Trojans Go for It on Fourth

Notre Dame had the streak; now USC does.

A fourth consecutive Trojan victory today would mean that the seniors who entered USC in 1996--such players as Travis Claridge and R. Jay Soward--would leave USC undefeated against Notre Dame.

“Just to get that fourth in a row would be nice--and beat Notre Dame and UCLA this year,” said senior tailback Chad Morton, who was a redshirt freshman on the last team to lose to Notre Dame but has been part of three victories. “That’s what we came to SC for, to play against Notre Dame.”

USC has won four in a row over the Irish only in one stretch, en route to five in a row from 1978-82, before the beginning of the 13-game winless streak that ended in 1996.

Terry Barnum, a Trojan running back from 1992-95 and now a USC employee, was part of that streak and he gave the team a pep talk after practice during the week, brandishing a shillelagh.

“Terry’s a very fiery guy,” quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst said. “Usually the guys who come back and speak are the ones who beat Notre Dame. He was one of the guys who never did. That gives you a little different view.”

*

The famous alumni get up for this game, and Notre Dame Coach Bob Davie was asked this week if he had heard from Regis Philbin, a 1953 Notre Dame graduate.

Said Davie, “I have enough pressure without Regis on my rear end.”

*

Notre Dame fullback Mike McNair, a sophomore from Santa Ana Mater Dei, has sat out five games because of a strained arch and remains sidelined.