Arizona Is History to Trojans’ Smith : USC: Records remain from his days as Wildcat coach, but leaving school for L.A. is no longer an issue in Saturday’s game.

Two years ago, it was melancholy.

Last year, it was mischievous.

This year, it’s merely momentous.

Now in his third season as USC’s football coach, Larry Smith seems to have put his Arizona past behind him. And vice-versa.

It wasn’t easy. He was the man who almost made Wildcat fans forget Pop McKale. And if you have to ask who McKale was, you’re not an Arizona aficionado.

He coached the Wildcats from 1914 to 1930, winning 60 games. Smith is right behind him with a 48-28-3 record in seven seasons.

Smith also spent three seasons there in the mid-’70s as an assistant coach.

Smith led Arizona to six consecutive winning seasons, the first time the team had accomplished that since 1923. Smith coached the Wildcats to five in a row over rival Arizona State for the first time since 1948. Arizona won seven or more games four consecutive seasons under Smith. That was a first.

So was the Wildcats’ 30-21 victory over North Carolina in the 1986 Aloha Bowl game under Smith. That remains their only bowl victory.

So it’s not hard to imagine how difficult it was when Smith left for USC in 1987. When his first Trojan team beat Arizona at the Coliseum, 12-10, Smith had to fight back his tears and emotions after defeating a squad he had recruited and nurtured.

Last season, the mood in Arizona Stadium got downright chilly. It became more war than remembrance. Arizona radio stations played a tune that incorporated the music from the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” substituting the words, “Get even, beat Larry.”

Banners adorning the stadium were no nicer.

But this year, there’s little room for sentiment. The stakes are too high. Despite losing last week to California, Arizona--4-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference--is still in the Rose Bowl race. A victory over USC Saturday, followed by a victory the next week over Arizona State, coupled with a UCLA upset of the Trojans, would put the Wildcats in their first Rose Bowl.

Longshot?

It’s closer than they have ever been.

“I guess there hasn’t been as much stuff come down,” Smith said of his ties to Tucson. “Basically, they’re just working on playing football and we’re working on playing football. And leave me out of it. I have nothing to do with it, which I think is better.

“There’ll probably still be some stuff, but I’m really not worrying about it. Right now, I’m just trying to concentrate on the game itself.

“I think you do get more removed (from Tucson as time goes by). But I do know what we’re in for. I know what that crowd is going to be like. Not because of me, but just because this is a big game.”

Smith still has his share of Tucson supporters. When the Trojans lost their season opener this year and questions were raised about Smith’s conservative offense, an Arizona columnist came to his defense, chiding West Coast writers for their lack of patience.

The Arizona news release this week fondly refers to the USC coach as Smitty.

The only tangible remnant of his years there, however, is a 1 1/2-acre parcel Smith owns.

But he has kept the land barren. Perhaps too many roots have been torn up to do otherwise.

It must have felt good to Aaron Emanuel Saturday to be back on the field.

But also strange.

Emanuel, fighting for the tailback spot before the season began, lost out to Ricky Ervins. Then he lost a month of playing time with a separated shoulder.

When Emanuel returned, Smith put him at fullback in practice. And with the Trojans way ahead Saturday en route to a 48-6 victory over Oregon State, Smith sent him in at fullback.

“I was kind of scared at first,” Emanuel said.

So much so, that he didn’t know where to stand in the huddle. He fell in where the tailback does until Ervins directed him to the proper spot.

And then, Emanuel drew a blank and couldn’t remember his blocking assignment.

“I was so nervous,” Emanuel said, “I was asking Ricky, ‘Who do I get?’ I knew darn well who I got.”

Once Emanuel got over the nervousness, he caused some among the Beaver defenders, rushing for 53 yards in 10 carries from both fullback and tailback positions.

“Playing there is kind of neat,” Emanuel said of fullback. “They teach you better blocking techniques over there. If I get a shot at the pros, they might want to use me there. You never know.”

Smith is sure he wants to use Emanuel there.

“He looked very hungry, very strong,” Smith said. “At fullback, he proved he can block. He had some crushing blocks. On one sweep, he drilled a guy. He just ‘decleated’ him is what he did.”

Trojan Notes

Trojan receiver Gary Wellman, suffering from tendinitis of the Achilles’ tendon, was held out of the second half Saturday against Oregon State. The injury is still bothering Wellman, who has had to limit his practice time. . . . Linebacker Delmar Chesley still has headaches from a concussion he suffered Saturday. . . . Defensive tackle Randy Hord, sidelined with a sprained ankle last week, remains questionable for the Arizona game.

Receiver Marlon Washington is out of Saturday’s game because of a sprained ankle. . . . Kicker Grant Runnerstrum, returning from a leg injury, sat out the second half Saturday when his leg tightened, but he is expected to play this week. . . . Don’t look for either tailback Scott Lockwood, out since opening day with a dislocated thumb, or nose tackle Don Gibson, out since training camp with torn knee ligaments, to play this week or next.