COMMENTARY : Notre Dame Series Does Not Bring Out the Best in USC

Sadly, for Coach Larry Smith of USC, it was not merely another football game he lost Saturday. It was to the hated ones, to the ghosts of Gipper and old Pat O’Brien movies, to the green jerseys and Golden Domes and leprechauns and all those symbols that can instantly raise the ire of a true Trojan fan.

As some here would say, on Smith’s behalf: Bless him, Father, for he has sinned. He lost to Notre Dame again.

USC versus Notre Dame is not a rivalry. It is bigger than that. Marv Goux, longtime USC assistant coach and the embodiment of Trojan tradition, once called this game: “Big man against big man, the one that counts more than the rest.” Many USC fans are fond of saying that they don’t mind going 1-9, as long as the “1” is Notre Dame.

Now, with most USC fans, this Notre Dame thing is at a crisis stage. The Irish have won the last nine games in this series, and three of those victories were during the Irish lean years under Coach Gerry Faust, who struggles to this day to reach respectability at Akron. That’s right, the man who beat the Trojans three years in a row is currently having a terrible time putting some zip in the Zips.

Perhaps the statistic most familiar to USC fans in recent years is that the last of their coaches to beat Notre Dame was John Robinson, who has been with the Rams so long he seems like a fixture there. Will there soon be an outcry to bring him back? Would John McKay consider coming out of retirement?

Suffice it to say, the natives are restless, especially those who write letters to the editor. One even offered the unkindest cut of all in The Times Saturday, suggesting that at least there was the USC basketball season to look forward to.

These are hard times for the tradition-rich Trojans. They finished last season’s last seven games at 3-3-1 and are 3-4 this season, after a 24-20 loss to the Fighting Irish.

They have one shining moment to remember in that 6-7-1 span, a rousing last-minute victory last season over UCLA. But then the Trojans lost the next game to Notre Dame and followed that with an embarrassing appearance in the John Hancock Bowl that resulted in a 17-16 loss to Michigan State and a nationally televised shouting match on the sidelines between Smith and quarterback Todd Marinovich.

Marinovich is gone to the pros now, a fat paycheck stuffed into his pocket and a comfortable seat on the Raiders’ bench his current job description. But as USC fans watch their team stumble through a season of questionable luck and questionable performances by both coaches and players, it is fairly certain that Marinovich, despite all the negative personal baggage he brought with him, is not forgotten.

A sophomore, Reggie Perry, is the quarterback, and while he has shown increasing signs of productivity the last few weeks, he also is a long way from being a Marinovich.

Saturday, he never got the Trojans across midfield until there was 8:49 left in the second quarter, and then, when opportunity knocked early in the third quarter, he somehow managed to pull the doorknob off.

With fourth and two at the Irish six, and his team still trailing, 14-0, Perry rolled left, looked up to see his fullback, Raoul Spears, wide open on the goal line, and kept the ball rather than passing it. The Irish defense swarmed over Perry, and the Trojans gave up the ball.

Perry explained later that he couldn’t have thrown because, on the previous play, he had suffered a torn tendon in his little finger on his passing hand. He explained afterward that he was fine to throw, once he got the finger taped, but he didn’t explain why he hadn’t used a timeout to do so before a crucial play in which he effectively eliminated 50% of his offensive options.

If that was in the area of questionable judgment, there were also some areas of questionable luck for the Trojans here Saturday.

First, Notre Dame’s Tony Brooks scored a touchdown in the first half by fumbling the ball into the end zone. Replays seemed to indicate that the ball might have come out an instant before it broke the plane of the goal line, but the officials ruled that it had been a touchdown, and USC’s recovery of the ball in the end zone went for naught.

And then there was the onside kick.

After cutting Notre Dame’s lead to 24-20 on Spears’ four-yard run, USC lined up for the obvious onside kick attempt. The ball was nudged the proper yardage in the direction of Notre Dame’s Lake Dawson, who had it tapped from his hands a split-second before he could field it by USC’s Brian Williams.

Bodies flew toward the pileup as if the football was magnetic, and quickly, USC players were jumping for joy and signaling that one of them had it. Finally, USC’s Marvin Pollard came out of the mess with ball in hand, but the officials had seen things differently and ruled that Notre Dame’s Irv Smith had somehow during the scramble acquired possession long enough to make it Notre Dame’s ball.

As always for any losing team, there was silver lining to be found for the Trojans. Athletic Director Mike McGee said that, in Saturday’s strong second-half performance, “We took another step forward today.” McGee also said that Smith has built “a foundation for the future.”

Smith, who recently signed a contract extension of an unspecified duration, took his first three teams to Pac-10 titles and Rose Bowl appearances. “He’s our coach,” McGee said, in a way that meant: “No, he’s not in trouble.”

But Smith is also, at least for the moment, not a very happy coach.

After the officials ruled for Notre Dame on the late onside kick scramble, Smith marched to the middle of the field to protest the decision. The official immediately threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct, and millions of TV viewers saw firsthand what the pressure is like when you are USC’s football coach and you can’t seem to beat Notre Dame.

It was a sad/ugly moment, one not befitting a man of Smith’s class and character. But then, when you are battling ghosts and leprechauns, and maybe 100,000 nuns with rosary beads, you are inclined, no matter what, to fight on.

Especially when it is USC-Notre Dame.