Taking On Paterno and Penn State Is a Classic Gambit

The question is: Why?

Why would USC, hungry for a winning season, risk an early loss by accepting an invitation to play Penn State in the Kickoff Classic on Sunday?

Why would the Trojans return to the humid and hostile surroundings of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., where Penn State manhandled them, 24-7, in this game four years ago?

“It’s a gamble, there’s no question,” Coach Paul Hackett said. “You don’t want to damage your team to the point where it wounds you for the conference season.”

Why would the Trojans take that gamble? On closer look, they saw a number of persuasive reasons that begin with cold, hard cash and end with a chance at something even more valuable.

The Kickoff Classic is the only preseason game with two ranked teams--USC at No. 15 and Penn State at No. 22. The Pigskin Classic, for example, features No. 2 Florida State against unranked Brigham Young.

For the Trojans, it could have been worse.

Kickoff Classic executives wanted Virginia Tech and Michigan. When Virginia Tech declined, USC jumped at the chance to play the Wolverines, ranked sixth.

Then Michigan pulled out and was replaced by Penn State.

USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett signed the deal in February without consulting Hackett. He downplays the fact that USC will receive $750,000.

“After expenses, you don’t make much,” he said. “You’re lucky to take away $350,000.”

So why accept? Garrett sounds less like an administrator and more like the bullish 1965 Heisman Trophy tailback.

“We’re not like some teams that dodge people and pretend to have great traditions,” he said. “We want to play tough teams. We want to get back to where we were.”

The onus falls squarely on Hackett, who coached the team to a 6-6 record last season and is 14-11 overall. In the third year of a five-year contract, he has told fans to expect “a significant jump in performance.”

After the Kickoff Classic was announced, Hackett talked to Arizona Coach Dick Tomey, whose team opened the 1999 season in the Pigskin Classic at Penn State.

The Wildcats went into that game ranked No. 4 but lost, 41-7. The stunning defeat ended their hopes for a national championship and sent them into a tailspin.

“Coach Tomey just shakes his head,” Hackett said. “He thinks we’re crazy.”

But Penn State is a markedly different team this season, with only nine starters returning and without Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington, who went first and second in the NFL draft last spring. Some preseason magazines have picked the Nittany Lions to finish as low as sixth in the Big Ten Conference.

Another difference: Arizona played on Penn State’s field in Happy Valley. Though Penn State fans will dominate Sunday’s crowd of 70,000-plus, Giants Stadium is as unfamiliar to the Nittany Lions as it is to the Trojans.

There were other reasons for USC to want this game.

Under NCAA rules, the Trojans could start training camp two weeks early because they took a preseason game. The extra time came before the fall semester, so USC could keep its players sequestered at UC Irvine for two-a-day practices.

The extended camp was especially valuable to a team that did not earn a bowl bid last season and, thus, did not practice last December.

And when players arrived in Irvine, they were noticeably on edge. “A sense of urgency,” offensive tackle Faaesea Mailo called it.

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno observed a similar dynamic with his team.

“It really sets a tone,” he said. “People are looking forward to a tough opening game and they realize that they have to be at their best early.”

The gamble looks even better when USC gets to Giants Stadium.

The field has been converted from artificial turf to grass.

Plus, Trojan players get the thrill of a high-profile game.

“It will be all hyped and the crowd will be really into it,” said Ortege Jenkins, the Arizona quarterback. “Playing in that atmosphere is really outstanding.”

All that’s left is the outcome.

The risk is that USC loses big. As Hackett asked: “How long does it take to bounce back?”

At the very least, the Trojans would have time to lick their wounds--after Sunday, they get two weeks off before playing Colorado on Sept. 9 in the Coliseum. Tomey believes this is crucial.

Despite his upsetting experience in Happy Valley last season, the Arizona coach says an early loss does not necessarily mar the rest of the season. The Trojans would have a measure of their weaknesses and time to adjust before the Pacific 10 schedule.

But should USC win, that would be the jackpot.

The Trojans haven’t had a victory over a program of Penn State’s ranking and stature on the road, on national television no less, in almost a decade. That’s what the players are talking about.

“People asked why take a game like this so early,” linebacker Zeke Moreno said. “But I think this is the kind of game you need if you want to turn things around.”

The Kickoff Classic has even more significance for fifth-year seniors such as Ennis Davis and Brent McCaffrey.

They were freshmen when the Trojans played in the 1996 Kickoff Classic, a game in which Penn State running back Curtis Enis rushed for 241 yards and three touchdowns, a game in which USC’s only points were scored by the defense.

“For myself and the other seniors,” McCaffrey said, “this is a chance to get revenge for the butt-whipping they put on us last time.”

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COMING SATURDAY

Two eight-page Sports Extras previewing the college and pro football seasons.