Trojans Are Left With That Run-Down Feeling in Opener

As they filed off the field after their 24-7 victory over USC, a handful of Penn State players lined up to get the autograph of Olympic gold-medal winner Lisa Leslie, who had been a spectator here. She signed, they beamed with pride.

It had taken all afternoon, but finally, Penn State had found a Trojan athlete who had excelled.

USC’s quest for the victory stand in this well-hyped Kickoff Classic fell more than a few steps short here Sunday. The Trojans came to the Meadowlands looking for a golden moment and got bronzed.

Statistics told it all in this game, like these: 241 yards in 27 carries, for three touchdowns, plus an 8.9 per-carry average and a long gain of 57 yards.

That belonged to a sophomore named Curtis Enis. Many more games like this and he’ll be Walter Payton. Or maybe Clark Kent. Enis ran past, over, through, around and under USC’s defense. He is big, fast, tricky, strong and headed for a Heisman Trophy if this keeps up. This might be the first Heisman ever won in August.

For USC, the only thing artificial about the turf in Giants Stadium was the impression that Enis was on it when they went to tackle him. The record crowd of 77,716 and the national television audience was either being treated to a reincarnation of the Galloping Ghost, or USC put pads and helmets on the Boys Town choir.

John Robinson, the jolly coach of the Trojans, who will not be all that jolly after many more games like this, had a good laugh on Enis and himself afterward. One thing is certain about the articulate Robinson: He is always good after the game. Sunday, he took the licking and kept right on ticking.

“On Enis’ 57-yard run,” Robinson said, “once he got to the line of scrimmage and cut back, I was the closest one to him. And I wasn’t going to try to tackle him, either.”

On a day when they were outgained, 462 yards to 282, and outrushed, 313 to 138, laughing was the best solution. Laughing through the tears, that is. Even though Enis had never even started a game for Penn State, and even though he began his career as a linebacker last season and didn’t even get the nod from Coach Joe Paterno as Sunday’s starting tailback until pregame warmups, Robinson said he knew about him.

“I got the press guide, and I read it,” Robinson said. “It said they had a big guy back there. I knew.”

Knowing about something and doing something about it are obviously two different things. Enis ended with the best rushing game ever against a Trojan team, and USC played against some pretty legendary ballcarriers over the years.

That raises some serious questions about this Trojan team, which actually had been the subject of national championship talk this year, at least around the 2,412 auto dealerships owned by Trojan alums around Los Angeles.

“I think we have the potential to be a good team,” Robinson said. “We have lots of work to do, but, certainly in our conference, we’ll be there at the end.”

He meant, in the race for the title of course, which, after viewing Sunday’s effort, might be taken by other Pac-10 teams as something of an insult. Yes, it is early. Yes, USC has plenty of time to fix things up and figure things out.

But yes, the Trojans were fairly lousy, and if you are Oregon or Arizona State, you have to be rubbing your hands together in delight. And if you are UCLA and Notre Dame, well, that’s another story for another day.

Give Robinson some credit. In the first half, on a fourth-and-one play, he sent quarterback Brad Otton back to pass and got a receiver wide open for a touchdown that clearly would have changed the tenor of this game, at least for a while. But Otton threw high and USC had another near miss.

And his punter, Jim Wren, had an All-American day.

And Robinson’s team wasn’t shut out, thanks to a fumble recovery in the end zone in the last minute.

But one can’t help but get the feeling that Robinson’s near misses and close calls and public statements about the conference race ahead are wearing a bit thin with those from a school accustomed to thinking and achieving bigger. Last season’s Rose Bowl notwithstanding, beating California and Oregon State is not what USC is about.

Penn State’s Paterno took an interesting stance afterward. In fact, he almost sounded like his team had lost.

“Obviously, we are not very consistent,” he said, “but Enis got us off the hook a couple of times with his long runs.”

Penn State, entering the game four places below USC in the national rankings, had dominated and controlled the game, yet its coach sounded like a beaten man.

In fact, Paterno sounded a lot like Lou Holtz. But then, that’s another story, for another day.