Trojans Are Sitting Targets This Year

THE COLLEGES

After USC’s disastrous 7-22 drubbing by Oregon, quarterback Rob Johnson was so rattled he said he’d been taken out of the game early because “Coach told me he didn’t want me to be a sitting Duck.”

Actually, Johnson would have been a sitting Trojan. Or was Coach Robinson afraid that Johnson would defect to the Ducks?

Whatever, the future looks grim for Troy, collectively ranked at No. 7 with the rest of the Pac 10. Think of it this way: Oregon previously lost by 20 to Hawaii, which lost by 15 to Fresno State, which lost by 21 to Washington State. Thus, the Trojans figure to be 71-point underdogs against Washington State later this season.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, was crunched, 10-29, by former Bottom Ten power Michigan State. There’s a bright spot, though. Because the Badgers are so obviously mediocre, their fans won’t have to worry about coming out to the Rose Bowl again and having Southland tour operators hoodwink them with false promises of tickets.

The rankings:

School, Record Last Loss Next Loss 1. Iowa State (0-5) 6-34, Oklahoma Kansas 2. Houston (0-4) Idle A&M; 3. New Mexico (0-5) 31-38, Colo. State Hawaii 4. San Jose St. (1-4) 0-55, Cal Washington 5. SMU (1-4) 24-28, North Carolina Baylor 6. Utah State (1-4) 6-34, BYU Idle 7. Pac-10 (22-19)* Lost 5 A bushel 8. Pitt (1-4) 29-33, Louisville Syracuse 9. Missouri (1-3) 10-34, West Virginia Colorado 10. LSU (1-3) 17-18, S. Carolina Florida

11. Arkansas State (1-4); 12. Kentucky (1-4); 13. Vanderbilt (1-3); 14. Tulsa (1-3) or should it be Tulane (1-3)?; 15-18. Pentagon (Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force) (4-12); 19. Wisconsin’s Rose Bowl chances; 20. Idle.

*--Includes losses to Louisville, San Diego State, Hawaii (twice), Utah and Fresno State.

Rout of the Week: Cal (2-2) over UCLA (2-3).

Rah rah: Fans of Syracuse running back Kirby Dar Dar held up a banner that read, “Kirby Kirby Dar Dar Fan Fan Club Club.”

Trespasser of the Week: Utah State Coach Charlie Weatherbie was twice penalized for running onto the field to argue with officials in a 6-34 loss to BYU.

THE PROS

Los Angeles led 5-0 late in its game. Chicago led another opponent, 7-6, halfway through the game. Elsewhere, Seattle had a 5-3 lead at one point. This wasn’t baseball, though. It was NFL football at its low-scoring worst.

Obviously it’s time for the league to make some real changes to pep up the offenses. It’s only a matter of time before the NFL takes the big step and requires defensive linemen to say to themselves, “One alligator, two alligator, three alligator,” before rushing the quarterback.

Ram reliever Tommy Maddox, the one-time child quarterback for Denver, was the losing hurler in the 8-5 loss to Atlanta.

Although the Ram offense didn’t catch fire, 35 cars parked near the Anaheim Stadium lot did. They were scorched in a blaze that was caused when some fans left a barbecue smoldering after a pregame celebration.

The rankings:

BOTTOM TEN SIX-PACK

Team, Record Last Loss Next Expected Win 1. Cincinnati (0-5) 7-23, Dad Wait till 1995 2. Washington (1-4) 7-34, Dallas Rams (Dec. 24) 3. Houston (1-4) 14-30, Pitts Cincy (Nov. 13) 4. Denver (0-4) Idle Cincy (Nov. 27) 5. Raiders (1-3) Idle Denver (Dec. 11) 6. Flagstaff (1-3) Def. Minn, 17-7 Washington (Dec. 11)

*

PLAYERS OF THE WEAK

Name, Team Disaster 1. RB Ervins, Wash. 7 carries, 9 yards 2. Rest o’ Redskins 11 carries, 19 yards 3. RB Allen, Minn. 12 carries, 18 yards 4. Cincinnati defense 0 sacks for 4th time in 5 games 5. Viking kicking teams Bungled FG attempts--30, 40, 47 yards

Quotebook: Boston College Coach Dan Henning, reacting to TV analyst Jerry Glanville’s brilliant disclosure that New England quarterback Drew Bledsoe was tipping his plays by patting the ball: “I’m going to get my quarterback to pat the ball because if you’re leading the league in passing, maybe patting the ball is the reason.”