COLLEGE FOOTBALL : DAILY REPORT : USC : Confidence Grows With Victory

Coach Larry Smith said Monday that the Trojans’ 20-10 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday, which ended a seven-game winless streak, should not be minimized.

“I think it sets the stage for the rest of the season,” he said. “I really do believe we have a better team than we had a year ago. We have more experience, a better work ethic and we’re better prepared.

“I can say all that, but the thing that really pulls weight is when you come up with a W. That means something to the players. They’re rewarded for all their work and effort.”

And if the Trojans had lost?

“It wouldn’t have been doomsday, but it would have been tougher for all of us to come back,” Smith said.

Their next opponent: Washington, Oct. 3 at Seattle.

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Oklahoma quarterback Cale Gundy, pressured into a 14-for-32 passing day by the Trojan defense, blamed himself for the defeat.

“Our defense played one of the best games Oklahoma has ever played, but on the offensive side of the ball, there were a lot of mental mistakes,” Gundy said. “This was by far the worst game I’ve played since I (was) born.

“I think it all comes back to me. I just played a terrible game with a lot of mistakes, a lot of bad calls made and a lot of bad passes.”

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For the record: USC’s seven-game winless streak was not a school record. At the end of the 1941 season and start of the ’42 season, the Trojans were winless in eight games, losing six and tying two.