Mr. Smith Goes Back to Tucson : USC Coach Returns to Face the Arizona Fans He Left Behind

Larry Smith and his family went through an emotional wringer last year the week before USC played Arizona at the Coliseum.

As USC’s coach, he was opposing the school where he coached for 10 years, 7 as head coach.

Some of his former players at Arizona said that they felt abandoned when Smith left Tucson to take the USC job. They also had said that they wanted to prove that he left some good players behind.

So, it wasn’t any surprise last November that the Wildcats extended the Trojans before losing, 12-10, in a game that USC didn’t win until Quin Rodriguez kicked his fourth field goal with only 1 minute 11 seconds remaining.

Now we come to Part II of the Smith-Arizona drama, the former Wildcat coach returning to Tucson as a rival coach for the first time.

USC’s game with Arizona Saturday night looks like an ideal setting for an ambush, considering that the No. 3-ranked Trojans are probably still on an emotional high after beating Oklahoma, 23-7, last Saturday.

If some Arizona players still feel abandoned, they could soothe their feelings by upsetting unbeaten USC. Moreover, Arizona (3-1) is a decent team, having lost only to Oklahoma, 28-10, at Norman, Okla.

Smith is aware that his presence in Arizona’s stadium may incite some of the local fans, but he doesn’t believe that Saturday night’s game will have the same emotional impact that it had last year.

“I think it’s going to be a different experience, but not the emotional thing it was last year,” Smith said Tuesday. “There are only eight guys who started against us last year. So there will be some new faces.

“I think the first time seeing (Arizona) across the field is the hardest. This year will be a different experience because we spent 10 years on the far sideline, and now we’re on the other sideline.

“I don’t think it will be any different for our players, and that’s what counts. For me, I have to coach. I can’t let that type of thing bother me.

“I’m going to coach more from the standpoint that their crowd really gets up for the big games. It’s really difficult to hear, and we have to have poise and the poise has to start from me.”

Smith said that he had a sense of relief after last year’s game with Arizona, which preceded the Rose-Bowl-deciding game against UCLA.

“I sure did because so much had been made about it,” he said. “I think it’s hardest the first year to coach against guys who you’ve been with for 4 years. We had a strong personal relationship.”

As for the timing of USC’s game with Arizona in the schedule, Smith said:

“I’ve told the team we might as well get used to it. If we want to be all that we want to be and we set goals for ourselves, then we have to be ready to do these things week to week. Nobody has a cakewalk now in college football.”

Smith said his team paid a price for beating Oklahoma.

Tight end Paul Green, who has been bothered by ankle injuries during his career, suffered a severely sprained left ankle and is inactive indefinitely. His foot is in a walking cast.

Tailback Aaron Emanuel, who scored 2 touchdowns against Oklahoma, sprained his right ankle near the end of the first half Saturday. Emanuel has been impressive with his slashing style of running. Smith said he isn’t certain about the extent of Emanuel’s injury, but Emanuel is on crutches and most likely won’t play against Arizona.

Another tailback, Scott Lockwood, has an ankle injury, and so does wide receiver Erik Affholter. Fullback Leroy Holt has both a sprained toe and a sprained knee. Smith said it’s too early to determine whether they will be available.

It’s fortunate for Smith that he has depth at running back. Steven Webster, who was used sparingly against Oklahoma, is apparently ready for more extensive playing time. Webster, the Pacific 10 Conference’s leading rusher in 1987, is making a comeback from major knee surgery.

Smith indicated, however, that sophomore Ricky Ervins probably will start against Arizona.

“I don’t think we gave Webster an adequate look against Oklahoma as far as whether he’s ready to go, or not.” Smith said. “I’m hoping and praying that he is. He’ll get more repetitions in practice this week.”

Trojan Notes

USC had to prepare for Stanford’s run-and-shoot offense before practicing against Oklahoma’s wishbone. Arizona combines the run-and-shoot, a quick passing offense, with the wishbone, then throws in some I-formation plays on short yardage for good measure. “Arizona is the hardest-playing team we’ve met to this point,” USC Coach Larry Smith said. “They’re not as big as Oklahoma but they’re quicker on defense.” . . . Arizona has beaten Oregon State, 24-13; Texas Tech, 35-19, and Eastern Michigan, 55-0, and was beaten by Oklahoma. . . . Arizona has scored in 184 consecutive games, which ranks as the second-longest streak in the nation. UCLA has the nation’s longest, 195 games. . . . USC is allowing an average of 85 yards a game rushing to rank second in the Pac-10 and 14th nationally. The Trojans are second in the conference in scoring defense, yielding an average of 11.3 points a game, while ranking 13th nationally.