Stanford Gets Help From Thin Walls : College football: Cardinal players hear Trojans shouting in the locker room, then come out inspired to win.

After the convincing 23-9 victory over USC Saturday night Stanford Coach Bill Walsh said it was the most satisfying of the season.

“We beat Notre Dame, UCLA and USC,” he said, thoughtfully. “And, yeah, under the circumstances this has to be the most satisfactory.

“We were down after the beating (41-7, last week) at Washington, and we felt USC was among the Top 10--if not higher. And, we hadn’t beaten them here since 1970.

“Yet, we went out there and beat them in every phase of the game. We played a great game. Go talk to the kids. They did the job. The defense, which has been outstanding all season, except for a couple of letdowns, was tough right from the start.

“But you had to be proud of the offense, too. They really did a job of ball control in the second half. The drive after the USC touchdown was maybe our best job of ball control all season. And they gave Steve (quarterback Stenstrom) protection. Except for a couple of sacks, they were outstanding. . . .

“Overall this has to be our best game of the season. We’re really pleased.”

Another reason Walsh enjoyed the victory was contained in a message he wanted to deliver to former USC great O.J. Simpson.

“Tell O.J. I’m up on him now,” Walsh said and laughed. “I beat him in tennis, golf and now I’ve finally beaten USC in football.”

Stanford free safety John Lynch, who intercepted Ron Johnson’s pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown to kill the Trojans’ final chance, gave USC credit for firing up the Cardinals.

“Coach Walsh always tells us this is the most important game of our life,” Lynch, a converted quarterback, said. “But we really got fired up when we could hear them in their dressing room. They were shouting, ‘It’s our house, it’s our house.’ We didn’t even know Stanford had not won here since 1970.

“What it did was make us determined to go out there and beat them up physically. Even if we didn’t win, we wanted to beat them physically. The Trojans have a reputation for being hard-nosed, and we were that way ourselves for this game.”

Lynch, whose hitting reminds Bay Area fans of Ronnie Lott, the former USC defensive back who starred for Walsh with the 49ers, almost left Stanford after his second season.

“I was recruited as a quarterback,” said Lynch, who is from Solano Beach. “After two seasons I was merely a back-up. I knew I had to make some kind of move. I didn’t want to leave Stanford. But I had to do something. Defense has turned out to be my place.

“When I was growing up my idols were quarterbacks. But since coach (Tom) Holmoe (defensive backs coach who played on three Super Bowl championship teams for the 49ers) started talking about the things Ronnie Lott did, I have a new idol.”

One of the expected battles never developed. Two of the game’s top open-field runners, Glyn Milburn of Stanford and USC’s Curtis Conway, were not decisive factors. Except for a surprise pass he threw, the Cardinals contained Conway until the last moment.

And, in probably the key offensive play, Stanford’s first touchdown, Milburn was a decoy.

With Stanford already leading, 3-0, and with a first down on the USC 38, Stenstrom faked a reverse to Milburn. With the Trojans rotating to stop the run, fullback J. J. Lasley was alone around the USC 10, caught the ball and drove into the end zone.

“We found they didn’t really get coverage on the fullback,” Walsh said. “You don’t think of J.J. as a game-breaker, but he’s a battler.”

Lasley, who played a key role in every Stanford drive, wound up with nine catches for 125 yards and added 23 more on six rushes.

Milburn carried 16 times for 43 yards and caught three passes for 26 yards.

“I’m not a big-play guy,” said Lasley, a senior from Crespi High. “I don’t know why they didn’t cover me. I was open all the time, and I just kept getting some yards.”

Trojan Coach Larry Smith praised the Stanford performance.

“They kept the ball away from us, and the passing out to their backs hurt us.

“It was quite a game. We played a very poor first half, and our defense was out there a long time. It’s a wonder they didn’t crack.

“Turnovers and interceptions hurt us, but those things happen.”