USC, Arizona Are Now in Must-Win Situation

Conference championships are determined in November, and the Pacific 10 football race could become more muddled--or clearly defined--today, the first day of November.

The key games will be played in the desert tonight, USC at Arizona and Washington at Arizona State.

Arizona State is the only unbeaten team in the conference with a 3-0-1 record. Arizona and Washington each have one league loss, and USC has two.

The Trojans, 5-2 overall, 3-2 in the Pacific 10, must win all of their remaining conference games just to stay in contention.

Arizona, 6-1 and 3-1, is in a better position, but it can’t realistically afford another league loss, either.

The matchup between the Wildcats and the Trojans is an interesting one, since the teams didn’t play one another last year and have only one common opponent this season, Oregon. Arizona routed the Ducks, 41-17, while the Trojans beat them, 35-21.

Colorado State is the only team with a winning record that Arizona has beaten this season. UCLA was Arizona’s strongest previous opponent, and the Wildcats lost, 32-25, after leading at halftime, 18-0.

But that doesn’t mean Arizona is not a sound team. The Wildcats lead the Pac-10 in total offense, averaging 413 yards a game, and are second in defense, yielding 273.3.

“That was a strange game,” USC Coach Ted Tollner said, referring to Arizona’s loss to UCLA. “It’s hard to believe that it ended up 32-25. So many different things happened--a triple pass deflection that became a touchdown, two blocked punts and unusual field position.

“But the most impressive thing was that UCLA kept playing. They completed a 78-yard touchdown pass that should not have been caught. It was the same play that hurt us against Arizona State last year. On the winning touchdown by Gaston Green, all UCLA was trying to do was run a pitch play to get in position to kick a field goal.

“The outside backer, the strong safety and inside backer, who were supposed to stop the pitch, weren’t even blocked. Still, he runs 32 yards for a touchdown and you say, ‘How did it happen?’ It was, though, a great credit to UCLA.”

What Tollner does know is that Arizona has a tailback in David Adams, who is leading the conference in rushing with an average of 107 yards a game rushing.

“He’s a little guy (5-6 and 168 pounds), but he’s tough,” Tollner said. “He has great vision and the ability to cut back quickly against the grain.”

Arizona quarterback Alfred Jenkins, from Lynwood High School, has been inconsistent lately. However, as a sophomore in 1984, he completed 21 of 39 passes against USC for a touchdown, and scored another himself. The Trojans barely won at the Coliseum, 17-14.

Jenkins, a mobile quarterback, ranks eighth in passing efficiency in the Pac-10 this season. He has completed 50% of his passes for 1,213 yards and 6 touchdowns but has thrown 7 interceptions.

“I think he has been inconsistent,” Arizona Coach Larry Smith said. “He got very ill the week before the UCLA game and we didn’t think he could play. He practiced all week, then went home and went to bed.

“I give him an A for courage for that week. At times he played well against UCLA and at times he didn’t. But he has been playing better in recent games.”

How Jenkins performs the rest of the season probably will determine whether Arizona will play in the Rose Bowl for the first time since it joined the conference in 1978.

There are no question marks, however, about Smith’s defensive unit.

He has one of the nation’s best linebackers in Byron Evans, who resembles former USC All-American Richard Wood in style, according to Pat Morris, USC’s offensive line coach.

Morris also gives high grades to the other linebackers, Dan Lockett, Brent Wood and Boomer Gibson. Evans is one of 16 finalists for the Butkus Award. USC linebacker Marcus Cotton is also in that group.

There are no apparent weaknesses on the rest of the defensive unit, and the Wildcats have an outstanding strong safety in Chuck Cecil, who has intercepted three passes and blocked three kicks this season.

As for the Rose Bowl race, Smith said: “If you look more than one week ahead, you’ll get beat. Arizona State is far and away in the driver’s seat. All the other teams have to win their remaining conference games to stay in contention, and Arizona State has to win only two of its last three to take it all.”

Trojan Notes

Tonight’s game will start at 5:30 p.m. PST and will be televised by Prime Ticket, a cable channel. . . . Coach Ted Tollner said that his team is in reasonably good physical shape with the exception of tailback Steve Webster, who provided the Trojans with a lift in a 10-0 win over Stanford last week. Tollner said that Webster, who reinjured his right ankle, hasn’t practiced at full speed and is a doubtful replacement for Aaron Emanuel, or Ryan Knight. . . . Defensive tackle Deryl Henderson, who has a pinched nerve in his neck, is listed as a part-time player tonight. . . . Arizona has a big-play receiver in Derek Hill from Carson High School. He has caught 25 passes for a 16.2-yard average and 3 touchdowns. He also threw a 41-yard pass for a touchdown against Oregon State Oct. 18. . . . USC has an 11-1 record against Arizona, having lost in 1981 at the Coliseum when the Trojans were the nation’s top-ranked team, 13-10.

Far Out Dept.: There’s a possibility that the Rose Bowl race won’t be settled until Nov. 29, when Arizona plays Stanford in the Mirage Bowl in Tokyo. . . . Arizona kicker Gary Coston, from Mater Dei High School, has made a school-record 15 straight field goals. . . . Tollner on reserve split end Erik Affholter, who caught a touchdown pass against Stanford, holding the ball after he was hit: “He has good, but not great speed. He catches balls all over the place and doesn’t let people around him bother him. He sacrifices his body to make the play.”