There’s No Quit in USC This Week

In a classic finish to a game that was nothing more than a tarnished rivalry this season, Adam Abrams kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:05 left Saturday to give USC a 20-17 victory over Notre Dame, the Trojans’ first win in South Bend since 1981.

There were mistakes everywhere--three missed field goals by Notre Dame and bobbled footballs and penalty flags left and right. But a game that seemed so lackluster to the rest of college football--a matchup of unranked teams with losing records--shone like sterling to USC.

“This game wasn’t for the national championship. That’s OK. This memory is as good as those,” said USC Coach John Robinson, who said last week after a 35-7 loss to Arizona State he’ll resign at season’s end if USC doesn’t turn things around.

“This is my 11th or 12th of these games,” said Robinson, who was in a reflective mood after the game. “I’m winding down my career. I’ve loved being here. . . . Notre Dame represents the best in college football and ‘SC football represents one of the best. Playing here has been a privilege.

“You’ve got to enjoy the memories.”

The game may have been marred by imperfections, but the emotions might have been all the stronger for it.

“Indescribable,” quarterback John Fox said.

Emotion was all over receiver R. Jay Soward’s face as he strode up the tunnel, a tuft of Notre Dame Stadium’s turf in his hand.

“This gave us confidence,” Soward said. “It wasn’t a perfect game, but we played real hard. We have to go back and work hard again.”

How much USC’s victory over a now 2-5 Notre Dame team and embattled first-year Coach Bob Davie indicates about the rest of the season remains to be seen.

“All I want is for the team to be rising at the end of the year. That’s what we all want,” Athletic Director Mike Garrett said as he celebrated with players leaving the field.

Robinson, whose team is 3-3, will worry about that later.

“Our football team was in crisis, and probably still is,” he said. “It’s a good start. . . . It turned us around--for a week anyway. Hell, who knows?”

USC won only after linebacker Mark Cusano played the hero for a second year in a row, intercepting a pass by Notre Dame’s Ron Powlus with a little more than 2 1/2 minutes left in the game.

Notre Dame was on the move at midfield with the score tied, but a pass meant for Bobby Brown was tipped to Cusano, who ran 27 yards to the Notre Dame 29.

Last Nov. 30 at the Coliseum, Cusano deflected Powlus’ fourth-down pass in overtime to end USC’s 13-year streak without a victory over the Irish.

“It’s just that love-hate relationship,” Cusano said. “I love playing this team. Hopefully, they hate playing me.

“John Robinson, we all saw his interview. He felt like he was a great coach but his team hadn’t been performing. . . . For him to feel that way motivated us. We were down when we heard about it, but it gave us a lot of fire.”

Notre Dame is going to feel even more heat this week after Saturday’s loss in front of 80,225.

Kicker Jim Sanson missed field-goal attempts of 45, 34 and 33 yards--the final one with 7:02 left and the score tied.

“I’m just not in the mood for saying anything right now. I just want to be with my family,” Sanson said.

Davie called it a “tough, tough loss.”

“I told our football team, we’re not going to quit.”

With both teams hoping the other would be a balm for their troubles, the game started at a furious offensive pace that didn’t say much for the defenses.

Notre Dame opened with a 56-yard kickoff return by Allen Rossum, then scored on its first two possessions. So did USC, though, and Notre Dame led at halftime, 17-14, after Sanson’s 27-yard field goal, his only make of the day. USC tied the score in the third quarter on Abrams’ 42-yard field goal.

The game was a story of self-destruction, with the teams combining for 231 yards in penalties--156 of them on 15 flags against the Trojans.

“That obviously was a very exciting game, but it seemed like there were about 140 penalties and 140 field-goal attempts,” Robinson said.

Abrams got his chance to kick the winner only after Fox showed some basketball skills on third down, dropping the ball in a near disastrous scramble, then catching it on the bounce.

“I don’t know what happened,” Fox said, laughing. “I don’t know if someone hit me. I hope so. It happens so fast you don’t think about it. You get to the sidelines, and it’s a big relief you got it back.”

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* RANDY HARVEY: Another ugly loss, but this time it’s Notre Dame’s turn to feel the heat. C8