Tatupu’s Play Helps Pad USC’s Lead

USC linebacker Lofa Tatupu was questionable for Saturday’s game against UCLA because of a chest injury, but there was no second-guessing the wisdom of letting him play.

His interception of a Drew Olson pass at the Bruin 25 with 6:11 to play led to a Ryan Killeen field goal that gave USC a 29-17 lead and helped slow the momentum of a Bruin team sensing an upset.

Rejoicing after his team’s 29-24 triumph, Tatupu pointed to his sternum pad, which is 1 1/2 inches thick. “I thought it might affect me, but it really didn’t,” he said, adding with a smile, “but if I would have dropped that [ball] I would have blamed it on this.”

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Craig Bragg’s 96-yard punt return for a touchdown with 9:51 remaining in the second quarter broke a UCLA record that had stood for 43 years. (Kermit Alexander scored from 94 yards against Stanford in 1961.)

It might not have happened had Bragg known where he was. “When I caught the ball I knew that I was pretty far back, but I didn’t know I was at the four,” he said of his sideline dash.

Bragg also set a school record for career punt-return yardage with 930. Paul Guidry had 911 yards from 1993 to ’96.

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USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow is expected to meet with Stanford Athletic Director Ted Leland today or Monday to discuss the head coaching situation at Stanford. Chow is also being pursued by Brigham Young.

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UCLA’s Marcedes Lewis and Chris Kluwe strengthened their cases as finalists for the John Mackey and Ray Guy awards, for best tight end and punter, respectively.

Lewis had a touchdown catch with 2:20 left to cut the Trojans’ lead to 29-24. Kluwe punted seven times for a 43.9-yard average, with three inside the 20 and one pinning the Trojans at their two.

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Ben Olson, one of the nation’s top quarterback prospects who was on an official UCLA visit, said, “It was a good game to come for. I liked what I saw.”

Olson reportedly is also considering Arizona State, Oregon and South Carolina. But Olson, who graduated from Thousand Oaks High in 2001, could end up with Chow.

The two developed a close relationship during quarterback camps taught by Chow before the offensive coordinator left BYU for North Carolina State in 2000 (he came to USC in 2001). Olson spent a season at BYU, then spent two years on a Mormon mission.