Amid Ruins, Rivalry Remains

Thirteen years’ worth of tension was in the air at the Coliseum last Nov. 30.

The game was in overtime, USC was leading, and it had come down to fourth and long for Notre Dame from the 29-yard line.

“Everyone in the stands was going crazy, stomping their feet,” USC linebacker Mark Cusano remembers. “I was the first one who knew it was over.”

When Cusano knocked away Ron Powlus’ pass, that was that. USC won, 27-20, beating the Irish for the first time since 1982 to break a string of 13 years without a victory.

With that upset of 10th-ranked Notre Dame, the Trojans salvaged a 6-6 record, sent Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz out with a loss and quieted the talk about their own coach’s future.

The scene is different and yet the same today, when the great rivals meet as unranked teams with losing records for the first time since 1960 in what once again could be the final NotreDame game of USC Coach John Robinson’s career.

“It’s a whole new year, and these are different teams--as the records show,” said Cusano, the Trojans’ leading tackler this season with 41. “It’s still the biggest game of the season for me. . . . Especially with Coach Robinson’s comments lately, that makes it a must-win. We’ve got to go perform, if not for any other reason, why not for Coach?”

Robinson said this week he would step down at the end of the season if the 2-3 Trojans don’t turn things around. Notre Dame Coach Bob Davie is at the opposite end of his career, in his first year as coach of the Irish, but he has felt the heat too, bringing a 2-4 team into the game after breaking a four-game losing streak last week against Pittsburgh.

“In all honesty, there will probably be two wounded animals in that stadium, so it should be a heck of a football game,” Davie said.

There are no national rankings up for grabs, but there is plenty at stake.

“For us, I can’t tell you how important it is for all of us on this team, in terms of our personal situation . . . ,” said Robinson, who is 7-3-1 against Notre Dame but was in his first stint as coach the last time USC won in South Bend, in 1981. This year, the Trojans make their first visit to renovated Notre Dame Stadium, with a capacity that has increased from 59,075 to 80,225.

“The Notre Dame team has had problems much like ours,” Robinson said. “They have not played as well as they had hoped. But they’re fighting to start some momentum in their season.

“What you see on film is about the same. There’s not been a radical change in terms of formation or style. The uniforms are the same. So it looks like them, they’re just not having the success they’ve had.

“I’ve been in a lot of these games. Most have been emotional games. I think you kind of put an album together of memories you have of games that count. If you have won, it means something to you. . . . It was nice to get that monkey off our back last year.

“I love playing in South Bend. It’s not easy, and I recognize that, but I’ve always felt an excitement there, especially when you win in an environment like that. It’s memorable.”

Powlus, the Notre Dame quarterback, is trying not to remember last season’s game, his first loss to USC.

“Last year--I’ve tried to block it out,” he said. “They played a good game against us. The two previous games, we had things working, clicking. We went in cruising and USC did a good job to stop us. That’s part of what the rivalry is: They didn’t have the best record, we had things going, and they won.

“There is a revenge factor. You want to get teams back. But last year’s situation and what’s going on now is so very different. We’re not looking to win this game for revenge as much as we’re looking to win this to get our season going.

“I think this will be a very intense game for reasons different than usual. If both teams come in undefeated, it’s a very intense game. But right now, both teams are fighting for respect, fighting to get their records back where they want them to be.”

“I think they have a good football team, it’s just that things have not gone well. I expect to see a hungry group of guys come out and try to prove something against Notre Dame. I don’t think we’ll see the same team that lost the games they’ve lost this year.”

The Trojans certainly hope not. They’re trying to jump-start an offense that has turned up with a dead battery too often--most recently when the Trojans were held to one touchdown in a 35-7 loss to Arizona State.

John Fox is set to start at quarterback, but Robinson has made it clear he’ll be quicker to switch if Fox plays the way he did last week, missing a wide-open man in the flat on the first play and going on to pass for only 70 yards before being pulled in the third quarter. Mike Van Raaphorst figures to be the next man in the game.

Also of concern: Receiver R. Jay Soward has been hobbled by hip and leg injuries, but will play, and Delon Washington will start at tailback, with freshman Malaefou MacKenzie recovering from a sprained shoulder but available to play. Petros Papadakis is also likely to get carries.

When it comes to the running game, USC and Notre Dame will probably be matching weaknesses. The Irish don’t have much size up front and have been giving up 192.5 yards a game.

“Defensively, I am really concerned,” Davie said. “We have got some major problems on defense. Some things I think we can get corrected right now. Other things, I am not sure we can get corrected.”

Both teams had best correct what they can, because the loser is in for an extra dose of humiliation this season.

“Because of the tradition, because of the history of this rivalry, it’s a cliche, but you can really throw the records out the window,” Powlus said. “That’s what makes it such a great rivalry. It doesn’t matter what’s happened earlier.”

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NEXT FOR USC

Who: Notre Dame

Where: Notre Dame Stadium

When: Today, 12:30 p.m.

TV: Channel 4

Radio: KLSX-FM (97.1)