An Unlikely Three Lead USC, 10-0 : Webster, Affholter, Brown Pace Rare Shutout at Stanford

It seemed unlikely that Steve Webster, Erik Affholter and Jeff Brown would all play significant roles for USC. Who are these guys, anyway?

It also seemed unlikely that USC would shut out Stanford. But that’s what happened Saturday at Stanford Stadium as the Trojans beat the Cardinal, 10-0, before an estimated crowd of 73,500.

By winning, USC snapped a two-game losing streak and improved its Pacific 10 record to 3-2. The Trojans are 5-2 overall.

Stanford, which was off to its fastest start since 1971 with a 5-1 record, is 2-2 in the conference and 5-2 overall.

The Trojans and Cardinal aren’t usually caught up in grim, defensive struggles. But that was the tenor of Saturday’s game on a clear, warm day in the Bay Area.

It was the first time that Stanford has been shut out at home since 1964, when Washington won, 6-0. USC hasn’t shut out Stanford here since 1932, when a Howard Jones-coached national championship team won, 13-0.

So much for musty statistics.

Webster, USC’s third-string tailback, who hadn’t played previously this season, made his debut in the third quarter.

A 5-foot 10-inch, 180-pound sophomore from Helix High School in La Mesa, Webster was sidelined most of last year with an ankle injury that later required surgery.

He is known as a big-play runner, but he made the tough, inside yards against Stanford, spinning away from defenders and helping to sustain a field-goal drive in the fourth quarter that provided USC with a 10-0 lead.

Webster made 60 yards in 16 carries, outgaining both Aaron Emanuel and Ryan Knight, USC’s regular tailbacks.

Affholter, a sophomore reserve split end, made a leaping catch in the end zone of quarterback Rodney Peete’s 18-yard pass. He said he wasn’t the primary receiver.

The second-quarter touchdown was set up when cornerback Louis Brock intercepted a pass thrown by Stanford’s John Paye, carrying it 41 yards to the Cardinal 32-yard line.

Jeff Brown, a redshirt sophomore fullback, was virtually unknown until Saturday, unless you’d kept your field glasses trained on special-team performers.

Brown, who backs up Todd Steele and Leroy Holt, had only one official carry, for zero yards, before Saturday’s game. That was in the opener against Illinois.

He got into the game because Steele was bothered by a sprained ankle and Holt was woozy after taking a blow to his head.

The 5-11 205-pounder who came to USC as a walk-on from Golden West College in Huntington Beach made his presence felt on USC’s field-goal drive.

He burst up the middle for 22 yards on second and one from the USC 36-yard line to help get Don Shafer in range for his 22-yard field goal.

It was certainly a day for surprises. Stanford, with its usually proficient offense, averaged 347 yards in total offense in its first six games.

The Trojan defense limited the Cardinal to only 172 yards, just 64 in the second half.

That was done by a mixture of coverages that kept Paye, Stanford’s skilled quarterback, off balance. Paye completed 23 of 37 passes for 122 yards, but his longest completion was only 18 yards to wide receiver Jeff James. Several of his throws were deflected, and he threw three interceptions.

Paye had to throw in a hurry at times and couldn’t locate his wide receivers, who were lost somewhere in the USC zone defense.

Peete threw only 18 passes, but he completed 12 for 169 yards and the touchdown to Affholter.

Affholter has played regularly this season as a reserve wide receiver, but Webster and Brown didn’t figure previously in the Trojan offensive scheme.

USC Coach Ted Tollner said he wanted to get a look at Webster, and he was not disappointed. He also said it wasn’t a reflection on the abilities of Emanuel and Knight.

However, Emanuel, who has lost one fumble in each of USC’s six previous games, couldn’t hang on to a handoff from Peete when USC was threatening from Stanford’s one-yard line in the second quarter.

Stanford had a stout goal-line defense as USC couldn’t take it in on four downs from the one-yard line. Then, Peete and Emanuel couldn’t get together on the exchange on fourth down, and Stanford linebacker Kurt Colehower recovered the bobble at the three-yard line.

Webster, who had a ligament reattached to his right ankle in summer surgery, said he practiced well during the week and was confident of a good performance if given the chance. He had a knack of spinning away from defenders just when it seemed that he would be tackled.

“Coach Tollner told me at halftime, ‘Be ready, you’re going to play,’ ” Webster said. “I told him I was ready. I wasn’t looking for the big play. I just wanted to hold onto the ball.”

Webster has the reputation of a breakaway type, but there was some doubt whether he could take a pounding.

“I think I showed today that I could take a shot and bounce right back up,” he said. “I feel very good. I thought I could prove myself when my time came.”

Webster hadn’t played since he made a cameo appearance against Arizona State in the third game last season.

Although Webster wasn’t surprised that he got his chance, Brown was surprised. Brown is a member of almost every special team, and he made a very special run in the fourth quarter.

“Rodney called an audible at the line of scrimmage, and the play was either 28 pitch, or 34 belly,” Brown said. “They had been calling 28 pitch most of the day, and I was surprised when he called 34 belly.”

A huge hole created by guard Jeff Bregel and tackle Dave Cadigan opened up, and Brown was on his way for his 22-yard rumble up the middle.

It was a gratifying win for Tollner, especially with speculation that he might have to win eight games this season to save his job.

The Trojans are virtually out of the Rose Bowl race, but they could get a bowl bid if they keep winning.

“We’re obviously very happy, especially since we had lost two games in a row (Washington State and Arizona State) and had given up 63 points,” Tollner said. “When you shut out a team that has the offensive power of John Paye and Brad Muster on their home field, you have to be happy.

“Our defense responded today, and we tried to keep them off balance with our ration of rushes. Our pass coverage was outstanding. We didn’t want to give them a cheap score.”

Stanford didn’t penetrate past the USC 38-yard line in the game, and the Cardinal got there by virtue of two successive 15-yard penalties assessed against the Trojans.

Then, Brock made his move as Stanford wide receiver Jeff James ran an out pattern. “I thought I was faster, so I could let him make his cut,” Brock said. “Today was indicative of the way our defense can play. We didn’t play that way in the last two games. This game is a big turning point for us.”

Tollner said he wanted USC to control the ball on the ground to keep Stanford’s offense off the field. The Trojans struggled some but still managed to get 145 yards rushing against a team that limited six previous opponents to an average of only 99 yards a game.

It was tough going for Emanuel and Knight, though. Emanuel gained only 44 yards in 17 carries, while Knight was limited to 8 yards in 4 attempts.

It was equally tough for Muster, Stanford’s versatile fullback. He gained 35 yards in 8 carries.

The 10 total points were the second fewest scored by both teams in the series since Stanford beat USC, 3-0, in 1935.

USC inside linebacker Rex Moore, whose brother Rob played for Stanford, led the Trojans with 11 tackles, while strong safety Tim McDonald and outside linebacker Marcus Cotton had 9 each.

“Unheralded people that we never expected to play did play a role for us today,” Tollner said. “It really doesn’t matter who gets the credit.”