FIGHTIN’ WORDS: Norton Throws a Haymaker at Trojans

So, Ken Norton Jr., how do you really feel about USC playing in the Florida Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day?

“I’m not really sure why they chose USC,” the UCLA linebacker said. “They could wind up 7-4 after we beat them Saturday.”

Does that mean you think the Bruins would have been a better choice for the Citrus?

“We’re just going to beat USC so bad, I think they’ll know we should have been there,” he said.

But don’t the Trojans have a good team?

“Well, they’ve got a really good band,” he said. “I think that’s what carries the school, the band. It’s always fun to play a team with a good band.”

Sound the trumpets, alert the woodwinds and don’t bother to muffle the snare drum!

Yes, it’s that time of year again, when a few well-chosen words can span the miles of freeway separating two college teams that just happen to play in the same city and bring them together in a spirit of ill will and mutual distrust.

After all, isn’t that what college football is all about?

When USC’s Coach Ted Tollner learned that Norton admired his school’s band more than his team, he laughed. “We’re looking forward to playing them,” he said.

And so are many others. Before nearly 100,000 fans Saturday at the Rose Bowl, UCLA will play USC for the 56th time. It is a game that needs no special hype, although Norton seems to be doing his best to give it some.

Norton’s comments, however, are not without recent precedent.

In 1984, after USC defeated top-ranked Washington to clinch the Rose Bowl bid, Trojan quarterback Tim Green said of the game with UCLA: “We’re going to give them a whipping.”

Unfortunately for Green, he was better at quarterbacking than predicting. UCLA won, 29-10, its biggest win in the series in 14 years.

After the game, Green said a UCLA player whispered something in his ear: “That’s the best whipping we’ve ever taken.”

The words may be different this time, but the teams aren’t. Actually, UCLA and USC are alike in a lot of ways. First, of course, they’ve both got good bands.

Their defenses are pretty similar, too, although USC’s seems to have gotten stronger lately, and the two offenses are both explosive, yet they’re both somewhat unpredictable.

All in all, it looks like a classic matchup between two fairly comparable teams. The only difference is that USC (7-2) has a New Year’s Day bowl game and UCLA (6-3-1) does not.

For noted critic Norton, playing in the Freedom Bowl is not exactly music to his ears.

“After saying Rose Bowl, Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, and then saying Freedom Bowl, it’s kind of a letdown,” he said. “But I guess every program goes through that.

“You see all these big bowls, and all of a sudden, you see a little bowl, well, it’s an adjustment,” he said.

But Coach Terry Donahue said he thinks his players are going to want to play in the Freedom Bowl.

“There will be an invitation extended to us following Saturday’s game, from what I’m told,” he said. “I hope we don’t do anything to change their mind. If you can’t get to a New Year’s Day game, it’s still nice to be asked to the dance.”

Donahue said he was glad somebody, anybody, was still interested in the Bruins after they were tied Saturday at Washington, 17-17.

“They (bowl people) say, ‘If you do this, and if you do this and if you do this, we’ll do this,’ and all of a sudden, if you lose, it’s hard to find anybody,” he said.

“Certainly, if we had won that game, our chances for a New Year’s Day game would have been different,” he said. “And just because the Rose Bowl isn’t at stake against USC, it doesn’t alter the flavor of our game.

“There will be 100,000 people there, and half of them will be for us and half will be for the other guys,” Donahue said.

Since both teams have already committed to bowl games, Donahue said USC and UCLA will be playing for something else.

“We’ve both got exactly the same things to play for and that’s the pride of the city, bragging rights and the opportunity to finish higher in the conference standings,” he said.

“Basically, the bowl picture is pretty much settled, so I don’t think it’s a factor,” he said. “USC, right now, obviously is doing a little better than we are the last two weeks. We’ve had a loss and a tie and they’ve had two victories, so they’re a half-game better in the won-lost column.”

Bruin Notes Coach Terry Donahue took exception with a 15-yard personal foul penalty against the Bruins that kept alive Washington’s fourth-quarter drive leading to the Huskies’ game-tying field goal as time ran out Saturday. “I wouldn’t say it was a good call,” Donahue said. “The call was also made by an official from the state of Washington.” When he was asked whether he meant by his comment that the official was prejudiced against UCLA, Donahue said: “No, but that’s the way you’ll write it.” Donahue said that although the official’s decision was not a good call and referred to it as “ticky tack,” he also denied that it was a bad call. . . . Injury report for the USC game: defensive tackle Jim Wahler (pinched nerve in neck) is questionable, as is linebacker Melvin Jackson (sprained knee). Listed as doubtful are offensive guard Jim Alexander (broken hand), free safety James Washington (virus) and fullback Mel Farr Jr. (broken bones in back). Linebacker Chance Johnson (pinched nerve) is out, and Donahue said he has no idea whether tailback Eric Ball (hamstring) will be ready.