Notes on a Scorecard - Nov. 23, 1992

Road, sweet, road. . . .

Not since the Dallas Cowboys a few weeks ago at the Coliseum has a visiting team been greeted as warmly as the San Francisco 49ers were Sunday at Anaheim Stadium. . . .

“Beat L.A.” was the chant from patches of red-clad spectators as the 49ers put the finishing touches on a 27-10 victory over the Rams. . . .

Of course, fan support from Northern California isn’t the only reason the 49ers have been able to take six consecutive games and 11 of the last 12 from the Rams on the road. . . .

It helps when you have a Steve Young to replace a Joe Montana, a Jerry Rice to replace a Dwight Clark and a Ricky Watters to replace a Roger Craig. . . .

“You have to wrap him up,” Ram tackle Marc Boutte said about Watters, who rushed 26 times for 163 yards and two touchowns. “You can’t just hit him and expect him to fall down.” . . . “This wasn’t the same tailback we faced in San Francisco,” Ram tackle Sean Gilbert said. “He ran twice as hard.” . . .

It also should be noted that this wasn’t the same Sean Gilbert the 49ers faced seven weeks ago at Candlestick Park. . . .

Gilbert, who had two sacks and tipped a pass, has begun to show why the Rams made him the third pick overall in the 1992 draft. . . .

He is also talking in the manner of the team player, refusing to accept plaudits Sunday and saying, “My productive days come when we win.” . . .

If ever a team got rid of the bad taste of a disappointing season with a sweet victory in its final game, it was UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. . . .

The Bruins’ 38-37 triumph over USC gave them a winning record, despite a season full of injuries, and pleasant memories of one of the most exciting games in the series. . . .

John Barnes’ performance might have been the most surprising by a Bruin quarterback against the Trojans since Norman Dow in 1966, but actually bore little resemblance to it. . . .

Walk-on senior Barnes completed 16 of 28 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns during a scoring bonanza. Dow, a senior who was making his first start as a replacement for the injured Gary Beban, completed only two of eight passes for 30 yards, but ran 19 times for 82 yards and a touchdown during a defensive struggle won by the Bruins, 14-7. . . .

The Trojans’ play-calling seemed curious Saturday. They became ultra-conservative after taking a 31-17 lead and then concentrated on the home run ball after being tied, 31-31. . . . Too bad that a game that had about as much sustained action as the Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield fight drew the smallest crowd--80,568--to watch the Bruins and Trojans play since 1971, when 68,426 saw a 7-7 tie at the Coliseum. . . .

For sure, the 4:30 p.m. kickoff, dictated by television, didn’t help. . . .

The duel of Nos. 3--Bruin cornerback Carlton Gray and Trojan wide receiver Curtis Conway--was worth the price of admission alone. . . .

Take heart, USC fans. The last time the Trojans failed on a two-point conversion attempt and lost to UCLA by one point at the Rose Bowl, they beat Notre Dame the next week. That was in 1982, John Robinson’s final season as coach, and the Trojans haven’t defeated the Irish since. . . .

Remember when there was a chance that the national championship would be decided in Pasadena New Year’s Day? . . .

And have you heard the new Michigan fight song, “Hail to the Tiers?”. . . .

Lucky Southern California television viewers got the opportunity to watch the final moments of Washington State’s blowout of Washington while Miami and Syracuse were going down to the wire in one of the other games televised by ABC. . . .

The network should have switched from Pullman to Syracuse for at least the final minute or so. . . .

I can’t remember the last time a six-round fight was billed as the main event, but such is the interest in the professional debut of the United States’ only 1992 Olympic Games boxing champion, Oscar De La Hoya, tonight against Lamar Williams at the Forum. . . .

News item: Toronto Maple Leaf center Doug Gilmour slashes King right wing Tomas Sandstrom and breaks his arm. Reaction: The NHL might suspend Gilmour for a day, but not, of course, a game day.