A Bear Trap Would Spoil Trojan Hopes

Since Oct. 18, when USC lost to Arizona State, the Trojans knew that they were longshots to get to the Rose Bowl with two conference losses.

So they had time to reevaluate priorities and strive for one of many consolation prizes that are available to winning college football teams nowadays.

With Arizona State clinching a Rose Bowl berth last week, USC and four other Pacific 10 schools--UCLA, Washington, Arizona and Stanford--are now in the hunt for another bowl bid, preferably one on New Year’s Day.

So, a mini-season has just started, the bowl season.

If USC beats Cal today at the Coliseum and follows with a win over UCLA next Saturday at the Rose Bowl, the Trojans would be in line for a major bowl bid with an 8-2 record (and one game left).

It is now being speculated that a Pac-10 team might meet a Big Ten team in the Jan. 1 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl at Tempe, Ariz., although the Fiesta Bowl people are keeping their options open.

The Pac-10 presidents have agreed “on a one-time basis” to suspend the league’s exclusivity rule limiting annual postseason games against the Big Ten to the Rose Bowl.

The Big Ten hasn’t said whether it would agree to send a team to the Fiesta Bowl, but it was learned Friday that a Pac-10 team would play in the Fiesta Bowl regardless of whether the Big Ten is involved in the game.

In any event, a Fiesta Bowl spokesman said that a Pacific 10-Big Ten matchup is a possibility, adding that the bowl has not given up hopes of enticing Miami and Penn State for a possible national championship showdown.

The Fiesta Bowl would not be obliged, however, to invite the second-place teams of both conferences, as reported Thursday by United Press International.

“We would be inclined to take the highest-ranked team from each conference,” said Tony Alba, a Fiesta Bowl representative.

Washington is currently No. 10, followed by USC (No. 13), Arizona (No. 14), Stanford (No. 16) and UCLA (No. 19). The five teams are tied for second place in the Pac-10, each with 4-2 records.

The deadlock tangle for second in the standings will begin to unravel today and more definitively next week.

There are complications, though, because bowl invitations are officially tendered next Saturday afternoon, and USC doesn’t conclude its season until Nov. 29, when it will play Notre Dame. Arizona and Stanford will also play the same day in the Tokyo Mirage Bowl.

It’s believed, though, that any bowl invitation USC gets wouldn’t be contingent on beating the Irish.

In the event that USC defeats Cal but loses to UCLA, the Trojans would be 7-3 at that point and negotiating with less prestigious bowls.

The Liberty, Sun and Holiday bowls would then come into the picture for the Trojans, or perhaps, the Orange County Freedom Bowl.

This speculation would become meaningless if USC, a heavy favorite, loses to Cal, 1-8 overall and 1-6 in the conference.

USC Coach Ted Tollner can only hope that his players are not looking ahead to games with their traditional rivals while virtually ignoring the Bears.

“Everyone talks to you about UCLA and Notre Dame, and you can’t get caught up in that conversation,” Tollner said. “Cal beat us last year, and that gets our attention.”

Indeed, the Bears upset the Trojans, 14-6, in 1985 at Berkeley. It wasn’t only an embarrassing defeat, but one that virtually knocked USC out of the Rose Bowl race.

Cal hasn’t done much since then, losing a season-ending game to Stanford in 1985 and winning only one of nine games so far this year.

Moreover, the Bears have a lame-duck coach, Joe Kapp, who was fired effective at the end of the season after his team lost to Oregon Nov. 1.

Cal has simply self-destructed this season with 36 turnovers, 19 on interceptions and 17 on lost fumbles.

Kapp demoted his regular quarterback, Brian Bedford (now a reserve flanker), after losing to Washington Oct. 4 and replaced him with a freshman, Troy Taylor.

Taylor has some promise, but he has thrown eight interceptions and only one touchdown pass in five games.

Halfback Marc Hicks scored two touchdowns and gained 113 yards in 22 carries against USC last season. He was being hailed by Old Blues then as the next Jackie Jensen, or Chuck Muncie, but he has had his problems this season.

He has fumbled nine times, losing seven, has been injured off and on and is listed as questionable today with a rib injury.

Hicks alternates with Chris Richards, a swift transfer from Oklahoma, who is averaging 3.9 yards a carry--same as USC’s Aaron Emanuel.

The Bears are at, or near, the bottom of every league statistical category--total offense, total defense, rushing defense, passing defense and scoring defense. Cal has allowed an average of 31.8 points a game. Only Oregon is worse at 32.6.

So it should be a cakewalk for the Trojans, huh? Possibly. But don’t forget that Oregon State beat Washington last season at Seattle, and the Beavers were a considerably bigger underdog than are the Bears today.

Trojan Notes Homer Smith, UCLA’s offensive coordinator, told a Bay Area newspaper that he was interested in the California coaching job. . . . Representatives from the Fiesta, Sun, Holiday, Liberty, Cotton, Citrus and Freedom Bowls will attend today’s game . . . USC Coach Ted Tollner said that Aaron Emanuel, who has a sprained big toe, is available. However, Steve Webster is sidelined with a recurring ankle injury. That means that Ryan Knight will see heavy duty at tailback today . . . Lonnie White, a kickoff return specialist, is USC’s emergency tailback.