Notes on a Scorecard - Sept. 21, 1992

Bring on the Lakers, Clippers and Kings. . . .

It would take marked improvement for the Raiders and Rams to move right up there with the Angels and Dodgers in won-loss percentage. . . .

I’m not so sure the Raiders could win with Johnny Unitas at quarterback. . . .

“Finely tuned” are not words that immediately come to mind when describing the 1992 Silver & Black. . . .

Art Shell, who won his first 10 games at the Coliseum as an NFL head coach, has lost three in a row there. . . .

It was expected that a quarterback named Todd would be under siege much of the day, but the surprise was that it was Marinovich, not Philcox. . . .

Thumbs-up to Jay Schroeder for frequently giving Marinovich encouragement on the sidelines. . . .

Marinovich probably would have made fewer mistakes had he been given some playing time against first-string defenses during the exhibition season. . . .

Banner on the south side of the Coliseum: “In Todd We Trust.”. . . .

Another former USC Trojan, Marcus Allen, should join Marinovich in the starting backfield Monday night at Kansas City. . . .

Richard Brown of the Browns tackled Tim Brown on a punt return early in the second quarter. . . .

During a stretch that began a week ago Sunday in Cincinnati, the usually reliable Jeff Jaeger missed five consecutive field-

goal attempts. . . .

At 1:25 p.m. PDT, the scoreboards at Joe Robbie Stadium and the Coliseum both showed Los Angeles trailing, 14-0, in the first quarter. . . .

The Rams could still use Browns’ tight end Pete Holohan. . . .

NFL teams in Southern California and New York are 1-13. . . .

At least, USC and UCLA were able to give Los Angeles football a boost over the weekend when they limited the home teams to 10 points apiece in such difficult spots as Norman, Okla., and Provo, Utah. . . .

The Bruins proved they could win with Rob Walker at quarterback and the Trojans proved they could win, period. . . .

No. 11 UCLA, No. 21 San Diego State and No. 22 USC give Southern California three teams in the Associated Press poll. . . .

With Marshall Faulk the prime attraction, Rose Bowl attendance and local ABC ratings should be good for Saturday’s Bruin-Aztec game. . . .

A national magazine claims that Brigham Young is the most disliked college football team in the nation, but the Cougars’ LaVell Edwards has to rank among the coaches best liked by the media. . . .

It’s a shame that USC doesn’t play its first home game until Oct. 10 against Oregon. . . .

The Sooners, who were surprised by the aggressiveness of the Trojan defense, have been held to 180 yards rushing by USC during their last three meetings. . . .

Seeing double: Two starting Trojans, tailback Estrus Crayton and cornerback John Herpin, each wore No. 23. It’s legal when a college team suits up more than 99 players. . . .

A one-dimensional offensive team such as Nebraska can’t beat Washington. . . .

The Trojans’ extra week off will not serve as an advantage in Seattle Oct. 3 because the Huskies don’t play this Saturday, either. . . .

Dwight McFadden did a good job of rushing during the second half against Oklahoma, but, like most redshirt freshmen tailbacks, he has trouble blocking. . . .

Ex-USC quarterbacks were 1-2 Sunday, Marinovich and the Detroit Lions’ Rodney Peete losing, and the Minnesota Vikings’ Sean Salisbury winning in relief. . . .

On a Friday night in Oklahoma City, you can catch former Raider quarterback Rusty Hilger doing the analysis on a high school football radio broadcast. . . .

The Ray Perkins touch is evident at Arkansas State, which has yet to score a point in three games. . . .

Cal State Fullerton lost to Georgia, 56-0, but it would have been worse had the Titans not recovered eight of their 13 fumbles. . . .

Among quarterbacks who helped their teams to wins Saturday were Koy Detmer of Colorado, brother of Ty, and Jimmy Klingler of Houston, brother of David. . . .

For the second consecutive week, Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz, who substituted freely in the fourth quarter of a 52-31 win over Michigan State, could not be accused of pouring it on.