Notre Dame Seeks Fifth Straight Win Over Trojans Today

At the end of Notre Dame’s game with Air Force last Saturday, Irish tailback Mark Green looked at fullback Braxston Banks, and they both smiled.

“I’m sure he was thinking what I was thinking,” Green said. “ ‘It’s Southern Cal. It’s in the air.’ The game is a big deal for all of us.”

And it has been a big deal since 1926, when the series began with USC’s Howard Jones and Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne as the opposing coaches.

There isn’t an intersectional rivalry that is comparable, considering the national significance the game has had, the stirring finishes, along with the All-Americans and the Heisman Trophy winners who have played throughout the years.

A national championship isn’t on the line for today’s game (10:30 a.m., PDT, Ch. 2), as it has been at times in the past, but that doesn’t minimize the rivalry.

“I didn’t realize the magnitude of the game until I got here,” Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz said. “There is so much riding on the game.”

Holtz got the full impact of the rivalry last season in his first year as Notre Dame’s coach. The Irish beat the Trojans on a field goal, 38-37, as time ran out at the Coliseum--a typical finish.

This will be Larry Smith’s first meeting with Notre Dame as USC’s coach. When he was coaching at Arizona, his team played Notre Dame twice, losing, 20-3, in 1980, and winning, 16-13, in 1983.

Smith is, of course, well aware that coaching reputations can be polished or tarnished in the USC-Notre Dame game.

In their days at USC, John McKay and John Robinson added to their stature by regularly beating Notre Dame.

Ted Tollner couldn’t beat the Irish, losing four consecutive games to them, and that was among the factors leading to his dismissal at the end of last season.

USC (4-2) will be trying to sustain the momentum it generated in a 37-23 win over Washington last week, a result that kept the Trojans alive in the Rose Bowl race.

Notre Dame (4-1) will be striving to beat USC for a record-tying fifth straight time, with an inexperienced quarterback, Tony Rice, and multi-talented flanker Tim Brown, possibly college football’s best player.

Rice, a sophomore who was ineligible to play as a freshman because he didn’t meet Proposition 48 requirements, was thrust into a starting role when Terry Andrysiak broke his collarbone in the second quarter of Notre Dame’s game against Pittsburgh Oct. 10.

Notre Dame trailed Pitt, 27-0, at halftime, but Rice, despite his inexperience, rallied the Irish before they finally lost, 30-22.

Against Air Force, Rice threw only five passes as Notre Dame won, 35-14, by overpowering the Falcons on the ground. “Our quarterback has been in our program only eight weeks,” Holtz said. “He didn’t win the job, he inherited it due to injury. It’s not a situation he wants, nor we want to have, because he’s not ready. His backup, Kent Graham, is a true freshman.

“We’re not naive enough to think that we can be successful without the ability to throw the football and we haven’t displayed that consistency in throwing with Tony in the game. Overall, though, I think he has done a remarkable job.”

Rice has completed only 8 of 20 passes for 180 yards while throwing 1 interception.

Smith said that although Rice is not as accurate a passer as Andrysiak, he’s a stronger running threat, especially when Notre Dame uses its option series.

Brown, however, is the big-play performer for Notre Dame as a pass receiver, punt and kickoff return specialist and occasionally as a runner.

“They move him all around, throw the ball to him, toss the ball to him on sweeps, put him in the slot in the I-formation and run reverses with him,” Smith said. “To this point, he is far and away the best football player we’ve seen. He’s a true Heisman candidate. He affects the game more than any one player we’ve played this year.”

It was Brown who set up Notre Dame’s winning field goal against USC last season with a dazzling 56-yard punt return. He had 252 yards in all-purpose yardage in the game.

He is averaging 167.8 a game in all-purpose yardage, has returned three punts for touchdowns this season, has caught 16 passes for a 21.1-yard average and 2 touchdowns, and is averaging 17.3 yards on kickoff returns.

Smith has the option of double-covering Brown as a receiver and he may instruct punter Chris Sperle to deliberately punt out of bounds to prevent Brown from getting the ball.

“Air Force slipped up once and punted to him, and he returned it for a touchdown,” Smith said. “Then, in the Michigan State game, Notre Dame had a 10-man rush trying to block a punt. They didn’t, and when Brown caught the punt, there were seven defenders in front of him. Not one single block was thrown, yet he ran for a touchdown. That’s enough to put fear in the heart of Vince Lombardi.”

There is another possible way to stop Brown: Keep him off the field by maintaining ball control.

“Our offense is the key to our success,” Smith said. “It is carrying the load over defense and special teams and is the strength of our team.”

Trojan Notes The weather forecast for today’s game: 50 degrees with a 30% chance of rain. . . . For Notre Dame tailback Mark Green of Riverside Poly High School, split end Reggie Ward of Long Beach Poly and fullback Pernell Taylor of La Puente Bishop Amat, today’s game has added significance. “Since we’re from Southern California, we know a lot of guys on the USC team,” Green said. “The game means a lot because we get bragging rights for a whole year.” Green, a junior, alternates at tailback with freshmen Ricky Watters and Tony Brooks. Fullback duties are divided among Anthony Johnson, Taylor and Braxston Banks. . . . Green rushed for 119 yards against USC last year, the only 100-plus yards game for an Irish running back. . . . Notre Dame is averaging 212.8 yards rushing a game but only 132 passing. Flanker Tim Brown has 16 catches and Green 9, but no other Irish receiver has more than 2. . . . There are four fifth-year seniors in Notre Dame’s veteran offensive line. The defense is less experienced with only four returning starters from 1986. Big-play performers are outside linebacker Cedric Figaro and inside linebacker Ned Bolcar. The Irish are yielding an average of 300.8 yards a game and 15.8 points. USC is allowing 341.8 yards and 21.5 points.