USC Has Its Back to the Wall, Smith Says : Trojans Have Lost Five of the Last Six Games to the Huskies in Seattle

USC’s football program could be likened to a silent film serial, the Trojans strapped to a railroad track with a train bearing down on them.

In any event, the overall picture is bleak, and Coach Larry Smith isn’t optimistic.

All this gloom is the result of USC’s 34-27 upset loss to Oregon last Saturday in Eugene, Ore., supposedly the easiest assignment of the Trojans’ three consecutive road games.

In the next episode, the Trojans will play Washington Saturday in Seattle, where they’ve had some dreadful experiences.

USC has lost five of its last six games in Seattle, with only the unbeaten 1979 Trojans barely managing to win, 24-17.

Moreover, the Huskies usually bring out their worst weather for the Trojans, such as the hurricane conditions in 1981.

Washington Coach Don James said Tuesday that standard USC weather is on its way, which means plenty of rain.

“We’ve got to get ourselves playing good football, and it may not be good enough,” Smith said. “There is no guarantee if we bounce back we’ll win. Our backs are to the wall probably more than anyone in the conference.”

USC has its third straight road game on Oct. 24 when it meets Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. But Smith can’t look ahead, not even take a peek.

USC is 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the Pacific 10. Washington, which upset Arizona State, 27-14, Saturday in Seattle, is in the same relative position at this juncture, 4-2 and 2-1.

One more conference loss for either team and it can virtually forget about playing in the 1988 Rose Bowl game. Only three teams with as many as two losses have won the conference championship in the past 30 years: Oregon State, 1957; Washington, 1981, and UCLA, 1985.

So what happened to USC in Eugene? Did the Trojans figure the Ducks would be the pushover they have been so many times in the past, even though Oregon served noticed by upsetting Washington, 29-22, the previous week?

“I had the feeling the players were working last week in practice, but I don’t think their heads were into it. There was no snap, or zing,” Smith said. “It just seemed that there was a fog over peoples’ eyes. How do you remove that? I don’t know. There is something about the mental game that hasn’t been explained to me yet.”

Smith became agitated when his team trailed, 21-0, at halftime and some of his players say he screamed at them in the locker room.

He was still upset Sunday when the team gathered for a meeting and light workout and then he altered the schedule Monday by sending the team onto the practice field.

On a normal Monday, the team usually watches film but doesn’t practice.

Asked to rank Saturday’s defeat among the most disappointing he has endured, Smith said:

“I don’t rank them, but it would be among a handful of disappointments I’ve had. There’s a big difference going into Washington 3-2 and 2-1 instead of 4-1 and 3-0. That was a big disappointment.

“Every team in the country has a game like we did Saturday. Some are good enough to survive it, but we aren’t good enough to overcome games like that.”

After USC beat Oregon State, 48-14, on Oct. 3, Smith said his team was slightly above average. He has altered that assessment to below average.

Smith has often said that special teams are the most important phase of football--and he usually had a sound, if not an outstanding, kicking game when he was Arizona’s coach.

But USC’s special teams are nothing special, according to Smith, especially in the area of punt and kickoff coverage.

He’s also distressed that his team hasn’t blocked a punt this season.

“We’ve had minor success compared to major failures,” he said, adding that there isn’t enough competition on the team in some positions and that’s a negative factor for his special teams.

There were other problem areas in the Oregon game, such as 27 missed tackles and 20 to 25 missed assignments on offense, according to Smith.

Smith also said that three Oregon touchdown passes were the result of blown coverages by the USC secondary.

“When we lost to Michigan State (27-13) in the first game, turnovers beat us,” Smith said. “We won the turnover battle in Oregon, and penalties didn’t hurt us. But we didn’t run and hit on offense, defense and in the kicking game.”

Otherwise, Smith had no complaints.

Trojan Notes

Kickoff for Saturday’s game is 12:40 p.m. The game will be televised by Channel 7. . . . USC strong safety Cleveland Colter has a mild shoulder separation and reserve cornerback Tracy Butts has a sprained ankle. Both are expected to play, however. USC split end John Jackson limped out of the Oregon game with a groin injury, but he’ll also be available Saturday. . . . USC Coach Larry Smith had an 0-4 record against Washington while coaching at Arizona. . . . USC leads the Pac-10 in total offense, averaging 457.2 yards a game, and is ranked fourth nationally. . . . Washington has a 10-game unbeaten streak at home.