cougars missed another scoring opportunity in the first quarter when McDonald blocked Kevin Adams’ 22-yard field goal attempt. McDonald has blocked four field goals in his USC career.

Washington State improved its lead to 10-0 in the second quarter on a 35-yard field goal by Nick Obrastoff and then Blount rolled into the end zone from the two-yard line with only nine seconds left in the first half. He set up his touchdown with a 39-yard pass to James that carried to the USC two-yard line.

Peete was stripped of the ball by linebacker Bob Gregory, setting up Washington State’s 54-yard scoring drive.

USC’s offense wasn’t stagnant, just self destructing in the first half. Peete completed a 27-yard pass to split end Ken Henry in the first quarter for an apparent first down at the WSU 10-yard line. But guard Dave Cadigan was cited as an ineligible receiver downfield, nullifying the gain. Don Shafer then missed a 46-yard field goal try.

Another USC drive bogged down at the Cougar 32-yard line early in the second quarter and Shafer’s 49-yard try was wide.

Later, tailback Aaron Emanuel broke loose for an 18-yard gain to the WSU 16-yard line but, in struggling to go on, he lost the ball and the Cougars retrieved it at their own one-yard line.

The Trojans were on the move again before the end of the second quarter. Peete threw a perfect 37-yard pass to flanker Randy Tanner at the goal line, but the flanker dropped the ball. So, instead of USC trailing, 10-7, the Trojans were still scoreless. Peete fumbled to Gregory to position WSU for its 17-0 lead.

Blount put the Trojans away early in the third quarter when he teamed with split end Kitrick Taylor on a 42-yard touchdown pass play to provide WSU with a 24-0 lead.

The Trojans finally scored hen Peete located Henry on a 53-yard scoring pass play a few seconds later.

The Cougars responded on Adams’ 25-yard field goal and Blount’s one-yard run for a touchdown after Peete threw a pass that was intercepted by cornerback Shawn Landrum.

Kevin McLean replaced Peete late in the game and saved USC from further humiliation by teaming with flanker Lonnie White on 17-yard touchdown pass play with 58 seconds remaining.

USC had five turnovers in the second half against Oregon last week, but the Trojans survived because they built a 35-7 halftime lead. Their miscues in the first half Saturday were more costly.

“We just didn’t get the job done and we’ll have to go after Arizona State next Saturday,” Peete said.

The people here in Pullman won’t soon forget this game. When Tollner was asked how it felt to be the first USC coach in 29 years to lose to Washington State, he kept his composure and said dryly: “I’m sure I’ll hear about it.