Notes on a Scorecard - Oct. 3, 1994

This had to be the toughest 8-5 loss ever suffered by a football or baseball team at Anaheim Stadium. . . .

The Rams came within 3:14 of tying the San Francisco 49ers for first place in the NFC West and becoming the first NFL team to record consecutive shutouts since the Chicago Bears in 1985. . . .

It might be true that second-string quarterback is the second-most important position in pro football and third-string quarterback the third-most important. . . .

The difference Sunday was that the Atlanta Falcons could turn to veteran Bobby Hebert after Jeff George went down, while the Rams had to rely on young Tommy Maddox, who had thrown one pass since 1992, after Chris Chandler was hurt. . . .

Those who had campaigned for Maddox, previously the third-stringer, to get some playing time didn’t envision him having to take over in the second quarter of a 2-0 game. . . .

A one-man offense featuring Jerome Bettis simply won’t get the job done most days. . . .

If the Rams had won, Sean Landeta would have deserved a game ball. . . .

His punts and a couple of penalties left the Falcons on their 9-, 15-, 4-, 5-, 15-, and 11-yard lines. . . .

Getting his first sack as a Ram was D’Marco Farr. The undrafted rookie tackle from Washington wears Deacon Jones’ old No. 75 and told Jones during a post-game interview on KMPC, “I hope I can live up to your standards.” . . .

*

Oregon played as well as it possibly could Saturday. . . .

But that shouldn’t have been good enough to beat USC handily at the Coliseum. . . .

The Trojans looked feeble against a team that had been whipped by Hawaii and Utah. . . .

The tacklers couldn’t tackle. The offensive line that battered Baylor was overpowered. Rob Johnson reacted poorly to the Ducks’ pass rush. His receivers dropped several passes. And John Robinson and his staff got out-coached by Rich Brooks and his staff. . . .

The Trojan play-calling was baffling. . . .

A week after Shawn Walters rushed for 207 yards, 57 pass plays and only 17 runs were called. . . .

Johnson and his backup, Brad Otton, threw 45 times, were sacked nine times, and scrambled for gains three times. . . .

Walters picked up 26 yards on the first scrimmage play of the game, but at no time did the Trojans attempt to pound it out on the ground. . . .

In the third quarter, they ran twice. . . .

It marked the first time a Robinson-coached Trojan team scored fewer than 10 points in a game at the Coliseum. . . .

In retrospect, UCLA should have tried a field goal on fourth-and-inches on the Washington nine early in the fourth quarter Saturday. . . .

The Bruins were trailing, 20-10, and needed two scores to get at least a tie. . . .

Audibilizing on the line of scrimmage in the horseshoe end of Husky Stadium, like Wayne Cook did, is always a risky proposition. . . .

The Huskies’ Napoleon Kaufman is as exciting as any running back, college or pro, I’ve seen this year. . . .

Think the Raiders could use him next Sunday?. . . .

*

Mr. Consistency is Wisconsin tailback Brent Moss, who has rushed for at least 100 yards in 15 consecutive games. . . .

This should be remembered as the Saturday when Penn State trailed Temple in the second quarter and Nebraska trailed Wyoming in the third quarter. . . .

Penn State’s schedule-maker is smarter than Michigan’s. The Nittany Lions are off next Saturday before playing at Michigan on Oct. 15. The Wolverines must face Michigan State, a natural rival coming off a victory over Wisconsin. . . .

Pernell Whitaker quickly turned what had begun as a competitive fight with Buddy McGirt, who decked him in the second round, into a recital of his skills. . . .

“He even out-toughed McGirt,” HBO commentator Gil Clancy said. . . .

Clancy had hyped the fight by saying these were the two best fighters pound-for-pound. He overrated McGirt. . . .

A Whitaker-Julio Cesar Chavez rematch doesn’t appeal to me. Whitaker would do a job on Chavez and probably win by split decision. . . .

I’d love to see Whitaker move up in weight and fight Terry Norris. You’ve heard about fighters having a puncher’s chance. Whitaker would have a boxer’s chance. . . .

Losers Leave Town: USC, UCLA, the Rams and the Raiders all play road games next weekend.