Notes on a Scorecard - Sept. 5, 1994

Shame on all of us who never thought the Rams would be in undisputed possession of first place in the NFC West so late in the season. . . .

It was a gutsy performance by the defense, which was on the field for 65 of the first 87 plays from scrimmage on a hot day, but made enough important plays to limit the Arizona Cardinals to 12 points and to score or set up 14 points. . . .

Buddy Ryan obviously is in need of a new offensive coordinator. I understand that Kevin Gilbride of Houston is available. . . .

Among Los Angeles’ big-play makers was aggressive rookie safety Keith Lyle, who intercepted a Steve Beuerlein pass in the fourth quarter. Lyle, who was selected on the third round from Virginia, is the son of former Chicago Bears cornerback Garry Lyle. . . .

The best thing that can be said about quarterback Chris Miller’s Ram debut is that he didn’t panic amid difficult circumstances. . . .

There was a traffic jam near Anaheim Stadium two hours before kickoff--for Disneyland. . . .

The crowd of 32,969 was the smallest for a non-strike Ram home game since 1963 when 29,295 saw them lose to the Washington Redskins at the Coliseum. . . .

However, this must have been a major event in St. Louis, considering that is where the Cardinals came from and where the Rams might be going. . . .

The teams might still be playing if a two-point conversion attempt by Arizona had been successful late in the third quarter. . . .

The star of Fox’s pregame NFL show Sunday was Howie Long, who wasn’t shy about offering his opinions. . . .

The Bills made Long look good by losing to the New York Jets in Buffalo after he said they definitely wouldn’t make another visit to the Super Bowl this season. . . .

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This was the first time since 1988 that UCLA and USC both won their opening games. . . .

The $60 million in improvements made the earthquake-damaged Coliseum look like, well, the old Coliseum. . . .

Hard hats off to the construction crew. . . .

The problem was that the message board, reportedly the biggest in football, didn’t work in the first half of the USC-Washington game and gave only the most basic information in the second half. . . .

Freshman Delon Washington is Mr. Outside and sophomore Shawn Walters Mr. Inside of the new and improved Trojan running game. . . .

The temptation would be to move the 225-pound Walters to fullback, but look for John Robinson to continue to alternate the tailbacks. Walters softens opponents and Washington outraces them. . . .

Walters from Arlington and Washington from Dallas might form the best all-Texas tailback twosome in college since Eric Dickerson and Craig James of SMU. . . .

Washington’s best advice on opening day was from his mother, who said, “Enjoy yourself.” . . .

*

As Robinson promised, these are more physical Trojans and they were able to overpower the Huskies in the fourth quarter. . . .

In contrast, UCLA would like to forget its fourth quarter against Tennessee. . . .

The Vols, who trailed, 18-0, before going on a 23-7 spurt, might have lulled the Bruins to sleep. . . .

Tennessee’s offensive strategy was curious. Starting quarterback Jerry Colquitt went down in the first quarter, and the Vols’ strength was supposed to be their running attack. But they ran only four more times than they passed and it wasn’t just a matter of playing catch-up in the second half. . . .

As expected, ABC’s choice as UCLA player of the game was a wide receiver. However, it was Kevin Jordan, not J.J. Stokes. . . .

The important thing was that the Bruins won a close game at the Rose Bowl after losing by two, one, six, and five points there last season. . . .

Crowds for both local games Saturday on a Labor Day weekend were larger than anticipated--55,169 for UCLA-Tennessee and 54,538 for USC-Washington. . . .

Score: Colorado 48, Northeast Louisiana 13. Time of possession: Northeast Louisiana 35:19, Colorado 24:41. . . .

A coach to watch is Fred Goldsmith of Duke. He was national coach of the year at Rice in 1992 and made his Duke debut Saturday with a 49-16 victory over Maryland. . . .

I was surprised New Mexico State held Florida to 70 points. . . .

By the way, whatever happened to baseball?