It’s Better to Receive for Trojans : USC: Quarterback Johnson scores on a pass from tailback Strother to defeat Arizona, 14-7.

A trick play by USC midway through the fourth quarter Saturday at the Coliseum fooled nobody on the Arizona defense.

But it worked anyway.

And the three-yard touchdown pass from tailback Deon Strother to quarterback Rob Johnson helped USC to a 14-7 victory that put the Trojans into position to secure a Fiesta Bowl bid while ending Arizona’s hopes of making its first appearance in the Rose Bowl.

Although USC was eliminated from the Rose Bowl race when Washington defeated Oregon State, 45-16, Coach Larry Smith was uncharacteristically emotional after the Trojans, 3-8 last season, improved to 6-2-1 overall and 5-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

“More than anything else, we wanted to prove that we can play with the best of the best, and we thought Arizona represented the best of the best,” said Smith, whose team lost to Washington last month and to Stanford last week before ending the ninth-ranked Wildcats’ five-game winning streak. “And I think we proved today that (USC ranks among the best).

“It was one of the most hard-fought victories I think I’ve ever been a part of. It was a great victory by our team. It just came down to the end there, where we found a way to win.”

It looked as if a botched second-quarter conversion attempt by the Trojans--Smith’s son, Corby, fumbled the snap--might be the difference after Arizona quarterback George Malauulu andwide receiver Cary Taylor combined on a 41-yard touchdown pass play with 12:55 to play.

Steve McLaughlin’s conversion gave Arizona a 7-6 lead.

But two series later, Johnson and split end Johnnie Morton put the Trojans within six yards of the goal line, combining on a 65-yard pass play after Morton found himself matched against a linebacker in one-on-one coverage.

Morton caught the pass at about the 35-yard line behind Jamal Lee, who did not get the help he was supposed to from free safety Tony Bouie. Morton took the ball down the left sideline before he was brought down.

Two plays later, however, the Trojans were on the three and up against the nation’s fifth-ranked defense after tailback Dwight McFadden gained only one yard on first down and Johnson, unable to find a receiver, gained only two on second.

The Arizona defense, second in the nation against the run and 10th against the pass, had given up only seven touchdowns.

And USC’s Cole Ford had already missed two field-goal tries.

Out came the trick.

Strother, running to his right after lining up at tailback, took a pitch from Johnson, who ran into the left side of the end zone. Strother stopped, looked up and saw that Johnson was covered. Cornerback Jey Phillips, a 6-foot-2 junior, had stayed with the quarterback.

Strother threw anyway.

“I saw that he was covered, but I just took a chance--took a chance and threw a ‘Hail Mary prayer’ pass,” Strother said, adding that he and Johnson stayed late after practice last week to perfect the play.

“He always told me that if there was a DB there, (to remember that) he used to play basketball (at El Toro High), so just put it up there and give him a chance. So, that’s what I did. I put it up and he came down with it.”

Johnson, a 6-4 sophomore, played wide receiver as a junior at El Toro, catching passes from Steve Stenstrom, who is now at Stanford.

“That’s what we used to do on the goal line,” Johnson said. “He’d lay it up and I’d just try to outjump the DB. Most of the time, it worked.”

It was little surprise to Johnson that it worked again.

“I’m 6-4, so I feel I’ve got to get the ball,” he said. “They covered it, but Deon put it where I could get it.”

Still, he said, Stenstrom is a better passer than Strother.

“But Deon’s a little better runner,” Johnson said, laughing.

Strother, though, hasn’t had much of an opportunity this season because of an ankle injury. After leading the Trojans in rushing last season, he has carried only six times this season, gaining three yards.

“It has been quite frustrating,” he said. “It has sort of been a roller-coaster, up and down. I feel good, then it hurts. I feel good, then it hurts. Actually, I feel pretty good now, so I’m happy about that.”

All of the Trojans felt pretty good about themselves.

Against an Arizona team that had been able to control the ball against most of its opponents and enjoyed a 24-10 advantage in turnovers during its first nine games, the Trojans had the ball five minutes longer and got two interceptions from free safety Jason Sehorn, a fumble recovery from linebacker Mike Salmon and made no turnovers of their own.

They outgained Arizona, 291 yards to 285, with Johnson completing 12 of 24 passes for 213 yards and Morton making four catches for 108 yards. USC ran for 75 yards (in 47 attempts) against a defense that had given up 155 yards rushing in its last six games, only two yards against top-ranked Miami.

Arizona (6-3-1, 4-2-1) ran for only 68 yards after averaging 182.9 in its first nine games to rank third in the Pac-10.

“The offense really did a good job of keeping the defense off the field,” Sehorn said. “It felt like we were never out there.”

Still, it was a struggle.

Ford missed field-goal attempts of 27 and 42 yards, and McLaughlin missed one from 40 yards before USC tailback Estrus Crayton scored on a two-yard run with only 50 seconds remaining before halftime.

The only first-half touchdown given up by Arizona this season, it was set up by a 29-yard pass from Johnson to Curtis Conway.

USC retained its 6-0 lead until 2:05 into the fourth quarter, when Malauulu, who completed 13 of 25 passes for 217 yards, found Taylor behind cornerback John Herpin and connected with the freshman wide receiver on a 41-yard touchdown pass play.

McLaughlin added the extra point, but squandered an opportunity to increase the Wildcats’ 7-6 lead when he missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt with 9:10 remaining.

Eight plays later, the Trojans were in the end zone.

“Arizona covered the play,” USC’s offensive coordinator, Ray Dorr, said of the game-winner. “But Rob Johnson made a great play. He took the doggone ball away from (Phillips, the defender). So, we didn’t fool ‘em.

“We just out-executed ‘em.”

* ON THE DEFENSIVE: The Arizona defense, which established its reputation against Miami, Washington and others, is overshadowed by USC’s corps. C8

Rose Bowl Race

PACIFIC 10

Team Conf. Overall W L T W L T Washington 6 1 0 9 1 0 Stanford 5 2 0 8 3 0 USC 5 2 0 6 2 1 Arizona 4 2 1 6 3 1 Washington St. 4 3 0 8 3 0 Arizona St. 3 4 0 5 5 0 Oregon 3 4 0 5 5 0 UCLA 2 5 0 5 5 0 California 2 5 0 4 6 0 Oregon St. 0 6 1 1 8 1

Saturday’s Results USC 14, Arizona 7 UCLA 9, Oregon 6 Washington 45, Ore. St. 16 Stanford 40, Wash. St. 3 Ariz. St. 28, California 12

Next Week USC vs. UCLA at Rose Bowl Arizona St. at Arizona Stanford at California Oregon at Oregon St. Washington at Wash. St.

BIG TEN

Team Conf. Overall W L T W L T Michigan 6 0 1 8 0 2 Ohio State 5 2 0 8 2 0 Michigan St. 5 2 0 5 5 0 Iowa 4 3 0 5 6 0 Illinois 3 3 1 5 4 1 Indiana 3 4 0 5 5 0 Wisconsin 3 4 0 5 5 0 Purdue 2 5 0 3 7 0 Northwestern 2 5 0 2 8 0 Minnesota 1 6 0 1 9 0

Saturday’s Results Michigan 22, Illinois 22 Iowa 56, Northwestern 14 Michigan St. 35, Purdue 13 Ohio St. 27, Indiana 10 Wisconsin 34, Minnesota 6

Next Week Michigan at Ohio St. Iowa at Minnesota Wisconsin at Northwestern Indiana at Purdue Michigan St. at Illinois