No Tunnel of Love at Halftime

In the aftermath of a halftime incident that involved players and coaches from USC and Washington State, USC officials said Sunday that they would ask the Pacific 10 Conference to adjust a rule that requires the team closest to the tunnel to exit the field first.

USC and Washington State jostled in the Coliseum tunnel on Saturday as the teams made their way to their locker rooms. Washington State Coach Bill Doba, whose team trailed 38-6 at the time, was reportedly shoved during the incident.

USC makes a practice of sprinting the length of the tunnel to reach its locker room, located just beyond the entrance to the visitors’.

Trojan coaches routinely hold players at the tunnel entrance until the visiting team is on its way, and they followed that procedure on Saturday.

But a logjam apparently occurred near the visitors’ entrance, resulting in contact between the teams.

Washington State cornerback Omowale Dada told the Spokane Spokesman-Review that USC players bumped the 65-year old Doba and that the Trojans, “kind of like taunted and [were] spitting at people and pushing.”

Doba said Sunday that he and his team “got bumped around a little bit,” but he did not witness any spitting and did not believe the Trojans intentionally ran into him.

“If they had done it intentionally, I would have been knocked out cold the way they were playing,” Doba joked.

Doba said he trailed his team through the tunnel after finishing a television interview. By that time, USC players were charging toward their locker room.

“They must give those guys a hundred bucks a piece for the first 50 guys that get in,” Doba said.

Doba said that USC cornerback Josh Pinkard helped him and that USC Coach Pete Carroll apologized on the field after the game.

On Sunday, Carroll said, “We need to organize it better, which means they need to let us go first.”

Dennis Slutak, director of football operations, said USC would contact the Pac-10 this week.

But Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen said that the rule has been amended three times since 1978 and that it could not be changed unless it was put before coaches and administrators at all conference schools.

Hansen said for the time being, “It’s up to USC’s leadership to stop that from that happening.”

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USC is expected to reclaim the No. 1 spot in the bowl championship standings today, but Carroll said he remains perplexed at the process.

Last week, USC dropped to No. 2 behind Texas.

“Is it like the Wizard of Oz? A guy behind the curtain with a megaphone or something?” Carroll said.

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Carroll said Pinkard performed well in his first start at cornerback.

Pinkard made a team-high 10 tackles, including one that prevented a touchdown on a long run by Washington State’s Jerome Harrison.

“He made his presence felt and showed the instincts that he showed at other spots,” Carroll said.

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Linebacker Keith Rivers, forced to sit out nearly the entire game for the second week in a row because of hamstring tightness, is “going to have to be a little bit fortunate to be back this week,” against Stanford, Carroll said.... USC’s 745 yards was the most given up by Washington State. The Cougars gave up 696 yards against Iowa in 1969.