Fields Will Start at Tailback for USC

Let’s see. This is an even-numbered game on the USC football schedule, so it must be a victory week.

How else do you figure the 1993 Trojans? So far, in order, they have lost-won-lost-won-lost.

USC, 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference, again tries to crawl back to .500 in 47,000-seat Autzen Stadium, while Oregon (3-1, 0-1) tries to rebound from one of the most painful losses in Duck history.

Oregon led Cal in the second quarter last week, 30-0, only to lose in the final two minutes, 42-41.

The Trojans are coming off a 38-7 blowout loss at Arizona, John Robinson’s worst as a college coach.

The Trojans, already hurting when they played at Arizona because of offensive-line injuries, lost another lineman when 6-foot-8, 295-pound tackle Tony Boselli suffered a dislocated kneecap. He isn’t expected back for a month.

Left guard Kris Pollack (6-5, 280), sidelined for three weeks because of a shoulder injury, will start today.

Also, Robinson said Friday that Scott Fields would start at tailback.

David Dotson had started every game since starter Dwight McFadden suffered a broken ankle in the opener, but there were indications this week that both Fields and No. 3 man Shawn Walters have moved past Dotson at tailback.

Robinson’s theme this week has been that whatever “disturbing behavior patterns” have seized this team, USC-Oregon today should be viewed by the Trojans as their last game.

“I told them we needed everyone’s best at Oregon, that they should think of this one as the only game they have, forever, for the rest of their lives, that football could be disbanded after this weekend,” he said.

Robinson raised the topic of USC’s “behavior patterns” this week in connection with two games this year when his team came apart after major injuries.

There was no score in the opener when McFadden was injured in the first quarter. Suddenly, USC couldn’t tackle anyone, and North Carolina won, 31-9.

Last weekend, there was no score in the first quarter when Boselli was hurt. Arizona quickly took a 28-0 halftime lead.

“That’s very disturbing to me, that something bad happens and it seems to trigger a series of negative responses in us,” Robinson said.

He has told his team that it must win today and again next Saturday in the Coliseum against Oregon State to remain a Rose Bowl contender.

“If we get these two, we’re 3-1 in the conference, we start getting our injured guys up front back, and we come back from Notre Dame (Oct. 23) to play at Cal, and we’re a different group,” he said.

“Then time begins to work for us.”

Oregon Coach Rich Brooks said the loser of today’s game puts itself “in serious jeopardy” in the race to Pasadena.

“It’s not impossible to get to the Rose Bowl with two losses, but if you want to go, I suggest you don’t have two,” he said.

Robinson agreed.

“Anyone with two losses, you mark them off,” he said.

Oregon was unbeaten until the collapse at Berkeley. The Ducks had beaten Colorado State, 23-9; Montana, 35-30, and Illinois, 13-7, before going to Cal.

The team leader is its junior quarterback from Newport Beach, Danny O’Neil. Despite the loss at Cal, he threw for 313 yards and for the second time this year had three touchdown passes.

He doesn’t have the reputation of USC’s Rob Johnson or Stanford’s Steve Stenstrom, but ranks ahead of both in passing efficiency and total offense.

USC is led by wide receiver Johnnie Morton, who leads the Pac-10 with 609 yards receiving, about one-third of the Trojans’ total offense.