Conway Shows a Streak of Greatness

This is the way USC football is supposed to be played.

You control the line of scrimmage against a nationally ranked opponent most of the time, shrug off a little thing such as a 10-0 deficit early in the fourth quarter, get a big play or two, grow stronger, and come home with a victory.

It is the kind of football that re-emerged on a dreary Saturday morning and afternoon on the plains after a long absence.

So long that one of the heroes of the 20-10 victory over Oklahoma couldn’t remember the last team the Trojans had beaten.

“Was it Penn State or Oregon?” Curtis Conway guessed.

Actually, it was Washington State on Oct. 12, 1991, at Pullman, six defeats, one tie and numerous heartbreaks ago.

“Hey, we’re so focused on this season that we’ve got all that old stuff out of our minds,” Conway said. “We’ve got a whole new attitude.

“Being behind didn’t discourage us. We knew our defense was playing its heart out. It was up to the offense to get it going.”

What got it going was a 51-yard touchdown pass from Rob Johnson to Conway on the Trojans’ first scrimmage play of the last quarter.

Coach Larry Smith called it a “streak.”

Conway called it a “plain old bomb.”

What happened was that Conway sprinted down the left sideline, hesitated after 10 yards, lost Sooner cornerback William Shankle, caught a strike at the 15, and ran untouched into the end zone in front of an appreciative Trojan rooting section.

“They were in a zone most of the time and that’s why we didn’t go long very often,” Conway said. “But I talked with Coach Smith at halftime and told him that I could beat them man-to-man. He called the right play at the right time.”

Suddenly, it was 10-7 and the Trojans could sense that the seven-game winless streak was about to end.

Another big play, Stephon Pace’s 19-yard fumble return, got USC the lead three minutes later.

And then--oh what a nice touch--the 1991 starting quarterback, Reggie Perry, was summoned on fourth down in the final minute for the two-yard keeper that made it 20-10.

Perry was happy to be back at quarterback, if only for a play.

But Conway is delighted that he can concentrate on catching passes and returning punts this season.

He came out of Hawthorne High in 1989 as one of the most high decorated quarterback prospects in the nation.

“I had nothing but quarterback on my mind,” he said.

However, when he became eligible to play in 1990 after not qualifying academically, the Trojans had a quarterback named Todd Marinovich.

So Curtis Conway, with all his speed and moves, became a flanker.

Still, he was called upon to play seven series at quarterback during a Trojan experiment with option football last season.

“I’m a lot more relaxed now that I’m more experienced and don’t have to think about playing another position,” the 6-2, 180-pound junior said.

“I’m not just learning the basics, I’m learning the tricks of the trade.”

For the day, he caught nine passes for 115 yards.

Some wide receivers shy away from the middle of the field, where they know a defensive back or linebacker is waiting to punish them.

Not Conway. Most of his catches Saturday were underneath and he took his punishment with neither a complaint nor a fumble.

He also returned five punts for 42 yards, a number that was inches away from being more than doubled.

Conway kept going and sprinted from the rest of the Sooners after barely stepping out of bounds on the 50-yard line following what was a 16-yard return during the third quarter.

Another return was shortened by a clipping penalty.

Among those impressed by Conway’s performance was Mike Garrett, the former Trojan tailback who won the Heisman Trophy in 1965.

“Awesome,” was Garrett’s assessment.

This was no day for USC people to downplay anything.

“Great going, Larry!” a fan yelled through a screen fence outside the Trojan locker room.

“Way to get ‘em, Coach,” yelled another.

But that other fellow offering his congratulations to Larry Smith, wasn’t that Barry Switzer?

“We’ve known each other a long time,” Smith said about the former Oklahoma coach whose son Doug is a freshman Sooner quarterback.

“Barry said his loyalties were still with Oklahoma, but he wanted us to know he appreciated our efforts,” Smith said.

Of course, everyone loves a winner.