No. 1 Quarterback for Day--or Longer? : USC: Foley, subbing for Marinovich, overcomes nervousness, Arizona State defense in 13-6 victory.

The winner and still starter? Would you go for 50-50?

Shane Foley was the victorious quarterback when USC beat Arizona State Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium, but there was no certainty about his future. It seems he suddenly has one after residing in the shadows of Todd Marinovich the first two months of the season.

All Foley earned Saturday was incumbency. Coach Larry Smith was quick to point out after the Trojans’ 13-6 victory that Foley is No. 1 on the depth chart heading into the new week of practice for next Saturday’s game against California at the Coliseum. Without hesitation, though, came the kicker that the starting job is actually wide open should Marinovich’s academic-related suspension be lifted.

If this was a one-game resuscitation to a collegiate career in which Foley was once held out of a 1988 game the Trojans won here, 50-0, and in which he volunteered to play on the special teams to ensure himself a spot on the travel squad, there could be worse memories.

Foley came through the buildup of unexpectedly replacing Marinovich to complete 12 of 19 passes--10 fewer than he had thrown in his USC career coming in--for 125 yards. He ran for 60 yards in 14 carries. The conservative, ball-control offense Smith and the coaching staff fit around their new leader worked so well that Foley easily outplayed his Arizona State counterpart, Paul Justin.

Foley’s longest completion was for 22 yards, to Travis Hannah late in the first half to help set up the only Trojan touchdown. Six of the remaining 11 completions were for nine yards or less. And a 17-yarder in the third quarter was actually a short toss that tight end Yonnie Jackson turned into a sizeable gain.

“I’m not satisfied, really,” Foley said later. “I had an OK day. We moved the ball on them, but our job is to get the ball into the end zone. . . . We held the ball and got a lot of first downs (30), but we didn’t get into the end zone.”

The fifth-year senior stayed with the script pretty much the entire way, although he did change plays at the line a few times. One of the few times Foley deviated was after the methodical 17-play, 90-yard drive that led to the only touchdown.

“After the TD drive, he relaxed, even to the point that he got aggressive the next drive and hurt the offense a bit,” said Ray Dorr, the Trojan quarterback coach. “He tried to take things the defense wasn’t giving him. When he came over to the sideline, I got him on the phone. He settled back down.”

Dorr had spent the better part of Friday with Foley, six or eight hours of watching films of the Arizona State defense and going over the scouting report, so Dorr was able to read the emotional state of his new quarterback.

The two spent some time together during the pregame meal Saturday. Foley spoke up.

“He looked right at me,” Dorr recalled. “He says to me, ‘What do you think if we went in there 50% nervous?’ I said, ‘What do you mean? I’m not worried.’ So he says, ‘Yeah, but I’m nervous as hell.’ But once he was able to make the moment humorous, I knew he would be OK.”

In the end, everything turned out fine. Foley’s toughest task seemed to be getting through the crowd that had surrounded the tunnel leading to the locker room waiting to congratulate the new hero. The masses included his father, Mike, and his coach at Newport Harbor High, Mike Giddings, both of whom skipped the handshakes and went right to the hugs.

One problem, though. Foley bruised his right hand after getting hit in the third quarter--nothing serious, but painful enough that shaking everyone’s hand caused more discomfort than the Sun Devil defense.

The adulation hurt so good. He was glad to be in position to put up with the problem. Glad to be in a position of contributing to a victory.

“Am I glad it’s over?” said Shane Foley, the starting quarterback of record. “I don’t know if it’s all over.”