Notes on a Scorecard - Nov. 6, 1995

Tony Boselli was a nervous wreck on the USC sidelines late Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum, but composed enough to deliver an order to Keyshawn Johnson. . . .

“Go make a big play,” Boselli told his former teammate. ‘You’re a big-time player.” . . .

The Trojans had just fallen behind Stanford, 30-25, with 2:57 remaining in the fourth quarter. . . .

Then Johnson went out and made not one, but three big plays. . . .

He caught a pass from Kyle Wachholtz for a 32-yard gain that brought USC to the Stanford 17 with 1:11 left. . . .

He caught an eight-yard touchdown pass that put USC ahead with 39 seconds left. . . .

Patrolling center field in the Trojan prevent defense, he batted down a long pass on the one-yard line on the last play of the game. . . .

“Incredible,” said Boselli, the two-time USC All-American tackle who was back for homecoming because the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL had the week off. . . .

“I felt horrible the last few minutes,” he said. “I had a helpless feeling. It’s much easier on the nerves when you’re playing instead of watching.” . . .

This was the latest in a series of great finishes in the Trojan-Cardinal rivalry. . . .

Since 1969, six games have been decided with 1:19 or less remaining. . . .

USC has won four. . . .

Five have been played in the Coliseum, which was rocking and rolling Saturday like no other time since the last earthquake. . . .

For more than three hours, you forgot about the agents, the police blotters, the NCAA investigations and the pour-it-on mismatches and remembered why college football is your favorite sport. . . .

The battle of the bands--the mad-cap Cardinal against a cast of what seemed to be thousands of current and former helmeted Trojans--was worth the price of admission for the biggest crowd of the season, 62,368. . . .

The same USC team that became so dispirited at Notre Dame now has come off the canvas two consecutive weeks to tie Washington, beat Stanford and advance to within a victory over Oregon State of reaching the Rose Bowl. . . .

“We were confident in the huddle during the last drive because of what happened last week,” center Jeremy Hogue said. “We were thinking, ‘Hey, another 80-yard drive.’ ” . . .

“You gotta love these kinds of games,” Coach John Robinson said after he had resumed normal breathing. . . .

*

For a change, I picked Riddick Bowe’s eighth-round knockout of Evander Holyfield on the nose, but the fight didn’t unfold exactly the way I thought it would. . . .

I didn’t expect Bowe to be down and nearly out in the sixth. . . .

Bowe might be the best heavyweight on the planet, but if a past-his-prime Holyfield can floor him, what would Mike Tyson or Lennox Lewis do to him? . . .

It would be nice to see Bowe fight Lewis in the near future, instead of feasting on some tomato cans. . . .

Holyfield lacked the stamina that used to be his trademark and would be foolish to continue fighting. . . .

How refreshing that the two rivals conducted themselves like gentlemen before and after the bout. . . .

The most impressive performance by a local NBA team over the weekend was the Clippers’ 112-106 victory over Phoenix on Friday night at the Sports Arena. . . .

“You’re going to wind up liking this trade,” Coach Bill Fitch insisted on draft day when the Clippers made the controversial deal sending the No. 2 pick overall, Antonio McDyess, and some bodies to Denver for Rodney Rogers, Brian Williams and the No. 15 pick, Brent Barry. . . .

On opening night, I started to love the deal. Rogers was everything the pro basketball guru, Pete Newell, said he would be. Williams was a revelation. And Barry flashed the talent that some day is going to make him one of the best point guards in the NBA. . . .

“It was an important game for us,” Fitch said. “We got some people out to the arena, and maybe now they’ll come back.” . . .

Former UCLA center George Zidek scored more points in his NBA debut than more heralded NBA rookies McDyess, Rasheed Wallace, Ed O’Bannon, Bryant Reeves and Damon Stoudamire. In the Charlotte Hornet-Philadelphia game the next night, Zidek outscored 76er Jerry Stackhouse. . . .

Obviously, the problem with the San Francisco 49ers, who have been held to seven points two weeks in a row, is their system. They need a Joe Montana or a Steve Young to make it work.