Sour Tone at Citrus for USC : With Tollner Going and Bregel Gone, Trojans Face Auburn

If ever a case could be made for why a team should lose a football game, USC has one today. Or maybe more than one.

First of all, it is very seldom that a team goes into a New Year’s Day game with a lame-duck coach--one who is not retiring but has been fired.

Ted Tollner has had to live with that since the Dec. 8 announcement of his dismissal, and the distractions of his situation and the future uncertainties of the team’s could easily carry over to today’s Florida Citrus Bowl game against Auburn at Orlando Stadium.

Tollner’s players are saying that they’ve put the coach’s plight behind them and are fully concentrating on the game. But that’s what players assume they are supposed to say. The real question is, are they?

USC has yet to name a coach to replace Tollner, but the announcement is expected to come this weekend.

In the second place, the Tollner situation notwithstanding, there is strong evidence that Auburn may just be a better team than USC.

The 10th-ranked Tigers (9-2) of the Southeast Conference have lost the two games by a total of five points. USC (7-4) is not exactly coming into the game on a roll.

The Trojans lost to traditional rivals UCLA and Notre Dame in their last two regular-season games. The Bruins thrashed the Trojans, 45-25, after leading, 38-0, in the third quarter. USC had a better effort against Notre Dame, but lost, 38-37, on a last-play field goal.

Thirdly, USC will be without All-American guard Jeff Bregel. Bregel failed to pass the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s pre-bowl drug test because he used steroids. That made him ineligible for the game, which would have been his last at USC.

Bregel’s loss probably will hamper the Trojan running game. Auburn is not likely to have such problems.

In tailback Brent Fullwood, Auburn may have the best running back in the country. Fullwood is averaging a nation-leading 8.3 yards a carry, and USC has been vulnerable to any worthy back who attacks the middle of its defense.

This fact isn’t likely to be lost on Auburn Coach Pat Dye while studying USC’s game films. UCLA’s Gaston Green ripped through USC for 224 yards and 4 touchdowns. Notre Dame’s Mark Green, a journeyman runner, gained 119 yards against the Trojans.

USC has capable linebackers and defensive backs, but the defensive line is inexperienced--Dan Owens, a redshirt freshman nose guard; Tim Ryan, a freshman tackle, and either sophomore Deryl Henderson and junior Gary Willison at the other tackle.

Henderson and Willison could be replaced today by linebacker Bill Stokes, who is an effective outside linebacker but is underweight at 220 pounds for a down lineman.

There is a likely mismatch in the trenches with Ben Tamburello, Auburn’s 268-pound All-American center, bearing down the the 240-pound Owens. There are also statistical comparisons that solidly favor Auburn. A sampling:

--Auburn is averaging 34.5 points a game, USC 23.4.

--The Tigers have allowed 10.5 points a game, USC 20.3.

--With Fullwood as the catalyst, Auburn is averaging 244.3 yards rushing a game. USC is averaging 145.5.

Moreover, the combined averages of USC tailbacks Ryan Knight (3.8) and Aaron Emanuel (3.9) don’t reach Fullwood’s 8.3 figure.

--USC has yielded an average of 172.2 yards rushing a game, Auburn 120.5.

The Trojan have had a more productive passing attack, though, as quarterback Rodney Peete has completed 53.8% of his passes for 2,025 yards and 10 touchdowns--the first sophomore in the school’s history to go over the 2,000-yard mark.

His Auburn counterpart, Jeff Burger, has completed 56.8% of his passes for 1,671 yards and 9 touchdowns. With a weapon like Fullwood, Burger throws just often enough to keep a defense off balance.

To his credit, Tollner has been patient, if not uncomfortable, with the constant questioning this week over his strange situation.

“I think that anything that takes away the concentration from the football players is not a plus,” Tollner said. “A football game has to be the most important thing when you’re playing a team the caliber of Auburn.

“I don’t try to avoid questions, but I try to avoid that sort of thing with my players. I tell them they’re here to play the best damn game they can play and not be caught up in my particular situation. Whether that works or not I don’t know.

“But we want to prove that we belong in a New Year’s bowl game. It’s not the emotion for my situation that matters. It’s the emotion that our players have to line up against someone and wanting to whip them.

“The first time one of our players gets hits in the mouth, he isn’t thinking about me and not having a job. He’s thinking of his own survival while playing on national television.”

Citrus Bowl Notes

Today’s game will be televised by Channel 7, starting at 9 a.m. PST. . . . It was raining Wednesday, and there’s a 40% chance of rain today. . . . Tollner said it’s doubtful that fullback Todd Steele, who has a knee injury, will play. Steele will be replaced by Leroy Holt. USC cornerback Greg Coauette and outside linebacker Marcus Cotton are still bothered by ankle injuries but are expected to play. Split end Ken Henry has a strained hamstring, but he’s also available. Auburn fullback Tommie Agee was listed as doubtful earlier with a hamstring injury but has apparently recovered sufficiently to play. . . . Tollner said he has the following options in replacing strongside guard Jeff Bregel--Brad Leggett would move in at guard, weakside tackle Bruce Parks would switch to guard with John Page taking Parks’ place, or strongside tackle Dave Cadigan will fill in for Bregel, with Mark Sager repalacing Cadigan. . . . Tim McDonald, All-American strong safety, said that USC’s defensive game plan is to try to stop Fullwood and force Burger to throw. The Trojans reason that Burger has less chance of beating them than Fullwood. In the 1985 Rose Bowl game, USC shut down Keith Byars, Ohio State All-American tailback, and went on to win, 20-17. In short-yardage situations, USC will use a stack defense consisting of three down linemen, five linebackers and three defensive backs. McDonald becomes virtually a linebacker in this alignment. . . . This will be the seventh different bowl game for the Trojans, who have a 21-8 bowl record, tying Alabama for most victories. . . . Auburn has a 9-8-1 record in bowl games.