Notes on a Scorecard - Nov. 14, 1994

So much for the football version of the Freeway Series. . . .

Unless the Ram moving vans get hijacked, it has ended 4-1 in favor of the Raiders. . . .

Just who are these guys named James Jett, Andrew Glover, Rocket Ismail and Calvin Jones who got to participate in the Raider offense during their 20-17 victory Sunday? . . .

Perhaps the biggest reason Jerome (Battering Ram) Bettis was held to 13 yards on 10 carries is that Chester McGlockton clogs the middle as few NFL defenders can. . . .

Bettis usually gets more carries than that during the pregame warmups. . . .

It was only a matter of time before Jeff Hostetler, who has been under siege much of the season, went down with an injury. . . .

Chris Chandler’s performance before he was hurt underlined the mistake Buddy Ryan made when he chose not to re-sign Chandler for the Arizona Cardinals. . . .

The Raiders committed their weekly share of blunders, including 13 penalties for 108 yards, but got away with it because they were facing a mediocre team. . . .

To have any chance of reaching the playoffs, the Raiders will have to cut down on the errors and probably beat two of the three teams with winning records--Pittsburgh, Kansas City and San Diego--remaining on their schedule. . . .

The Chargers’ sweep of their four AFC West rivals on the road during the first 10 games of the season is remarkable. . . .

When I was trying to figure out who would win the San Francisco-Dallas game, the name Merton Hanks didn’t jump out at me. . . .

It’s crowded at the top of the NFL, with four teams--San Francisco, Dallas, San Diego and Cleveland--tied with 8-2 records. . . .

*

What happened Saturday at the Coliseum and Sun Devil Stadium makes the USC-UCLA game much more appealing. . . .

How potent has USC’s offense become in November? . . .

The Trojans have gained 945 yards against teams that were ranked second--Washington State--and sixth--Arizona--in the nation in total defense. . . .

“That was a great football game,” John Robinson said after the 45-28 victory over the Wildcats. . . .

The best part was the third quarter when the teams combined for 35 points and 413 yards and it began to look as though whoever had the ball last would win. . . .

Offensive coordinator Mike Riley devised a game plan that, as quarterback Rob Johnson observed, left the Arizona pass defenders without a clue. . . .

It was overlooked after the Trojans pulled away in the fourth quarter, but a key to the outcome was a gamble by Arizona Coach Dick Tomey that failed. . . .

After the Wildcats took a 14-7 lead in the second quarter, they tried an onside kick. USC wasn’t fooled. Greg Tellam called a fair catch. The Trojans took possession on their 47 and drove for the tying touchdown. . . .

“This football team is on fire,” Robinson said. “If we wanted ‘em to play Tuesday, they’d be ready.” . . .

Instead, the Trojans must wait until Saturday at the Rose Bowl when they will try to break a three-game losing streak to UCLA. . . .

A healthy J.J. Stokes gives a new dimension to the Bruin offense and makes Wayne Cook a much more confident quarterback. . . .

UCLA’s 59 points against Arizona State were the most it has scored in a conference game since a 62-3 victory over Washington State in 1976, which was Terry Donahue’s first season as coach. . . .

The Bruins and Trojans have scored 162 points the last two times they’ve met at the Rose Bowl, and the scoreboard operator should do plenty of finger exercises this week. . . .

*

Say what you want about Steve Stenstrom’s injury crippling Stanford, but Oregon’s 55-21 victory at Palo Alto demonstrated that the Ducks are no fluke. . . .

However, beating Oregon State will not be easy in Corvallis. . . .

Tommy Prothro, who coached at Oregon State and UCLA, believes the Duck-Beaver rivalry is more heated than the Bruin-Trojan rivalry. . . .

Penn State showed me more coming from behind to defeat Illinois at Champaign than in most of its lopsided wins. . . .

Look for an announcement that Jeff Burroughs, the most valuable player in the American League in 1974 and father of Little League hero Sean, will be manager of the Long Beach Barracuda of the new Western League. . . .

One of Jerry West’s best and most difficult decisions was to select James Worthy over Dominique Wilkins and Terry Cummings with the first pick of the 1982 NBA draft.