He Has Learned Secret of the Confidence Game

The rallying cry of USC football this season--In Todd We Trust--is going to ring out louder and louder, week by week, coast to coast, if this is the way sophomore Todd Marinovich intends to play the position of quarterback, putting helpless defenses into a perpetual backpedal, penalizing hopeless opponents with an extremely legal use of the hands.

The southpaw from the Southland threw for three touchdowns and 337 yards in USC’s season opener Friday night, a 34-16 success against Syracuse in a Kickoff Classic that was a classic way to kick off a season.

“How much?” Marinovich asked.

Three-thirty-seven.

“Geez, I didn’t even know,” he said. “Hey, that’s all right.”

Hey, that’s better than all right. This was a display that showed why there’s definitely “Marino” to be found in Marinovich. Dan Marino was rarely better in his college days. The way Marinovich played before 57,293 at Giants Stadium brought about everybody, with the exception of stadium regular Jimmy Hoffa, who is supposedly buried around here someplace, to his or her feet.

This was hardly the Marinovich who called the shots--and took them--in last season’s opener, the loss to Illinois.

“Different person completely,” said Gary Wellman, who caught seven of his passes. “Totally different person. This is a Todd people didn’t see in last year’s opener. He’s cool. He’s under control. He’s laughing out there.

“Last time he was nervous, shaky, a little uneasy. Not anymore. Now he goes out there just to, you know, have a good time and play some football.”

That he did. The 46-yard touchdown pass play to Wellman was a thing of beauty and a joy to behold, for pitcher and catcher both.

Yes, it was the quarterback’s night.

And we will be returning to Todd Marinovich in just a minute, because anybody who completes 25 of 35 passes in a season opener deserves to be talked about.

But first, a few words about the rest of the gang, since this team looks to be a whole lot more than the Todd Squad.

“Yeah. Todd always gets the credit,” senior linebacker Scott Ross said, laughing.

A reasonable point.

After all, since Ross and the rest of USC’s hitters did their fair share against Orangemen, every guy in a red helmet had a perfect right to think of this successful season opener as a team-wide effort.

Let’s run that team highlight film, shall we?

OK, here’s linebacker Matt Gee stripping a ballcarrier and causing a fumble, and here he is again, planting the Syracuse quarterback near the USC goal.

Now here’s Marcus Hopkins making a last-man, score-saving tackle on Qadry (the Missile) Ismail on a Syracuse kickoff return.

Oh, and here’s a super play. This is Calvin Holmes, the kid who almost quit football a couple of years back, busting in on the punter, smothering the kick and returning it for a touchdown, although a penalty brought the ball back to where he blocked it.

All right, look at this pass-blocking by All-American guard Mark Tucker and the rest of USC’s relatively inexperienced offensive line, also known as the New Kids on the Blocks.

And look at Scott Lockwood fight off those tackles on the way to paydirt with that 12-yard pass play.

Any more?

Sure. Gold stars to Quin Rodriguez for his expert field-goal kicking, and how about one for Grant Runnerstrum, who kept the Missile on the pad by booming those kickoffs so deep into the end zone that they were unreturnable?

“Good team game,” headliner Marinovich had to agree. “We’re tough. We’ve got a shot at it all.”

He knows there is Penn State ahead, and Washington, and Ohio State, etc. But it’s a nice first step.

“I think our passing game is ahead of last year already,” said Marinovich, who meant it of his receivers as well as an honest appraisal of himself. “Tonight our running game wasn’t so hot at first, but once we got our passing game working, our running game got going. It goes hand in hand.”

Marinovich worked hard on his play-fakes, something he hadn’t done much of before. Once he saw Syracuse bite, he and Wellman hooked up in the huddle and called the shot on their touchdown.

“Todd said, ‘Gary, this has got to go for a touchdown,’ ” Wellman said. “He said, ‘The corner’s playing wide and they’re sucking up in the middle. We can make this work.’ Then he laid it in perfect for me, right on the shoulder. He was cool all night that way. Put it right on the money.”

Sure did.

“This wasn’t last year, that’s for sure,” Marinovich said. “I couldn’t wait to get on the field this time. I had a feeling it was all going to work.”

That’s the best news of all at USC this season.

Even Todd trusts in Todd.