The Rose Bowl : McAllister, Michigan State Can Head Trojans Off With the Pass

Bobby McAllister, Michigan State’s quarterback, is like a clone of USC’s Rodney Peete. Or maybe it’s the other way around.

Like Peete, McAllister can be as much a threat running with the ball as passing. And his passing record is impressive. McAllister, a 6-foot 3-inch, 190-pound junior, gained 577 yards in 124 carries. Only tailabcks Lorenzo White, the All-American, and Blake Ezor gained more for the Big Ten champions.

In the season opener, when the Spartans beat USC, 27-13, McAllister completed 10 of 15 passes for 103 yards and ran for a touchdown. He finished even stronger, completing 5 of 5 in the conference championship game with Indiana, and 10 of 12 in the season finale against Wisconsin.

“When teams load up for the run the way they did in the last two games, and the way Southern Cal did, we don’t mind passing at all,” Spartan Coach George Perles said.

“One thing we teach our quarterbacks is not to throw the ball up for grabs. We throw in situations where the defense is giving us something. If they don’t give it to us, we don’t throw.”

They just keep running Lorenzo White, instead.

“If they declare another man to stop the run, we have (split end) Andre Rison, who is a potential first-round draft choice in another year, and we know Bobby (McAllister) has a strong arm, and we’ll open up.

“The most important statistic about McAllister is that he had only four interceptions all year. We (the Spartans’ defense) had 24. That’s a big, big advantage in turnovers. In close games, it’s the turnovers that usually decide who wins.”

USC had five costly turnovers--three interceptions and two fumbles--in the opening-game loss to Michigan State.

If the Trojans had not had all those turnovers, might they have won the game?

“Yeah, probably they would have,” Perles said.

Perles said that the Spartans plan to follow the same basic game plan they used in the first game, except for one thing: “We’ve added some things that have been successful against them since we played them.”

McAllister went to Michigan State from Pompano Beach, Fla., where, he said, he dreamed of playing in the Orange Bowl.

“My dreams were always about oranges, not roses,” he said. “When I was little, the only thing I knew about the Rose Bowl was that it was somebody’s granddaddy. But when I got to Michigan State, I found out what it really is. It is the granddaddy.”

This is Michigan State’s third bowl game since Perles became head coach in 1983. The Spartans lost to Army, 10-6, in the 1984 Cherry Bowl at Pontiac, Mich., and to Georgia Tech, 17-14, in the 1985 All-American Bowl in Birmingham, Ala.

“The Cherry Bowl was good, good for the state of Michigan and good for us, but there is little similarity between the Rose Bowl and the Cherry or All-American Bowls,” Perles said. “The Rose Bowl is like the Super Bowl. I went to four Super Bowls (as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers) and this is right up my alley.

“The real value of the Super Bowl is the publicity the National Football League gets from the press conferences and the practices. This game is similar. Look at all the writers and television and everybody here for this game.

“The real value to Michigan State will be from all the recognition the school gets by being the Big Ten representative here.”

The only thing Perles told his players about talking with reporters was not to say anything that might wind up on the USC bulletin board.

“I don’t want them to motivate the other team,” Perles said. “Of course, I don’t believe in those things--but just in case, I don’t want to give the other guy an edge.”

Does Perles use comments from opponents to jack up his team?

“Do you think I’d want to get caught tacking some clipping up on the board? Not on your life. Of course, if one of the other guys did it when nobody was looking, I wouldn’t tear it down.”

Michigan State has a built-in scout in offensive line coach Pat Morris.

In 1986, he was on Ted Tollner’s staff at USC, where he either coached or helped recruit nearly every player on the squad. He also helped develop such All-Americans as Tony Slaton, James FitzPatrick and Jeff Bregel. When Tollner and his staff were dismissed after a 7-5 season and a trip to the Citrus Bowl, Morris joined the Michigan State staff.

“Pat’s been a big addition for us,” Perles said. “He’s done a great job with (All-American tackle) Tony Mandarich and the rest of the line.”

Morris also played at USC in 1975. He was a handy man, moving around as a linebacker, nose tackle, offensive guard and backup punter.

The Pac-10’s recent domination in the Rose Bowl--6 straight wins and 16 of the last 18--has been well documented, but that domination does not extend to all bowl games. Reader Paul Palsa of West Covina charted the bowl appearances of Big Ten and Pac-10 teams since 1980 and finds that the Big Ten has a 13-13 record in postseason games other than the Rose Bowl, whereas the Pac-10 is 7-9-1.

That doesn’t count this year’s games, however, and Arizona State, Washington and UCLA have already given the Pac-10 three more wins. Iowa has given the Big Ten one more, with Indiana and Michigan playing Saturday.

Including Rose Bowl games, the Pac-10 is 16-10-1 and the Big Ten is 15-19 since 1980.