USC Drops a Snap, Spartans Get to Cackle and Pop

After six year’s of frustration, it took a wiry speed merchant of a wide receiver and a fumbled snap to give the Big Ten a victory in the Rose Bowl.

Michigan State beat USC, 20-17, before a crowd of 103,847 in a dramatic game that found the winning Spartans, deserving as they were of victory, hanging on at the end.

MSU got its winning points when John Langeloh kicked a 36-yard field goal with 10:46 left in the final period. The kick was set up by a acrobatic catch by Andre Rison, 5 feet 10 inches and 180 pounds, who took Bobby McAllister’s desperation pass on third-and-nine down the right sideline for 26 yards to keep the Spartan drive going. After the winning field goal by Langeloh, USC, behind the irrepressible Rodney Peete, drove all the way back to MSU’s 30. Then, on third-and-two, the ball was snapped to Peete, but he never got his hands on it. The muffed snap was kicked into the MSU defensive backfield, where it was picked up by Todd Krume, ending USC’s last real chance.

At halftime, it appeared as if there might be a deviation from form. The Pac-10 of recent vintage has almost turned this into an annual bloodletting, taking the last 6 Rose Bowls from the Big Ten, not to mention 12 of the last 13 and 16 of the last 18.

But Michigan State, which came to the West Coast minus the usual circle-the-wagons and avoid-the-Hollyood-glitter approach of recent Big Ten representatives, played it as loose on the field as it had in the week leading up to the game. It resulted in a 14-3 lead.

Rodney Peete, USC’s quarterback and the early leader in the 1988 Heisman Trophy-hype category, looked like a better candidate for one of those trophies they give to lineman. He completed 11 of 22 pass attempts for 88 yards, but he also had 2 intercepted. And both were so badly thrown that the Michigan State defenders had little choice but to catch the ball.

The second interception (the first was by John Miller) was particularly galling for USC. The Trojans had taken over the ball in excellent field position at the Michigan State 37. They forced that by holding the Spartans deep in their own territory after a couple of penalties.

So Peete, with plenty of time to gain the initiative, first handed the ball to Leroy Holt for two yards, then sent Erik Affholter down the right sideline and underthrew him by about five yards, the ball falling into the hands of linebacker Kurt Larson of Michigan State.

That ended that, and USC, the team that once made an art form out of tailback sweeps and power blocking, spent much of the rest of the half throwing from the shotgun.

In fact, the only tailback of note in the first half was MSU’s Lorenzo White, who rushed for 89 yards in 24 carries and scored both Spartan touchdowns. White dashed around and through the USC defense, which acquitted itself quite well otherwise. On some of his runs, White looked like part O.J. Simpson, part Charles White and part Ricky Bell--all past Trojan greats. USC’s tailback, Scott Lockwood, a freshman starting because of the injury and knee surgery to Steven Webster, had no carries in the first half and didn’t carry the ball until 12:40 remained in the third period. USC managed only 50 yards rushing in the first half.

Michigan State’s second touchdown, scored on a three-yard run by White, was interesting in that, in MSU’s 27-13 win over USC on Labor Day, one of White’s touchdown runs was set up by a long pass from Bobby McAllister, Spartan quarterback, to wide receiver Andre Rison. Rison made his catch then in a one-on-one situation against USC’s Chris Hale.

This time, on New Year’s Day, Rison caught one against Hale for 55 yards to the three, from where White scored.

USC, perhaps starting to feel the pressure of tradition, started to turn things around early in the third period.

Peete, scrambling under pressure, completed a long pass to Affholter to the MSU 30, but that play was called back by a penalty. Then, on the next play, Peete hit John Jackson down to the Spartan 34. Moments later, Jackson got a one- on-one situation with MSU’s Harlon Barnett and Peete put the ball over the defender’s hands and into’s Jackson’s for a 33-yard scoring play.

And USC kept charging. On its next possession, it worked its way down to the MSU 18 and lined up for a field goal. But Coach Larry Smith called instead for a fake, which failed when the holder, backup quarterback Kevin McLean, was forced to scramble and threw a desperation pass that was intercepted by Joe Bergin.

But the Trojans held again and Rodney Tanner ran a punt back 39 yards to the Spartan 33. Three passes, including a close call to Affholter in the end zone on third down, failed. And so did Qin Rodriguez’s 49-yard field goal attempt.

So, with 1:36 left in the third period, Michigan State held its 14-10 lead, despite USC controlling most of the second-half offensive action. As the third period ended, Michigan State sent White around left end for a first down at its 45-yard line that marked the first MSU first down since midway through the second period.

The Spartans kept on driving, putting temselves into position for a 40-yard field goal by John Langeloh that gave them a 17-10 lead wit 12:39 left.

But USC struck back, rollling down the field until it got in position to try a field goal from the 30. This time, Affholter, USC’s long-range field goal kicker, lined up. Once again, McLean was to hold.

But once again--incredibly for a coach with the conservative reputation of a Smith--USC tried a fake field goal. And McLean ran for a first down that set up a 22-yard scoring pass play, Peete to Henry.

Henry took the ball in the back of the end zone, barely taping the required one foot down inside the end zone. It had been a similar catch by Affholter against UCLA, barely in the corner of the end zone, that got USC to the Rose Bowl.

And, with Rodriguez’s kick, the scored was tied, 17-17, setting up 9 minutes of finishing drama.