Not So Fast USC, There’s One to Go

The streak is over.

But USC’s season?

Uh, it’s not over--and this last one could be a doozy.

Louisiana Tech--an 8-2 team that broke into the Top 25 Sunday at No. 25--is coming to the Coliseum on Friday for a day-after-Thanksgiving affair that begs one question: Why?

It is USC’s first regular-season finale against a team other than UCLA or Notre Dame since 1985, when USC played Oregon in the last game of the season a week after the UCLA game.

The USC seniors already have been introduced to the Coliseum crowd before their final UCLA game, tailback Chad Morton has been carried off the field after the most emotional victory in years, and the goal posts have survived the fleeting thoughts of some raucous fans.

And now, Louisiana Tech on a full stomach the day after Thanksgiving?

Blame it on Colorado, which postponed a planned game and sent USC scrambling to fill out its schedule, eventually coming up with Louisiana Tech and a 12th game against Hawaii.

Or just blame it on Daryl Gross, the associate athletic director who handles scheduling. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

“We’ve gotten on Daryl a little bit,” said Bill Young, the defensive coordinator who will have to find a way to contend with Tim Rattay, Louisiana Tech’s NFL-bound quarterback.

How good is Rattay?

He ranks third in NCAA history in career passing yards with 12,341, trailing only former Brigham Young star Ty Detmer and current Louisville quarterback Chris Redman.

So Louisiana Tech, the afterthought on the schedule, might be the best team USC plays all season, at least offensively.

“They probably will be, although Stanford has an awfully good offense,” Young said.

With a passing game that ranks No. 1 among Division I-A teams at 402.9 yards a game, it doesn’t matter that the running game is No. 112.

It’s beginning to sound more like an ambush in USC’s backyard, and the players are trying to steel themselves for a game that safety David Gibson questioned the scheduling of last week.

The only worse thing would be if USC hadn’t beaten UCLA to end the eight-year losing streak.

“I think for the seniors, this is our last game. We get to play in the Coliseum one more time,” quarterback John Fox said.

“It’s our bowl game. We’ll treat it like a bowl game.”

When the game was scheduled, it looked as if USC would be on its way to a real bowl game, and quarterback Carson Palmer and the Trojans’ young team might benefit from a little more preparation time.

“Everybody knows we’ve got a great future, with Carson coming back . . . But the time that matters is right now,” Coach Paul Hackett said.

Friday’s game was moved from Saturday to accommodate television and because USC’s men’s basketball team plays Duke on Saturday in the Wooden Classic in Anaheim.

And with the obvious fear that fans won’t be flocking to a game the day after Thanksgiving, USC is giving away tickets.

Active military personnel can receive up to four free tickets by showing their military ID at the gate, and USC has invited 12,500 area youth to the game.

So it’s USC, with nothing on the line but a chance at a 6-6 record, and Louisiana Tech, a team that figures a victory over USC gets the Bulldogs invited to a bowl game.

“We’ve got another game to play. We want to finish off with another win,” Morton said.

“I guarantee we’ll be excited for that game.”

Another Morton guarantee?

USC could use it.