Peete, USC Pass Stanford Near Finish for 24-20 Win

Rodney Peete says it’s a sign of maturity to put your mistakes behind you.

Fortunately for USC’s quarterback and his team, he did just that Saturday at Stanford Stadium as the Trojans rallied in the closing minutes to beat the Cardinal, 24-20, in a Pacific 10 opener for both teams.

Peete didn’t resemble the Heisman Trophy candidate he is touted to be in the first half as he had two passes intercepted, one leading to a Stanford field goal.

However, Peete was composed with Stanford leading, 20-17, and 3:34 remaining. In an impressively executed 80-yard drive, Peete delivered under pressure.

His short passes kept the advance moving, and his 10-yard touchdown throw to flanker John Jackson with 1:19 left clinched the victory.

Stanford couldn’t counter on its last possession as redshirt freshman Jason Palumbis, replacing injured starter Brian Johnson at quarterback, had a pass blocked, recovered his own fumble and threw a pass that cornerback Chris Hale intercepted.

It was a harrowing game for Peete and sixth-ranked USC. Stanford, a two-touchdown underdog, kept the Trojans off balance with Johnson’s passes and quick traps up the middle by 5-foot 7-inch Jon Volpe.

Johnson, a sophomore, left the game with a concussion when he collided with Hale in the fourth quarter.

Stanford, leading 20-17, was in control, driving for a possible touchdown that might have taken USC out of the game.

On a keeper play from the USC 20-yard line, he was apparently going out of bounds when he rammed into Hale, helmet to helmet.

Hale got up; Johnson didn’t. So Palumbis, playing in his first game, was forced into action.

Three plays later, Palumbis’ 12-yard pass to wide receiver Chris Walsh provided the Cardinal with a first down at the Trojan 2-yard line.

But Stanford couldn’t even come away with a field goal despite enviable field position.

Volpe lost 1 yard in two carries, and Palumbis was sacked for a 2-yard loss by nose guard Dan Owens and linebacker Michael Williams.

So Stanford Coach Jack Elway opted for a field goal. John Hopkins missed a relative chip shot of 22 yards, and the Trojans were still alive.

“I was surprised they went for a field goal,” Peete said. “If they had tried for a touchdown and failed, we would have had to go 95 yards to a touchdown. As it was with the missed field goal, we had to go only 80.”

Said Elway: “We just made a mistake on all four plays down there.”

Elway can be second-guessed for not trying to get a touchdown on fourth down from the 5-yard line. USC could still have beaten Stanford with a touchdown and an extra point even if Hopkins made the kick. A touchdown would have given Stanford a 10-point advantage in the waning minutes.

In any event, Peete, who completed only 4 of 9 passes for 60 yards and had 2 passes intercepted in the first half, was on target when it mattered.

“I think they expected us to go up top (long passes),” Peete said of the late drive, “but we went underneath.”

The drive didn’t get off to an auspicious start as Peete was stripped of the ball on second down from the USC 29. He managed to recover his fumble for a 4-yard loss.

Then, on third down with five yards to go for a first down, Peete made the play of the drive, a 16-yard pass to wide receiver Gary Wellman.

He kept picking away at the Stanford defense with short, crisp throws to Jackson and split end Erik Affholter, and fullback Leroy Holt added a 12-yard run up the middle.

On first down from the Stanford 10-yard line, Peete found Jackson deep in the end zone with the winning touchdown pass.

“John was just supposed to find an open area as the inside guy on the pass route,” Peete said. “It was a typical, traditional Trojan drive. We just did it in a different style (by passing rather than running).

“I just told the players in the huddle that this was the last time we were going to get the ball. I could tell the guys were fired up and focused by the looks on their faces.”

As for his earlier miscues, Peete was philosophical.

“You just have to put those things behind you,” he said. “You can’t dwell on them. I had thrown the ball well in warm-ups, but once the game started I didn’t have my rhythm.”

For the game, Peete completed 16 of 24 passes for 187 yards. He did not have any more interceptions after the two in the first half.

Johnson completed 18 of 28 passes for 176 yards and 2 touchdowns before leaving.

So the Trojans are 2-0, Stanford 0-1. But the Cardinal, which hasn’t beaten USC at Stanford Stadium since 1970, earned the Trojans’ respect.

“I knew we’d have to work our butts off to win,” USC Coach Larry Smith said. “I felt it all week in practice. Stanford is a good, solid football team. We definitely weren’t looking ahead of Stanford.”

USC is idle next week before playing Oklahoma Sept. 24 at the Coliseum in the Trojans’ first home game of the season.

As for Peete, Smith said: “There is no question that Rodney showed poise on the final drive, as the whole team did. I would rate Rodney’s performance as average, or mediocre for him, but he’s only human.”

Smith said that USC was prepared for Stanford’s run-and-shoot offense that overloads receivers to one side of the field. He just credited the Cardinal with excellent execution.

Stanford drove 74 yards on 13 plays for a touchdown at the outset of the game with Volpe going up the middle time and again.

“He’s hard to see when he’s behind their big, offensive linemen,” USC free safety Mark Carrier said of Volpe, who who gained 97 yards in 24 carries.

Stanford got its first touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Johnson to tight end Jim Price.

The Cardinal soon expanded its lead to 10-0 on Hopkins’ 35-yard field goal after Peete floated a pass, intended for Affholter, that was intercepted by Rob Englehardt. The strong safety carried the ball 29 yards to the USC 20.

Before the quarter ended, Hopkins added a 20-yard field goal, and the favored Trojans were trailing, 13-0.

However, USC resorted to a traditional running game to close within 13-7 in the second quarter. Tailback Aaron Emanuel was the catalyst of the 75-yard drive, accounting for 59 yards as Peete frustrated the Stanford defense with option plays.

It was fitting that Emanuel got the touchdown on a sweep from the 12-yard line.

Later in the second quarter, the Trojans reached the Cardinal 33-yard line facing a fourth-and-three play.

Smith decided against a field goal, saying it was sort of a gray area of the field and he wasn’t sure kicker Quin Rodriguez could make it.

So Holt went into the line but could only gain a yard. It seemed that a squib punt, pinning Stanford in its own territory, could have been considered. But USC went for the first down and failed.

Stanford then drove to the USC 15-yard line, where Hopkins’ field goal try was blocked by Hale with only 1:38 left in the first half.

USC, relying mainly on its ground game (the Trojans rushed for 240 yards to Stanford’s 101), moved to the Cardinal 3 in the third quarter, setting up Rodriguez’s 20-yard field goal.

The Trojans stayed on the ground on their next possession, with Emanuel scoring on a 9-yard sweep at the end of a 59-yard drive. Emanuel ran over Stanford defenders on several of his runs as he ended the day with 121 yards on 17 carries for a 7.12-yard average.

Stanford regained the lead before the quarter ended, however. Kevin Scott returned a kickoff 42 yards to the USC 44-yard line.

A few plays later, Volpe jolted the Trojans again, gaining 20 yards on a draw play on fourth and 1 at the 35-yard line.

On second down, Johnson looked one way, then threw another, getting Hale off balance, and completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Henry Green.

Stanford couldn’t improve on its 20-17 advantage, floundering in the fourth quarter with a touchdown in sight--and giving Peete the opportunity he needed to redeem himself.