The Men Who Embody Rivalry : USC: The first time was a charm for Smith, who guided a 17-13 comeback victory in 1987. He is 3-1-1 against the Bruins.

A lot went against Larry Smith and his team the first time he coached USC against UCLA on Nov. 21, 1987.

Established as 8 1/2-point underdogs against a UCLA team that featured Troy Aikman, Gaston Green and Ken Norton Jr., the Trojans lost their leading rusher on the last play of the first quarter, when Steven Webster suffered a knee injury.

They saw three touchdowns called back because of penalties.

They lost a fumble inside UCLA’s one-yard line.

They saw a pass intercepted at the Bruins’ goal line.

They fell behind, 13-0, early in the third quarter.

But they won, 17-13, sending Smith to the Rose Bowl game only 11 months after he had been hired away from Arizona.

Smith is 3-1-1 against UCLA, including a 45-42 victory two years ago in one of the most exciting games in series history, but he said of his initial involvement in the rivalry: “I think the first time is always special.”

Overcoming the odds, he said, made it all the more so.

“It was a test of our perseverance,” Smith said. “We just had a team that never quit.”

Before 92,516 at the Coliseum and a national television audience, USC quarterback Rodney Peete made the play of the game on the last play before halftime.

After safety Eric Turner had intercepted Peete’s pass at the goal line and returned it 89 yards up the sideline in front of the USC bench, Peete ran him down at USC’s 11-yard line as time expired.

UCLA had been denied a chance to increase its 10-0 lead.

“We were behind, but we had a lot of momentum, mainly because we were on the ropes and they couldn’t put us away,” Smith said. “When we threw that (interception) and Rodney ran that guy down, it was a strange thing. It kind of sparked us. We came out in the second half and really dominated the game.”

USC out-gained the Bruins, 404 yards to 316, with Peete completing 23 of 35 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns.

Peete completely outplayed Aikman, who threw three interceptions after having thrown only three all season. UCLA had a 9-1 record going into the game, but Aikman, who had led the nation in passing efficiency after 10 games, completed only 11 of 26 passes for 171 yards.

USC needed a controversial touchdown catch by Erik Affholter to overcome the Bruins.

Affholter’s juggling catch of a 33-yard pass from Peete gave the Trojans their first lead, 17-13, with 7:59 to play.

Free safety Mark Carrier made his second interception with 67 seconds to play, ending UCLA’s last possession and sending the Bruins to the Aloha Bowl.

Smith was carried off the field by his players.

“It was a dream come true, achieving the impossible, almost, in 11 months,” Smith said. “But it goes to show you that in college football today, anything is possible. It depends on the will of your team and the momentum (and) what kind of leadership you have on the team. We had strong senior leadership, and we had a very strong sophomore and junior class.”

USC defeated UCLA again the next year, 31-22, in another game for a Rose Bowl bid.

Smith, 5-2 against Arizona State when he was at Arizona, said the USC-UCLA rivalry is unlike any other in which he has participated.

UCLA is closer to USC than was his rival school when he coached at Shawnee High in Lima, Ohio.

“These guys play against each other sometimes from the time they’re in the fourth grade,” he said of the Trojans and Bruins. “They live in the same neighborhoods, play on the same high school teams, or at least in the same leagues.

“They know each other well.”

Smith said that he was surprised by the lack of hostility among most of the players.

“I think the thing that impressed me most is that it’s a very classy rivalry,” he said. “It’s very hard-fought, very intense. It’s year-round, but it’s very classy.”