Claiborne Leaves His Mark

Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden already has called USC junior linebacker Chris Claiborne more impressive than Ohio State’s Andy Katzenmoyer, widely considered the best linebacker in college football.

And Bowden had more praise for Claiborne Sunday after watching the film of Claiborne’s 14-tackle performance--including a fourth-and-one play from the USC four-yard line when Travis Minor tried to go wide and Claiborne stopped him short of the yard-marker.

“He’s a great football player,” Bowden said. “Great speed and desire. He made plays all day. We had a couple of plays I can remember that we thought would break out of there big, but all you saw was No. 55 swallow somebody up.

“He’s really impressive. I’m not sure he gets the accolades he deserves.”

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Maybe it’s called the West Coast offense because USC left it on the West Coast.

The historical research is in, courtesy of USC’s sports information department, and the Trojans’ 23 passing yards against Florida State were the fewest by a Trojan team since they had 23 against Michigan in the 1979 Rose Bowl, a 17-10 USC victory.

The three completions were the fewest since USC had three in a 1981 victory at Cal. The eight first downs were the fewest since USC had seven in a 31-0 loss at Washington in 1990. And the 51 offensive plays were the fewest since USC had 50 in the 1992 Freedom Bowl loss to Fresno State.

Even the bright spot--166 yards rushing--wasn’t so bright. Take away Frank Strong’s 73-yard run, Chad Morton’s 21-yard run and R. Jay Soward’s 20-yard run, and USC averaged 1.8 yards a carry.

And finally: On 11 of 17 possessions, USC managed five yards or less.